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Badami, Aihole & Pattadakal and off the beaten track

Part 1- The journey to Badami !

It’s almost a month now, since I visited Bangalore and a few other places en-route. But writing a trip report about the places I visited did not seem very interesting as I got engrossed in reading 2 wonderful trip reports on another forum here on IndiaMike - the reports and the photographs posted took me to an entirely new world for days together and made me forget that I was still to write my trip report. Sagarneel’s report & PKanti’s report are excellent and deserves to be read again and again. Hats off to you boys! With that note, now I feel I could continue with a write up from my side too!!

A visit to Bangalore is always special, this time around it would have to be double specialas I would get to attend a wedding and meet almost all of my relatives under one roof at the same time . Loads of fun, food & merry making, what more could I ask for? Think again, I could definitely ask for something more . Oh, I would miss visiting some beautiful places while travelling down south from Mumbai, if, yes ‘if’ I did not make some small detours ! For a person who gets involved in a great thread on IM, WWTPT (Where Was This Photo Taken, even if it means just observing the puzzles posted there), would not find it difficult to find some unusual or lovely place to visit! So, even I had found certain places worth visiting closer to the NH4 (Mumbai/Bangalore, National highway)! Having traveled this route a few times now, I always thought we could do withsome sightseeing near Belgaum.

While I was searching for some answers for the photo puzzle in the above mentioned thread, I had stumbled upon this place called Saundatti or Savadatti near Belgaum which had a popular temple and also a fort! Well, what else would I do ? I put forth my idea of halting at Belgaum to my hubby, visit these places and proceed forwards to Bangalore thenext day. This idea got an instant nod and was finalized in a matter of few minutes. This was planned almost a month in advance but as days passed by and my curiosity to check if any other places worth visiting were nearby, led me to Badami, Pattadakal & Aihole, famous for rock cut and other structural temples. But then these were not off-beat and then it is November & touristy season and places like these would have crowds brimming. But then, in a weak moment I had already mentioned to my hubby that Badaami was very close (around 75 kms) from Savadatti if we took a State Highway (30)! I had seen his eyes shine with great pleasure to know that we could drive towards Badaami & cover these places too as it was his long standing wish to visit these places . After this, it was never my itinerary!!! HE decided we will go to Badaami, Aihole & Pattadakal. There was no mention of Savadatti at all!!!! PERIOD.

Yes, there was a lot of silence at home for 2 days. It is but natural, self confessed chatter-box that I am , was wondering & thinking fast as to how I could manage to insert a few places of MY choice too in HIS itinerary .

Oh well, it did not take much time to steer him towards the places I wanted to visit as we had to drive back through the places I intended to visit . Also, with a little bit of extra sweet words from my side and patient hearing to his technical talk on vehicles, computer,some note pad, camera & current affairs for a few days , WE decided on a relaxed trip, even if it meant extra night halts if we liked some place. This was my chance to sneak in those off beat places into OUR itinerary . So the program was like this: Mumbai - (Via Belgaum) Badaami & nearby places (3 nights) - Savadatti - Bangalore and also one or two additional new places of interest! That I will reveal as the write up progresses!

Route taken from Mumbai to Badaami:1. Mumbai - Pune - Satara - Belgaum Via Expressway & NH4. Distance - 525 Kms.2. From Belgaum (Off the NH4, 2nd exit to Belgaum take the Belgaum/Bagalkot State Highway 20) to Badaami via Yaragatti, Lokapura & Gaddara Keri to take State Highway 57 towards Badaami. Distance - Anywhere between 160-170 Kms as there are many internal roads to reach Badaami after Yaragatti.

Road conditions: Mumbai to Belgaum is excellent with expressway & 4 lanes on NH4! From Belgaum onwards, the State highway too was very good though it was 2 lanes. Some patches of road near Lokapura were being laid, but nothing to worry as the drive was mostly smooth.

Time Taken: 14 hrs including 3 breaks for - tea, breakfast & Lunch. Still, we could have reached Badaami a neat 2 hours early had it not been for some other reason!! It is this reason which I can say made the rather touristy trip to Badami more interesting! Or atleast the journey to me was different this time.

Let us get going then ! So as pre-decided, on November 18th, 2011, we start off from Mumbai at 4.25 am towards Badaami. It’s still dark outside and it’s the best time to start the journey and get out of the city limits before the regular traffic gets on to the road. Around 6.00 am we are on the Expressway towards Pune and around 8.30 am, we are crossing the Satara ghats. The journey is eventless and smooth. But ofcourse, I do click some interesting photos en-route:

Just before the Satara Ghat starts we take a tea break at a roadside Tea stall - almost a regular place for our tea!!

Continuing with our drive after our tea, somewhere close to Satara, we pull off the road to have our packed Vegetable sandwich breakfast! A good 20 minutes break, stomach comfortably filled and with renewed vigor to reach Badaami as early as possible, we jump into the vehicle! At this point in time I notice a sparrow like bird just flies by the window & perches on the nearby branch of a tree. I give it a casual look, point the finger towards it and tell my hubby that there is a ‘Sparrow’s bigger version’ sitting on the

branch to which he promptly says why don’t you try to take a photo! Huh, the only birds that sit quietly when I click are the ‘Humble sparrows’ which perch on the nearby bougainvillea creeper outside our bedroom window, I say. But then my hands are already searching for the camera! Within seconds I have the 1st photo of the ‘Sparrow’s bigger version’!

I silently tell to myself, not to worry, I will get it’s name once I post the photo on the ‘Which bird is this’ thread here on IM !! Hahahaha, life is so simple, you see! And true to my thoughts, I was given the name of this bird as 'Red vented Bul bul', by the experts on the thread !

From here onwards, it was my turn to drive for some time when my hubby took a catnap. I thoroughly enjoy driving especially if the road condition is as good as the NH4, and there we start with me in the driver’s seat. Some few kilometers down the journey, while I am still enjoying the scenery around as I drive, I see a colorful bird flying away right in front of me! Even before I could wake up my by-now-sleepy hubby to keep the camera ready, the bird is gone. With a sigh, I continue with my driving and I should say by now I am already keen on turning my head around in search of any new bird in sight. Fortunately or unfortunately there weren’t any and I was able to concentrate on the road and not on the trees passing by.

Comfortably we are past Kolhapur by 11.30 am after a short break for refueling our vehicle at Konduskar petrol pump just off the highway near Kolhapur. And from here my saga starts! Oh, there is this some blue bird flying here, a mynah flying past there, something like a sparrow too now seems exotic and I feel the need to click the photo . Upon all these, I don’t know any other bird’s name - to me either the bird is a sparrow/a crow or a Mynah!!! All this while my hubby is enjoying his beauty sleep . But I need to get away from the steering wheel, I am not able to concentrate on the road and I am sure Ihave seen a few new birds and I haven’t got the camera in my hand!! Somehow I managed to drive till Belgaum and finally decided that it was high time that my hubby took over and I would safely hold the camera in my hand rather than the steering of our vehicle!! It was around 1.00 pm and had to exit the NH4 to take the Belgaum/Bagalkot state highway to reach Badami.

By this time, my well rested hubby offered to drive (thank god for small mercies!!) and I most willingly got off the driver’s seat. From here onwards it was a pleasure to perch nextto the driver’s seat and go click, click and click!! The journey became more interesting once we were on the state highway.

It’s around 2.00 pm; we have travelled about 530 Kms in about 9 hours with a break too. We had maintained a decent average until here. As we continued to drive past the quiet surroundings, the dull views of the NH4 changed into interesting & colorful hues! The best part of the drive started from here onwards. The yellow and green fields along the highway beckoned us to stop and take some photos. Some crops had already been harvested leaving the fields yellow and in the immediate vicinity, there were different crops looking still young and green swaying in the light breeze.

The weather was cool and cloudy perfect for a good drive!! Oh, I love such drives! Infact the journey becomes more interesting than the destination! But it’s lunch time hence we decide to have our packed lunch of Chapattis (Indian bread) and a south Indian dish ‘Gojju’ (Tangy & spicy Tamarind curry) and some fruits and chocolate! Unwanted detail at this point , still , chocolates are my constant companions ! During our lunch, it seemed,there is more to take photographs than to relax and eat! A dragon-fly busily moving around but obliging me by sitting still on a plant for few seconds, wild colorful plants along the road, cattle egrets at a distance walking by the side of a buffalo, and a few birdsperching comfortably on the wires mindless of the activities below the very wires they were perching on!

I wonder how everything becomes so attractive once we leave the city limits and take the less trodden path into the heart of rural India! After our lunch and a few photographs hereand there , we start moving towards our destination. We expected to cover the remaining distance of around 140 Kms in about 2 hours time as we saw that the road conditions were pretty good. But what has our thinking got to do with the birds, sheep flocks, roads and the people whom we would meet along our journey and how it would put us totally off our schedule? In retrospect, while I am writing this report a Kannada song comes to my mind…A few lines are like this:‘Thaanondu nenedare Manava,Berondu bagevudu daiva…!!’

When translated roughly means ‘what if a human being/soul thinks about (or expects) something, God has some other plans for us’! We were in for some pleasant surprise !! Before the journey had begun, I was fretting that we would be in some crowded place once we were in Badaami but this drive more than made up for all my fears! This was truly a wonderful journey. As we were travelling on the Bagalkot state highway, it turned out to be a birdie treat for us as we were passing through some protected forest land. A special thanks to my hubby for not minding me pestering him to stop the vehicle every now and then to take a picture or two! The moment I sighted a bird I would shout a ‘new bird, a new bird’ and the poor chap had to pull the vehicle off the road and come to a screeching halt! Ofcourse, the birds were all perching at a distance but the opportunity to sight them and watch them preening, gliding and even hunting in wild, was an experienceworth cherishing forever.

My eyes by now were searching for as many different birds as possible, but I could in no way miss the rustic charm of the village surroundings as we drove past them. It was a funny sight when the sheep fearlessly crossed the road following the leader ahead of them.

It was not just birds, trees and villages that looked colorful! As it seemed, Sugarcane crops were harvested, throughout the highway we encountered these overloaded tractors transporting sugar canes.

Does anyone realize that we are already behind schedule!!! No…not me , I'm busy

clicking photos ! So, it was but natural to reach Badami, let me remind the readers, our destination, almost 2 hours late!!! And I still had so many places en-route to click! Ofcourse we had to keep track of the route and also the distance!

It was around 5.00 pm that we reached the outskirts of Badaami after our innumerable butthoroughly enjoyable breaks. The village around was bustling with activities. Finally we are almost close to Badami, the railway station!!

The sun was setting and the surroundings were fast turning into a molten lava color, which to me, looked absolutely stunning!! The color was distinct. Within few minutes, the blue sky, dry mountain ranges, water and the surroundings turned into a mesmerizing crimson shade! One had to behold the sight to believe the sudden change!

Around 5.30 pm huge board welcomes us to 'Chalukyan Kingdom of Badami', at the entrance of Badami town!! Just a few hundred metres drive further, we find this beautiful hotel on the right hand side of the road.

It’s the Heritage Hotel just around 1 Km away from the Badami City bus stand and 2 Kms away from the main place of interest, Badami caves!! We have a handsome 4 leggedfriend waiting for us at the entrance!

But as I enquired about the accommodation availability inside at the reception, I am told that all the cottages were occupied. We immediately moved ahead to the main town centre. I had made preliminary enquiries over phone from Mumbai regarding the availability of accommodation at 2/3 hotels, for our 3 nights stay at Badami and had found that we could easily manage to get it!

It is 6.00 pm by now! We checked into Hotel Rajsangam. A decent hotel but located right in the middle of the market and opposite to the city bus stand. Rooms are OK! It has a restaurant serving veg & Non-veg food. Vehicle parking could be a problem during busy hours but helpful security guy makes sure we secure a place for our vehicle. The rack rateof an A/C room, double occupancy was Rs. 1800/night + taxes & Non A/c around Rs. 1100/night. But with some bargaining and talking to the manager in Kannada did get us a discount of Rs. 400/night on the A/c room, ofcourse he expected something before we check out of the hotel (wink wink, nudge nudge). This place faces electricity shortage andhence the tariffs for A/c rooms are exorbitant.

A friendly advice to people who would like to stay in this hotel: Please ensure that the Airconditioner & the Geyser are in working condition before occupying the room! We realized that the geyser wasn’t working only the day after we checked in and it was a marathon task to get the hot water! If one is occupying a non-A/C room, better to check the working of the fan/air cooler in the room!

But if one likes a luxurious stay…then Heritage hotel is the best, Tariff somewhere around Rs. 3000/night!In the evening after checking into the hotel, we freshened up and took a stroll along the

busy main road of Badami for sometime & returned to our room for our dinner, called forroom service & had early dinner of Roti & Sabzi and retired with a smile on our face reminiscing about how the day had passed and hoping we would have an equally interesting day the next morning! After all, we would be visiting the Badami caves in the morning!

Part - 2: Badami Sightseeing.

On the morning of November 19th, 2011, after a good night’s sleep & much deserved rest, we woke up fresh around 6.oo am. It was slightly breezy and cool in the morning!! We had a busy day ahead of us, so better we started early but the only hitch was geyser not in working condition and so, how the hell would we take bath in cold water ? After some frantic calls to the housekeeping, we were informed that we would get hot water in another half an hour’s time which ofcourse wasn’t true! My hubby managed with the coldwater but I put my foot down and with some stern enquiries , made sure I got 2 buckets ofhot water delivered to the room. After that ofcourse everything moved at a fast pace .

We were at a restaurant (not the in-house one, but another one, in the same complex) to have our coffee & breakfast! Some hot steaming Idlis & a cup of strong sugarless coffee prepared us for sightseeing! “Now, what are we waiting for…Christmas ?” I asked my hubby, who probably wanted to have a go at a Masala dosa too . Not that I wasn’t interested in sharing it , but then heavy breakfast would make us lethargic and it would bedifficult to move around comfortably . So we decided against filling ourselves completelyand made a hasty move.

We hop into our vehicle, double check our cameras (Oh, that's most important ) and start towards the first place of Interest, Badami caves. At this point, we could do with a brief introduction to the town of Badami - As we saw, it is a small town in the Bagalkot district, North Karnataka. The life seems simple within the town. People are simple and quite friendly, infact the first question everyone wants to know is ‘where have you come from?’!! Well, maybe that’s the way to strike a conversation! A common sight on the main road - pigs & piglets moving around everywhere, colorful tractors with blaring music, shops almost ready for their day business, tender coconut water vendors with theirstock piled up just by the roadside at regular intervals, jeeps waiting around the corner fortravelers, local people busily moving around with their daily chores in mind and ofcoursewe the tourists stopping here and there to enquire the route towards the popular places of interest! Oh well, this is today’s Badami, as seen by me! But what does history say about this place?

Here it is:Once the capital of the Regal Chalukyas who ruled much of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh between the 6th and 8th centuries, Badami, is said to be known as Vatapi back then. An interesting story about ‘Vatapi’ is mentioned under heading Etymology in Wikipedia.

The name Vatapi has origin in the Vatapi legend of Ramayana relating to Sage Agastya.

There were two demon siblings Vatapi and Ilvala. They used to kill all mendicants by tricking them in a peculiar way. The elder Ilvala would turn Vatapi into a ram and would offer its meat to the guest. As soon as the person ate the meat, Ilvala would call out the name of Vatapi. As he had a boon that whomsoever Ilvala calls would return from even the netherland, Vatapi would emerge ripping through the body of the person, thus killing him. Their trick worked until Sage Agastya countered them by digesting Vatapi before Ilvala could call for him, thus ending the life of Vatapi at the hands of Ilvala. Two of the hills in Badami represent the demons Vatapi and Ilvala.

Badami was founded in 540 AD by Pulakesi I (535-566 AD), an early ruler of the Chalukyas. His sons Kirthivarman (567-598 AD) and his brother Mangalesha I (598-610 AD) constructed the cave temples. Greatest among them was Pulakesi II (610-642 AD) who defeated many kings but failed to capture Pallava's capital Kanchipuram.

It is also believed that the name Badami has come from color of its stone/rocks (badam - Almond).

Time to move ahead, it is 8.30 am. The weather is perfect; the Sun is just bright enough to keep us comfortably warm . The whole day was dedicated to the local sightseeing. Themain places of interest in Badami which we had shortlisted were the 4 cave temples, Bhootanatha temple complex, the archaeological museum and the Banashankari Amma Temple.

A drive of 1 km (just about 7 minutes) from the hotel through a residential colony brings us to the foothills of the Badami caves. As we are driving towards the cave temples - On the right hand side - A view of the soft red-sandstone mountain from a distance! On the left hand side - A small temple on the mountain, with habitation in the foothills! Another 2 minutes and we are in the car parking at the foothills of the much acclaimed mountain which houses the gorgeous cave temples.

At the foot hills:

Parking charges around Rs. 20/-, I think. No camera charges, but video shooting prohibited. Also we were not permitted to carrythe tripod.

From this car parking, one can choose to visit the 4 Cave temples in one direction and theother part of the complex which houses the Badami Archaeological museum & the Bhutanatha temples. We would ofcourse first visit the cave temples for the simple reason that it would be easier to climb the steps onto the cave temples early in the morning whenthe sun was not very hot and then proceed towards the other side of the complex to cover the rest of the temples .

Something to note: We could not find any guide overtly approaching us to take through the place, but in retrospect did feel that it was a blessing in disguise. Me & my hubby haddone some homework and read about the place & the monuments. Also, we had made our

own notes and taken a copy of the printout along with us. So we had ample time for ourselves at each of the caves and around. This gave us a good opportunity to spend time viewing the details and also click as many photographs at our own pace without being rushed thru by the guide!

So, we take a look around and we find out that the place is celebrating a ‘World Heritage week’! Ofcourse except for this banner no other special arrangements were seen.

In most of the places, informative boards such as these were placed prominently, which ofcourse made it easier to understand the monument and some details! Please do take time and read this, it would help immensely.

We read the info and proceeded towards the first cave! Just a climb of about 25 steps brings us to the first level of the mountain where we have this 1st cave.

Well, here onwards what do I write or say? Just a lay-person that I am, any juvenile attempt to use adjectives like beautiful, amazing or even gorgeous to explain the beauty of the place, the caves and the views it offers, would only seem like holding a lamp in front of the Sun! So I will just say that it is interesting to note the location of Badami as itis picturesquely situated at the mouth of a ravine between two rocky hills. Rest, the exquisite sculptures and the rust red sandstone cliffs talk for themselves!

To the left of the 1st cave, it seemed as though this Red rocky mountain cliff stood still with it’s arms wide open and we couldn’t help but fall in love with this place, instantly!! The sun who had by now started playing hide and seek gave a crimson glow to these rocks every now and then.

Cave 1: Dedicated to Shiva: One cannot just enter the cave temple without admiring this much celebrated figure of 18 armed Siva demonstrating 9 dance postures!!

Enter the cave, one comes into the Multi-pillared hall or the mantapa (Verandah) with a Nandi, the Bull, in the foreground and inside is the sanctum sanctorum with a stone platform upon which is the Siva linga!

Next we move on to the sanctum sanctorum.

Coming back to the multi pillared hall and peeping inside the right hand side of the cave’scorridor, we get to see the sculptures!

Now once you keenly observe the photo above, we could do with a short story about this character ‘Bhringi’ which is often told to children !

The story begins with sage Bhringi, who took an oath that he would only worship Lord Shiva. He took his oath so seriously, that he completely ignored Parvati, even when she sat next to the Lord. He insisted on circumambulating the Lord alone, provoking Parvati’sanger. In an attempt to force the sage to circumambulate her along with the Lord, Parvati

sat on Shiva’s lap. The sage simply took the form of a bee and buzzed around the Lord’s head alone.

Parvati was incensed by this disrespect towards her and towards all women, and cursed the sage that he would lose everything he had earned through his mother. The sage thus lost all the skin and muscles, which come from a mother’s milk, and was left as a bag of bones alone - the only contribution of his father!

Even then, the sage refused to give up, and continued his prayers to the Lord. He couldn’teven stand straight, so the Lord took pity on him and blessed him with another leg to support himself - and that is how he is portrayed in sculptures - a skeleton with three legs!

Parvati was still not pacified, and tried once again to force the sage to pray to her. She prayed to the Lord to give her one half of his body. The lord accepted, and Parvati and Shiva became one - the right side remained that of Shiva, but the left side became Parvati,and they stood together as one when the sage arrived for his daily prayers.

The sage took one look at them and turned into a wasp, and tried to burrow through the navel, which was the dividing point for the male and female halves!

Parvati was certainly not happy with the outcome, but she admired the sage for his tenacity, and for adhering so strictly to the oath he had taken. She forgave him; though she deemed that he remain forever as a skeleton to signify the role of women and their importance in life.

Story source!

Moving ahead, the five hooded Nagaraja (The king of serpents) carved in the mantapa’s ceiling!

Having moved around for sometime in this place, and trying to absorb the visual treat we have just enjoyed, we come out and proceeded towards the next cave!

But before we start with the cave two in my next post , A view of Cave one from the next level!

Part - 3: Badami Sightseeing.

So once we are out of the first cave temple, we almost have a spring in our feet and are raring to go towards the second one ! But, we did notice that the place was so far peacefuland only a few visitors are there in the vicinity! This does make me immensely happy. Huh, Okay, let us not get overtly happy, but climb up another few steps say around another 25, to reach the next level.

It was not just me & my hubby who were in awe of the Rocky caves & the sculpture,

there was another four legged creature too, with wide open mouth ! Another few steps conquered and we get glimpse of the second cave lying to our right hand side!

Cave 2: Dedicated to Lord Vishnu: After having seen the first cave, our expectations could have only doubled, we move towards the cave! The presiding deity of the second cave temple of Badami is Lord Vishnu. The Lord is depicted in his various incarnations, outstanding among which are the incarnations of Vamana (dwarf/Trivikrama) and Varaha (boar). Let us take another look at the caves from a different angle. From here can observe that there is a dwarapalaka (the guardian deity) towards one side of the cave! Identical dwarapalaka could be found on the other side too, but not alone, in the foreground we can see another friend of our’s, had read that these animals are a menace in Badami, but I personally felt they were well behaved - you will know why shortly! We move into the cave to find the huge pillared mantapa, just like the first cave.

There are two major sculptures in this cave - the first being Vishnu depicted as a Vamana (dwarf) measuring the earth and sky with his feet.

In Padmotarakanda of Balipurana, ‘Bali, the son of Virochana and the grandson of Prahlada, was a mighty and virtuous asura (demon). He was a great devotee of Vishnu and was truthful and generous in philanthropy. Through his good conduct, he not only conquered all the worlds, but Gods including Indra, had to serve him as his attendants. Seeing the plight of Indra, Indra's father Kashyapa with his wife Aditi performed severe austerities and Vishnu appeared before him and promised to restore Indra to his original glory.

Vishnu took birth as a son to Aditi for this purpose and went to King Bali as Batu Vaman - a young dwarfish boy. The boy begged Bali to grant him land, covered by his three strides, to establish a sacrificial fire pit. Even as Bali agreed, the young dwarf took the gigantic form of Trivikrama and covered the entire earth with his first stride. The entire heavens including Brahma Loka was engulfed with his second. Not finding space for the third, Vamana placed his foot on Bali's head, pushing him to the Nether regions and defeating him.

Story source!

This would be the most striking sculptures of Trivikrama, with his right leg placed firmly on the ground and his outstretched left leg up in the air. He is eight armed holding conch, shield, bow, discus, arrows, mace and sword. Vamana as a dwarf holding his umbrella stands to the left of Trivikrama and receives the gift being given to him by Bali who is shown pouring water on to Vaman's palm. Bali's wife Vindhyavati is shown standing behind her husband.

The story of Bali’s subjugation is celebrated in Karnataka as Balipadyami during Diwali and is an important festival in Karnataka.

At close quarters:

The second major sculpture being Vishnu portrayed here is 'Varaha' or a boar. Varaha is the third Avatar of the Hindu God Vishnu, in the form of a Boar. Varaha is depicted in art as either purely animal or as creature, having a boar's head on a man's body.

Another small story to keep the interest of the readers intact! Hope Biman likes this too !

It is believed that lord (Vishnu) appeared in order to defeat Hiranyaksha, a demon who had taken the Earth (Prithvi) and carried it to the bottom of the ocean in the story. The battle between Varaha and Hiranyaksha is believed to have lasted for a thousand years, which the former finally won. Varaha carried the Earth out of the ocean between his tusks(but in this sculpture shown as holding in his palm) and restored it to its place in the universe. It is popularly believed that Vishnu married Prithvi (Bhudevi) in this avatar. It isthis story of Varaha restoring back Bhudevi depicted in this sculpture.

The other eye catching sculptures in this cave are the ones on the ceiling! The intricate Swastikas in one square! Next panel has a wheel like carving with the twist being fish acting as the spokes of this wheel.

Well, we can stay at this place for some more time, but we have other caves to visit and later other places too, to be visited. We are just finished with the 2nd cave, school students arrive on the scene as a part of a picnic to Badami! They are all mighty excited and bustling with joy! More than the cave temples, they are keen on watching somebody else! Who? It’s our well behaved 4 legged friend. Take a look at the photo below!

It would be really difficult to move forward with this group towards 3rd and 4th cave, hence we decide to stay back for a few minutes until the kids have their fair share of joy as they proceed ahead. Besides, architecturally, the 3rd cave is considered to be exclusive and we would definitely need some peaceful moments to go by our hobby - click click, sowe stay back! Oh boy, that was the best thing to do. As we wait outside the 2nd cave temple, the view one gets to enjoy is remarkable.

The first thing I noticed as I walk around the open space, almost like courtyard, in front of the cave temple, is this moon, still shining in the sky!! Yes its around 10 am and we can still see moon!

With the lustrous mountain behind us, would anyone care to just walk with me a few steps ahead towards the edge of the mountain and peep down, ‘lo behold, the picturesque Kalyani (holy water tank), on one side as the town of Badami rests on the other side and at the background the mountain with a small temple perching comfortably makes for an eye candy’!! Sorry got carried away a bit, but could I put in words what I saw? Not much…. I think!

I zoom in for details! A lawn being taken care of ASI. Definitely have done a great job of keeping the Heritage site spic & span!

As I zoom in to one corner of the Agastya teertha, a beautiful temple emerges in clear view! Not to worry I say to myself, we will be going there too .

It’s almost good 15 minutes before we realize we could move ahead towards the third cave. The steps towards the third cave look very inviting. I mean, is it just that I felt like that or was it really inviting…I wasn’t able to make up my mind! We move ahead!

Once we are almost near the entrance, we take a look at the 2nd cave from the entrance ofthe 3rd cave!! There is another group of students in the most colorful uniform! This is a bigger group than the 1st one who had gone ahead of us by now! Made for pretty sight!

Walk about 20 steps further, step aside to the right, could we once again have a look at this pretty entrance structure from another angle - up close & front!

Hop back in front of the steps and peep up the door leading us towards the 3rd cave, see another set of around 15 steps?

Part - 4: Badami Sightseeing.

The visit continues . We move ahead & climb up the stairs and make our way towards thenext Cave temple on the next level of the mountain. Just to remind myself that we came up these stairs, one more photo.

As we land on the porch which is quite huge, on the next level, I am naturally attracted towards the edge of the mountain . The view from the edge of the mountain is better than that at the previous level. We could see more of the town on the left hand side & the curve of the Agastya Teertha Kalyani (holy water tank) more clearly.

If on one side we have the view of the town, green water tank and clear blue sky, on the other we see this colossal rocky red mountain!! If I could put forth the view of this mountain as seen through my camera -

The setting is perfect, isn’t it ? Nestled in this mountain is cave-temple no. 3, surely the most attractive at least from a distance . It is this sight which made me mention right in the beginning that it would be juvenile to put in words the views, sculptures beauty etc, atthis monument with words like amazing or wonderful...etc!! Do those words do any justice to this sight? Hmmmmmm

Cave-temple no. 3: This largest and most legendary cave temple in Badami is believed to have been created in 578 - 580 AD. This cave is also dedicated to Vishnu, and is the finest and the biggest, and it has superb giant figures of various incarnations of lord Vishnu! An inscription found here records the creation of the shrine by Chalukyan King Mangalesha in 578.

Portico of the temple is adorned with a row of six massive columns. Below the columns there is this decorative horizontal band along the lower part of the temple platform

consisting of 30 smaller reliefs of Kubja-ganas (dwarf carvings).

We are stunned with the enormity of this cave and these extremely large figurines! After sometime we had to remind ourselves to go into the main Mukha Mantapa / the multipillared Verandah, to get better views and details. We climb up a few steps and to our right we see this huge carving of the Trivikrama, even before we enter the Mukha mantapa! It is huge!! To our left, standing tall! Look at the scarlet shade on the pillars & the carving!

Just take few steps inside the temple, an eerie silence engulfs us. The gentle breeze from the Kalyani (holy water tank) below has kept the rock-cut temple cool. For a moment, it was like being in the Chalukyan era hundreds of years back! The thought that crossed mymind immediately was - if it is so glorious today, how would it have been back then? What sort of work & effort has been put in to bring this structure alive? I could stand there the whole day and think about this, but then duty beckoned! Are we missing something here? Oh yeah, better keep the camera busy! The sanctum sanctorum is seen locked.

On closer observation of this place, we see that it is definitely bigger than the other 2 temples we have visited previously. The Mukhamantapa (the inner/main verandah) is bigger, has more number of huge pillars supporting the roof.

But the most interesting/attractive part is the outer Verandah/passage where the giant sculptures stand majestically. The figurines are huge and more concentrated in that part.

Immediately the first thing that captures our interest is this inscription by the Chalukya king Mangalesa, in Kannada - he organized excavation of this Vaishnava (Vishnu) temple. Inscriptions are believed to be from 578 AD.

Towards the right side of this rock-cut temple:Vishnu as Narasimha (half human - half lion): (Sanskrit: नरसससिंह, Narasimha) or Nrusimha (ननसससिंह, Narsimha), also spelt as Narasingh and Narasingha, whose name literally translates from Sanskrit as "Man-lion", is an avatar of Vishnu described in the Puranas, Upanishads and other ancient religious texts of Hinduism. He is often visualized as half-man/half-lion, having a human-like torso and lower body, with a lion-like face and claws.This image is widely worshiped in deity form by a significant number of Vaishnava groups.

Source.

We walk up closer. The striking feature of this carving was that the sculpture is very stylish in it’s appearance! The posture, the facial features and the embellishment made a brilliant sight. Adjacent to the Narasimha is the Giant 4 armed Vishnu sculpture. Narasimha & Vishnu My observation of the sculpture, simple but elegantly stylish.

To the left of the Rock-cut temple:

Varaha: The third Avatar of the Hindu Godhead Vishnu, in the form of a Boar. As mentioned previously, he defeated Hiranyaksha, the asura (demon) and brought back mother earth from the ocean!

Adjacent is to the above sculpture is Vishnu seated on coiled serpent Sheshnaag!!

Whole cave is covered with magnificent adornments, including paintings on ceiling. Just a glimpse of the work on ceilings & pillars of this temple.

On the ceiling:

The color of the paintings has worn out due to constant exposure to atmosphere! On closer observation one could see some of the remnants of the paintings, in this photo below.

The pillars have the carvings of sensuous couples or popularly known as ‘Happy couples’(atleast that is what the guide was informing some other visitors there) and many celestialbodies.

On one of the pillar:

We could spend the whole day here clicking all the nooks & corners of this temple but wehad to move on. So, before we could leave, thought of taking some photos which would give some perspective into the hugeness of this temple. We wanted to capture the complete set of pillars from one end to the other!

6 sets of pillars with Narasimha Sculpture at one end!

Another side - again pillars & Sculpture of Vishnu seated on Sheshanaag!

I’m still not sure if I have taken enough photos, but we were getting late. One last look at the temple and a deep sigh, we march out. As we are coming out we see that the student’spicnic group has already visited the 4th cave temple and are back in the porch right in front of this 3rd cave temple. Look at them attentively listening to the history of this place being narrated by one of the teachers.

Just take a closer look at the right side corner of the above photo, some round stone slabs were placed! I was curious as to what this could be so went right there and found it to be the traditional grinding stones! Hmmm, Ancient!!

Time to move on towards the last point of interest on this mountain. One can see that we are only few steps away from 4th cave temple.

Part - 5: Badami Sightseeing.

Having climbed up a few steps (please refer the last photo of the previous post) towards one corner of the 3rd rock-cut cave temple at Badami, one climbs down another few stepsto land directly in the porch of the 4th cave. One look at the cave and it is quite clear that it is the smallest amongst the 4 caves at Badami.

Cave-temple no. 4: It is imperative to mention that not being a Jain myself, had to look for some details on the net to understand the sculpture & its details in this cave. This sole Jain cave temple is dedicated to Mahavira and the 24 Tirthankaras. A brief introduction toJainism & the Jain Thirthankars would help us as we take a closer look at the temple carvings. Jainism is a religion and philosophy native to India founded in about the 6th century BC by sage Mahavira. It prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings.

Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state of Supreme Being is called a jina ("conqueror" or "victor"). The ultimate status of these perfect souls is called siddha. Jainism is also referred to as shramana dharma (self-reliant) or the "path of the niganthas" (those withoutattachments or aversions) by ancient texts.

Lord Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara: Born in 599 BC near Patna in what is now Bihar state, Mahavira began the life of an ascetic at the age of twenty-eight. After years of hardship and meditation he attained enlightenment and thereafter taught for about thirty years before he died in 527 BC.

Huge idol of Mahavir in the inner sanctum sanctorum.

Jainism is mainly divided into two major sects, namely Svetambara and Digambara. Generally, Digambara monks wear no clothes whereas Svetambaras are "white-linen clad" monks.

As one steps inside the front porch, the imposing sculpture to the immediate left draws one’s attention!

The word Tirthankara is a title given to the (mostly mythical) enlightened sages of Jainism; it means 'ford maker' and indicates a being or deity who has bridged, or forded, the mundane and spiritual worlds and can thereby assist human beings in the same realization. Tirthankaras are similar to the Avatars of Hinduism in that their function is to instruct and inspire humankind while protecting the world from demonic forces. Extract -source. There are 24 Thirthankaras in this time era and each of them revitalized the Jain Order.

Source

The ornate columns and the clear cut figurines found in the caves are examples of great craftsmanship. The pillars are covered with finely carved images of meditating figures. Note how the naturally formed grains and contrast colors on the rock add to the beauty ofthese sculptures.

Jain image of Parshvanath: Parshvanath is considered to be the twenty-third Tirthankara. He is the earliest Jain leader generally accepted as a historical figure. Parshva was the sonof king Ashvasena and queen Vama of Varanasi. He renounced the world and became an ascetic when he was 30 years old. He achieved Nirvana atop Sammet Sikhar, now named Parshvanatha after him. He was called purisādān ṇīya "beloved of men" a name which shows that he must have been a genial personality. He remains beloved among Jains.

With this cave temple also visited and admired, we decide to walk down towards the car parking at the base and from there move towards the Agasthya Teertha Kalyani (the holy water tank) which looked so beautiful from the cave temples. While passing by these rock-cut cave temples one last time, I was reminded of a few sentences mentioned on various websites - Art critic Dr. M. Sheshadri wrote of the Chalukya art that they cut rocklike Titans but finished like jewelers. Critic Zimmer wrote that the Chalukya cave temples are a fine balance of versatility and restrain. My only humble contribution to their words was, ‘How very true are their words’!

Once we climbed down the stairs we had a few more colors to see at the base! A colorful bug!

As mentioned earlier, our next place of interest was the holy water tank, Archaeological Museum of Badami & the Bhutanatha group of temples lying on the east and north-east sides of Agasthya teertha Kalyani. From here one can walk up all the way (a narrow road in between the residential locality) to the end of the last group of Bhutanatha temple or take the vehicle in another road & reach an arch closer to the first group of the temple andwalk up from there.

We preferred to walk up the whole place and spend time around the Kalyani and another small but very stylish temple en-route to the Bhutanatha temple.

On the way towards the Kalyani, one can see a mosque, a black gumbaz & few tombs of Adilshahi times (Bijapur rulers).

A little bit of circus from side to climb the platform and step down towards the other side to walk up towards the Kalyani (there is no direct access) ensures some entertainment to my hubby ! Any way we proceed just a few steps and we see this small temple to the right. Seemed nobody visits this temple, but we are the ones who always do what others don’t do! We decide to walk up and take some snaps atleast.

It is here that we got the first glimpse of the style of Badami Chalukyan temple architecture. A brief introduction to the architecture which is also commonly referred to as the Vesara style: Vesara is a type of Indian architecture primarily used in temples. The

two other prominent styles are Dravida and Nagara. Vesara is a combination of these two temple styles. The Chalukya artists experimented with different styles, blended the Indo-Aryan Nagara and Dravidian styles, and evolved Chalukya style. Their earliest temples date back to around 450 AD in Aihole when the Badami Chalukyas were feudatories of the Kadamba of Banavasi. According to historian K.V. Sounder Rajan, the Badami Chalukyas contribution to temple building matched their valor and their achievements in battle.

The successive rulers contributed to the work of their predecessors. Their style includes two types of monuments. The rock cut halls (caves), which we have already visited.

Structural temples.

It is said that the most enduring legacy of the Chalukya dynasty is the architecture and artthat they left behind. More than one hundred and fifty monuments attributed to the Badami Chalukya, and built between 450 AD and 700 AD; remain in the Malaprabha basin in Karnataka.

The temple typically stands on a stone platform, has a multi pillared hall, the inner sanctum sanctorum upon which the temple shikhara stands aloft. Ahem Ahem, this was more of a Patelshots stopover . The temple was anyway locked up hence could not have alook at the deity inside.

One can also walk down a few steps and enter the corridor of the Agastya teertha Kalyani. Though the Bhutanatha temple cannot be reached from this side, I descended thesteps to get a view of the tank. To my surprise, I met this feathered friend of mine intentlygazing at the lake scouting for its next meal!

Next: Moving ahead towards Bhutanatha group of temples.

Part - 6: Badami Sightseeing.

From the small temple we were in, we will head towards the Bhutanatha temples. Before Lunch we had to visit the temples and the Archaeological museum and if possible the 2 temples lying on the mountain by the side of the museum. It was about 11.45 am already & was getting hotter by the day. So we make our way back to the narrow road snaking in between the residential locality, towards the Bhutanatha temples.

The route:

And EN-ROUTE: (Until now had refrained from posting the photo of this commonly seen animal in Badami, but couldn’t resist any more). Sleep well, we wish him and move ahead .

Few more minutes we walk through the houses and pass by a Government school and then reach an arch!! It is from here that the vehicular traffic joins and shortly after

passing ahead through the arch, vehicles are parked and one needs to walk around to visitthe various places of interest.

A small locked entrance towards Veerabhadreshwar Temple:

Way to Kappe Arabhatta inscription

Further down on the right hand side, entrance to the complex of Bhutanatha temples: We wanted to visit this place first and venture towards other places later. Hence we walk straight towards the entrance of the much awaited ‘Bhutanatha Temple complex’!! But then, somebody else already wants to enter the premises before us!!

As we enter the gate, one gets to view the huge Agastya Teertha lake with well made steps to get into the water. By now we are familiar with this very attractive & picturesque holy water tank but it would be interesting to know a few things about it. Agastya-TeerthaLake situated beneath the cave temples, is said to be almost 5th century old and has high religious values. It is said that water of this lake can heal anyone anytime. With this back-ground one would like to read very interesting information about sage Agastya: HERE .

For the residents in the immediate vicinity, this lake is a major water source and also an important part of their daily life. Here, on a leisurely morning one can sit on the steps peacefully and watch the activities in the lake -children enjoy diving into the water , women washing clothes just beside the steps and even buffaloes given a good bath in the very same Kalyani.

Hmm, but we are here to visit the temples, let us not forget that, I remind myself . As usual here we need to have a brief foreword about the temples. This much acclaimed temple group is a cluster of sandstone temples dedicated to the deity Bhutanatha (Lord Shiva -Shiva in the form of the God of souls & spirits) as the name suggests. There are two major temples here. Temple No.1, on the east side of the lake, called the Bhutanatha temple. The smaller Temple No.2 on the north-east side of the lake, sometimes called Mallikarjuna group of temples, has a stepped superstructure, commonly found in Kalyani Chalukya constructions.

Walking along the Agastya Teertha we reach north-east side group of temples, Mallikarjuna temple. It has the tiered pyramid structure characteristic of Western Chalukya Architecture. This group exhibits topological features popularized by the Kalyani Chalukya architects, including plain walls, angled eaves over the open mantapa (hall) and pyramid shaped superstructures made of closely spaced horizontal tiers. Hence it is observed that these temples belong to the period of the later Chalukyas, the Chalukyas of Kalyani.

Source.

All the temples in this group were locked hence we could not actually get to see the inner sanctum sanctorum.

We moved around the place as it provides for good photo ops. The lawns & the open space around the monuments are very well maintained. Ofcourse it did seem that most of these temples had undergone many a repairs and were restored to its current position. Found this video on the web very interesting! It’s the virtual tour, shot probably near the entrance of the Bhutanatha complex . Check this

We walked around the place and took some photographs and were about to leave towards the 2nd group of Bhutanatha temples when something interesting happened. Two boys aged around 10-12 years approached us and offered to click a photo of me and hubby together. Not very keen on getting photographed, I politely refused and started moving ahead. At this point one of the more enterprising boys of the two offered to be our guide around the temples! I was now wondering as to what he would guide us to in this small place especially when the temples were almost closed or locked up. I just told him that we would manage and would not need any guide as of now. Disappointed by my rejectionof their self-offered services, the 2 boys made their way towards the narrow gully beside the temple. With some quick discussions with my hubby, I did call back the 2 boys and enquired how they could be of any help to us and what their charges would be.

Huh, one had to see the face of the perky chap who had offered guide services - a fair complexioned chap, now, was almost beetroot red in his face and was highly embarrassed& felt shy to quote his fees. I for one did not want to move ahead with them without knowing what was in store for us and how much it would cost us. Understanding his predicament, I did some sweet talking and cajoled the boy to come out with a figure. Reluctantly, the boy said that he did not do this for money but would accept whatever was given to him & his friend. At this point, my hubby intervened and mentioned that as we had only one more group of temples left, whether it would be even useful to take these chaps with us.

The perky boy wasn’t shy anymore but seemed to be more enthusiastic by now. He told us that he would take us around the next group of temples and also take us to an interesting spot if we had some time to spare. Now , yes, Now, I said the trip is getting more interesting ! S, what could that interesting spot be, here in the open where everything is so clearly visible, I wondered !

Even before I could put forth my reservations, the perky boy addressed me (clever chap, he had realized that my hubby was Khadoos, meaning not very friendly ), ‘Madam, I takeyou on that mountain, show you India map’. Here onwards our conversation was something like this:

Me: “What, India map ? Where ?”

Perky boy: “Behind the 2nd group of temple, climb up, India map ”!

Me: “Do you know Kannada? Why don’t you talk to me in Kannada , I know Kannada very well and we can be more clear on that India map topic ”.

Perky boy (grins): “I know Kannada, Madam. But learn English. Foreign tourists come, I help . I talk to you learn English, easy to help foreigners ”!

Needless to say I’m impressed, I agree to talk only in English from now onwards till we complete our trip. But then now I’m worried what he would charge us after this session. My hubby is almost disinterested in our conversation , he tells me to move fast lest it becomes hot & we lose interest in other places of interest. Curiosity sake I clarify with the ‘perky boy again’: “So whatever we pay you, you will accept and not argue, right ?”

Perky boy (grins): “Yes madam, no argue. But Sir very angry?”

Me: “not angry but not interested too. Never mind him, but you promise to show us the India map”?

Perky boy: “Sure (with an accent ), please come now”.

All this while, his silent friend is watching me and his friend strike a deal. My friends, now, you might be wondering why I have not yet mentioned his name. That is because the chatter box that I am did not find it necessary to know his name . My hubby isn’t one bit happy. He tells me that the boys are taking us for a royal ride and I am willingly goingon one!! Huh, these men never trust anybody - I say to myself & just march ahead with these 2 friendly souls .

The 2 boys enthusiastically lead us towards the 2nd group of Bhutanatha temples. Now I felt, I should know the boys’ names else it’ll become really difficult to converse with them as they run around! Politely I ask the perky boy what his name was and what he wasstudying. Even as he walks fast along the Kalyani amidst the well maintained lawns, towards the temple, he replies that his name is Hanumantha and his friend is Ashpaaq.

Me: “Hmmm, so why are you both here at this time. Aren’t you supposed to be in school”?

(Here onwards) Hanumantha: ‘Madam, school over at 11.00 am. We are free now’.

Me: “So you both guide many tourists around this place”?

Hanumantha: “yes Madam, I like this”!

By now we are at the 2nd and main group of Bhutanatha temples. We prefer to walk around the main temple and have a look at the smaller temples surrounding the main Bhutanatha temple before we visit the main temple.

These smaller temples too are wonderful structures. Some of these temples are open due the fact that the doors have been destroyed.

This is another beautiful temple with ornate door & some carvings on the wall.

It at this point in time that Hanumantha calls out for an invisible caretaker and he promptly even arrives from no-where! Hanumantha tells me, “Madam, you want to see inside temple, this also he will open the main temple also”. I’m surprised, so is my hubby.Ofcourse hubby enquires with the caretaker as to why in the first place the temple is locked when it is to be kept open for public. To which the caretaker replies that cleaning is in progress hence many of the temples are still closed. Anyway he obliges us and now why should we complain?

It is time we visit the main temple too. This temple has a superstructure that resembles early South Indian style & North Indian style with its open mantapa (hall or Verandah) extending into the lake. It is believed that the inner shrine and mantapa (multi-pillared hall) of the temple were constructed in the late 7th century during the reign of the BadamiChalukyas while the outer mantapa, facing Agastya Teertha, was completed during the rule of the Kalyani Chalukyas of the 11th century. Hence the Bhutanatha temples contain architectural forms from different periods.

The main Bhutanatha temple:

Hanumantha is leading us inside the temple. He is very careful and is keen that we see thetemple at leisure and in between even offers to click photos if we felt the need.

In the inner hall of the Bhutanatha temple, a heavy architrave above the columns divides the hall into a central nave and two aisles. The pillars are massive and are decorated with lotus rosette. Perforated windows bring dim light into the inner mantapa. A huge Nandi (bull) forms a part of the outer Mantapa.

As one moves inside the temple:

The Shiva linga in the inner sanctum sanctorum.

An ancient inscription in old Kannada inside the temple.

After our short visit inside the temple we exit and move outside, just to walk down towards the Agastya teertha Kalyani. Hanumantha now tells us that we will be taken to another place which is not frequented by many visitors and the Kalyani & the view is better there. I say, ‘OK, we need to visit this place and ofcourse the map, you remember, right ?’ Hanumantha is glad by now that I trust him and am willing to accompany him around . With extra spring in his gait, he with his silent friend (who occasionally managesto smile) informs us that we would visit a place right behind this Bhutanath temple wherethere are a few more carvings of Chalukyan period and also 2 small temples.

I am glad that Hanumantha is guiding us around . Ofcourse, hubby is throwing daggers atme. Well, I mutter to myself…Whatever , let us just follow him; we might get to see something new . After all if it were to be only the 2 of us here, then we would have just

gone back towards the Museum after the Bhutanatha Temple visit . Now that we have someone to show us around why not make the best of this opportunity ? Didn’t even wait to get my hubby’s response; he is quite capable of brain washing if shown even the slightest of weakness ! I just ran behind Hanumantha as if I had something really important to discuss with him . Ofcourse, cautious hubby followed!

As promised, Hanumantha & his friend led us to a narrow path behind the Bhutanatha temple, and at a distance one can see the huge rock!

It is only when one reaches this rock, stands in front of it that one can see the beautiful carvings on it. I was surprised to see this. Ofcourse Hanumantha was explaining something, but I was just having a closer look. The carvings were familiar by now - Varaha (Boar), Ganesha, Brahma, Lord Vishnu & Maheshwara (Hindu gods) in standing posture, Mahishasuramardhini (Godess Durga) & Narasimha (half Lion, Half man)! Hmmm, though the carvings are common, the panel looks very attractive. Also another panel of carvings, though not in the best condition, is visible.

Some inscription on the adjacent rock!

I look at Hanumantha with a lot of appreciation. He is very happy . Not to mention how proud he was, now he is much more eager to lead us to the next point . Mind you, It’s all…’Madam, you want to take a photo here, Madam shall I take your photo, Madam, shall we move ”? I tell him that we will move ahead but slowly and no need to rush anywhere! Hubby is quiet , it’s better that way, I feel . So moving ahead in the same direction, but around this huge rock, we come across a small but very cute temple.

Just imagine, why would anyone build such a small temple and how could anyone enter this? I mean look at the size of the entrance! I am still contemplating and Hanumantha as though has read my mind rushes into the temple and from inside tells me, “Madam, not toworry, come in, you can. Just bend”! I felt somebody was sniggering standing beside me !Huh, how mean can a husband be . Now, I had to enter the temple and prove a point! So Idid manage to enter. I definitely need to mention this: Hanumantha was the happiest of all.

Once inside this petite temple, I was again surprised to see the detailed carvings right in front of us as one enters this temple. The carving depicted Sheshayana Vishnu (Vishnu in reclining posture on the coiled 5 hooded serpent Sheshanaag, with Godess Lakshmi at hisfeet!) as well as his 10 avatars sculpted above his sleeping form. This is the classic posture of Lord Vishnu! Until now, we had not seen this carving in Badami. Also the other gods in attendance as Vishnu relaxes, makes the carving look elegant. The different hues of the rock only enhance the quality of these carvings.

Another wall has a different carving - Brahma, Vishnu & Maheshwara in standing posture.

The wall to the right:

We come out of this temple, I am totally blown away. My hubby too by now seems interested in moving around . Hanumantha, emerges out of the temple and is beaming! The first question he asks is “Madam, you like the place ”? I tell him that I loved the place! His silent friend is also very happy, dunno why !! In the meantime I tell my hubby that on the net, I had not read much details about these places though the Butanatha temples were very popular.

Now Hanumantha declares, “Madam, come next a rock temple ”!Me (with my mouth wide open ): Oh no oh no, we have already visited those temples. Wewill move towards the India map, Sir ”!

Hanumantha: “Madam, no no, come new rock-cut temple”! And he doesn’t wait for us but walks ahead.

For a person staying at Badami and studying in Kannada medium school, I am really surprised to hear him speak more or less fluent English and the interest he shows to learn the language. I tell my hubby, he is sure going to go places. Anyway, we meekly follow him to see the “new rock-cut temple”! Just a 100 metres away again we see some carvingon a huge rock. Seems like Ganesha & Sasraswati (goddess of Knowledge).

Lo behold, we do see a ‘New-rock-cut temple”! Inconspicuous from anywhere near the Bhutanatha temples, this one surely is a find!

But it is locked . Hanumantha runs over to the caretaker and within no time reappears with the key, opens the Iron Gate and asks us to come in. “Madam, low roof so bend” is what he tells me . I and my hubby enter the temple cautiously. Hanumantha tells us that sometimes this temple gets flooded when it rains heavily. The water from the mountain above flows into the temple flooding it.

This temple appears to be another Jain temple with big a carving of Mahavira. By the side of this main carving one can see the carving of Agastya Muni (the sage, after whom the holy water tank has been named).

We would have missed this if we weren’t led by Hanumantha & his friend. In appreciation, I tell Hanumantha that I now would like to take a photo of theirs. They are very happy and oblige immediately, but inform me, "Madam, go out for picture. Nice place near Kalyani outside" .

Here they are - the 2 musketeers: The boy in white shirt is our dear “Hanumantha” and the one in red is dear “Afpaaq’!!

They insist that my hubby too pose with them. So there:

Almost an hour spent here & there, it is around 12.30 pm, and we are headed back towards the Bhutanatha temple and from there to see the India map! Oh yes, I haven’t yet

forgotten ! I am too curious to see what this map is all about, I mean a Chalukyan time India map, who wouldn’t want to see ?

We march ahead even as the scorching sun shines right over our head! Suddenly while passing beside this huge rock, we hear these helpless cries of a puppy.

After having looked around, we find this:

On closer observation, it’s not just one puppy, a whole Army !

Anyway, mom arrives on scene and we proceed towards the Bhutanatha temples as that would be the exit point.

En-route, I enquire again as to how long it would take to reach the place to view the map!May be around 20 minutes of climb is the answer. What, what climb ? I had thought it would be somewhere close by . Hanumantha points his fingers towards this and tells me, “Very easy madam, come”!

My hubby gives me a weird look which almost conveys that I must be crazy to follow this chap towards that mountain! I mean, I am also mad just by a look at that mountain. Come on, it’s scorching hot and this guy wants us to trek up the mountain to have a look at some map ? I just can’t believe it . I am stumped frankly, I tell Hanumantha that he must be joking to which he seriously replies, “No madam, beautiful map, clear view of temples and city! Now, I don’t believe this , forget English I ask him to make things clear in Kannada ! Which map is he referring to, what view is he talking about and which city would I get to see ? In his chaste North Karnataka Kannada (Oh yes, people from north Karnataka have a different way of speaking Kannada from their counterparts in south (Bangalore & Mysore mainly). In fact people from coastal Karnataka (Mangalore) too speak in different style, but easily understandable), makes it pretty clear now. And what would that be - Well, Madam will get to see the entire outline of the Agastya Teertha(for Hanumanta it is the India Map, I still don’t understand why he imagines it to be so) from the top of the mountain, there is another small Shiva temple atop and a small pond. The view from that place is very good'; I am assured by our dear friend Hanumantha! I shall not even try to explain the expressions clearly visible on my face at that point in time.

My hubby is almost rolling on the floor and having a hearty laugh ! Ofcourse he is worried about my reaction, but then the situation for him is too hilarious , it seemed to me, to control his laughter. That look of his made me go beetroot red in my face, I agree. But then I was the one to be blamed for not enquiring initially about the “India Map” ! Well, I win some & I lose MANY, I tell myself .

Just Imagine, my hubby thoroughly having fun (at my expense), I look almost like one of the sculptures in the rock-cut cave temples (read Mahishasuramardhini, the demon slayer ) standing there and poor Hanumantha is clueless as to why I am so angry at my hubby and why I have that highly disappointed look on my face! Till now his ‘just smiling friend’ senses that something is not going right, and is more uneasy than

Hanumantha. Hanumantha on the other hand musters enough courage to approach me and tells me (Again in English) “Madam, come we will go, nice place, sure (god, again that call centre accent, where the hell did he pick that?)”.

One look at my still smiling hubby , I decide this is it ! We are climbing up the mountain ,Map or no Map, this chap needs to trek with me today. I announced “Hanumantha, we areclimbing this mountain, lead us”! He jumped with joy immediately and his friend and he ran towards the Kaccha road before we could even utter anything else.

Haan, now, the expression on my hubby’s face was worth millions bucks easily! It’s my time to rejoice . Clever that he is, he immediately checked his emotions and in a very stern voice started lecturing me. He tried his best at being the good cop & bad cop alternatively to get the desired result! His words were somewhat like as follows:

1st the Bad cop: ‘ You must be crazy be, just look at you, you are already tired , is it even possible to trek up this mountain at this point in time. It’s so hot and we have to visit the Museum & the other 2 small temples (Upper & lower Shivalaya on the mountain behind the Museum. We would tire out and miss out on something more interesting. Come on, just tell those boys we are not interested”.

To which I replied: “Nope, we are trekking, this is a wonderful opportunity and I am not going to just let it go. Museum, we would definitely visit as it’s right on our way back to the car parking and about those temples, well we can give it a miss as we have seen the best temples (Bhutanatha group of temples, remember) and a few other smaller ones. So this trek would be totally different & I think I will enjoy this more ”. Oh at times I can be stubborn, call me Mule or whatever !

Now once he knows that I am adamant on going ahead with the trek, he turns into this ubiquitous good cop , ofcourse his tone also changes: “ Look, think logically! Even I would love to trek but then it’s 12.30 pm & no sensible person would want to trek in this hot sun”. But then the best & final tactic he tried was: “You are not even wearing your shoes! Those are the new pair of sandals which you want to wear during the wedding we are supposed to attend in Bangalore . I tell, you are making a big mistake”.

Boy , he almost had me with that shrewd talk of his, I do get worried about the footwear !

But I ain't that dumb to take that bait, sorry sir, here we go, I am prepared to sacrifice those sandals of mine for a good view & some nice photographs. I will always have another chance to shop in Bangalore! But trek, we are going ahead with !

By now, seeing that his Madam has had the last word, Hanumantha is happy. “Madam wego” is his immediate question? “Ofcourse we go” I tell him .

It is this route which take to start our climb!

Part - 7: Badami Sightseeing.

The climb begins; I turn back & have a look at the Agastya Teertha Kalyani before I start my trek.

I wasn’t completely convinced of this trek, but then after having been teased so much, I had to be tough ! But then, the brighter side of this trek would be that I would be visiting a place where not many people would have gone. The views might be different & experience would certainly be different. We had by now seen the Rock-cut cave temples & the structural temples (Bhutanatha group of temples) of Badami, so this would be new - oh well , that’s how I tried to console my agitated mind, atleast!

By now, Hanumantha had almost started leading and sensing no other option, my hubby too was following him. But a twist in the tale was, Ashpaaq had to leave as his mother needed his help at home and we were joined by Hanumantha’s new friend, Rajesh! Well, not a problem with us at all!

The sun indeed was hot, remember it’s almost 1.00 pm, the 4 of us march silently ahead. But Hanumantha and his friend guide us dexterously towards the peak. I could not write that the route was smooth! It did have it’s fair share of stones, rocks, bushes and thorns!

The initial climb though, I have to agree was not very hectic. It took us about 20 mins to cover 50% of the climb. Throughout, Hanumantha is narrating various incidents at Badami, details about his activities in school about his parents etc…and then also guidingme with ‘Madam, come here, easy to climb’, ‘Madam, take a photo now, see view good, no?’, ‘Madam, thorn, careful’,! All this while, hubby is cautiously watching the surroundings and still not very keen on completing the climb. On seeing his predicament, I enquire with Hanumantha how much longer it would take to reach the top; he says it’s just another few more minutes. With mock anger, I also warn that I would spank him if the place he was leading us to did not interest us. He grins and reassures us that we woulddefinitely like it.

After another 10 minutes, we are almost 80% through, and the climb from here becomes tricky, as the path is very narrow, steep, lot of bushes and unfriendly lizzies moving around busily minding their job .

I am not able to take as many photos I would want to along the route as I need to concentrate on the climb. My hubby tries his luck one last time , “do you still want to proceed further, it’s 1.30 pm and we might have to climb up another few minutes just for a view? Come on, let’s get back, I am feeling hungry too ”!

Even as he is complaining, Hanumantha is overjoyed to point towards a huge rock and a temple beside the rock. “Madam, over, only 10 minutes more. Come look at the carvings and this temple here.” “That’s it”, I tell my hubby, “let’s just complete this. How can we turn back now ?” Silently we climb up and we are delighted to see these.

It is a very secluded place with no visitors. But then there are carvings on the rock! The

panel of carvings in this remote hidden spot is truly very good! The cistern below those carvings makes it difficult to get a closer look.

The carvings are typical Chalukyan style with Vishnu and his various incarnations being portrayed one beside the other!

A temple too, of Chalukyan time, though in a dilapidated condition.

A view below:

I am very happy that we could finally see something after our little effort in climbing the mountain. Hanumantha tells us that we should now move ahead and reach the mountain top!

10 minutes spent there, we move towards the peak and as promised by Hanumantha, 10 minutes flat we are on the mountain plateau! Hanumantha is busy showing us various views. I am personally relieved that we completed the trek and now to move around a bit and check the place.

The place even at 1.30 pm is cool & breezy! We move to the edge and find as promised by Hanumantha, his ‘India Map’(and our Agastya theertha Kalyani outline)!

I gave that very familiar look to my hubby which conveyed ‘Could it get any better ?’

Was it worth the efforts? Decide once you view the photo below !

It sure was! The view across was completely rewarding and all the credit goes to one and only 'Hanumantha'! He was very curious to know if we liked the place and I assured him that this was the best view we could get of Badami.

It is from this place we could see the other 2 temples which stood still on the opposite mountain, towards the right, Upper & lower Shivalaya! So I tell my hubby, “There it is; now we don’t have to climb again to visit it, satisfied? No point in seeing the same thing again and again, atleast we came here ”! On closer observation, we could see that a few students very seriously studying in these temples!

Upper & lower Shivalaya in a single frame! Take a closer look, one can find students seriously studying in the shade of those temples!

Right below us is the Bhutanatha group of temples and in the background Mallikarjuna Group of temples!

We spend almost 20 minutes here and there, taking photos!

Well, one more photo with another friend of yours I enquire with Hanumantha, to which pat came the reply “Oh sure, Madam” (the same old accent , but then, I wasn’t irritated)!

Hanumantha with his friend Rajesh.

So once we were thru, within 30 minutes we descended the mountain and we were back at the base near the Bhutanatha group of temples where we had started from initially.

On our way back, Hanumantha insisted that I take a photo of the yellow flowers growing in the valley below! So here it is.

We thanked Hanumantha and paid him Rs. 100/- and also gave him another Rs. 50/- to pass it on to Ashpaaq. He was more than happy, to say the least . He also invited us to his house for tea, but after politely refusing for now but promising to drop in next time if we are at Badami, we moved towards the Archaeological Museum in a hurry. All this while we were also wondering if we would get anything for lunch once we returned to the hotel!

The archaeological Museum, Badami! The museum is located at the foothills of the northern hill. It was established in 1976, as a sculpture shed to collect and preserve discovered materials, sculptures, inscriptions scattered in and around Badami.

The museum mainly comprises of pre-historic stone implements and sculptures, architectural members, inscriptions, hero stones etc. datable from 6th to 16th century AD.Timings: 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. (Fridays closed).

Photography is prohibited inside the Museum, hence nothing much to report except that itis worth the visit.

We walk back towards the car parking at the base of the rock-cut cave temples.

By around 3.00 pm, we are back at the hotel. We straight away visit the restaurant and order for much deserved ‘Thali lunch’! Even as we gobble up the lunch, we discuss the next place of interest. But we could start around 4.30 pm that is after resting in the hotel room for an hour or so.

Oh BTW, the thali was yummy - A typical South Indian thali. We opted for 2 rotis insteadof ‘Pooris’, rice, sambhar, rasam, cabbage sabzi (dry vegetable), mixed vegetable curry, curd, papad & pickle!

After a remarkable sightseeing in the morning followed by heavy lunch, it was but natural to get well deserved forty winks ! But 4.30 pm sharp we are back in our vehicle tovisit the ‘Banashankari amma’ temple! This temple visit was highly recommended by the hotel manager as the temple was located in a very nice place and it was quite popular in Badami. After all, the whole day was dedicated to Badami sightseeing, so, here we go!

‘Banashankari Amma’ temple is about 6 Kms from the main market road or from the hotel we stayed at. Hence a leisurely drive of about 10 minutes towards southwest of

Badami, brings us to this small but beautiful temple! How does one know that one is neara temple? Simple, one gets to see this beautiful chariot lying in the open fields quite closeto the temple. Surely, it would be used by the temple during festival processions! Does the color of this chariot and the surroundings suggest anything?

Yes, it does! It is about 4.45 pm; the sun is already quite low and is in a great hurry to hide behind the distant mountains. In the process, he is leaving behind his footprints all over Badami. The scarlet hue covering the sky, mountains, the temple nearby and the roads too gives it a distinct ‘Badami look’!!!

Passing by this chariot we drive ahead for just a few meters where one needs to take a right to move towards the parking lot. The road is very narrow and one has to drive right in front of the temple and park the vehicle in the assigned place after crossing a stone arch. Ofcourse en-route we can meet a few friendly buffaloes, two wheelers and many 4 wheelers too!

The car parking is beside this huge holy water tank, oh yes, the Kalyani! We park the vehicle and instantly are attracted towards it. But we decide to first visit the temple and then at leisure move around at the Kalyani. What an apt decision, it was, you will know shortly !

Anyway we made a beeline towards the temple! An ancient temple lying discarded right beside the Banashankari Amma temple.

The main entrance of the Banashankari Amma temple: As we enter the temple just a bit of an introduction to this temple dedicated to godess ‘Banashankari’ believed to be an incarnation of the goddess Parvati. The temple attracts devotees from Karnataka as well as the neighboring state of Maharashtra. Historians have dated the original temple to the 7th century AD - the Kalyani Chalukya period to Jagadekamalla I in 630 AD (according to epigraphic inscriptions) who installed the idol of the goddess. The present refurbished temple was built in 1750, by Parashuram Agale, a Maratha chieftain.

It is also said that the original temple was in existence even before the reign of the Chalukyas who gave royal favor to the beliefs of the Vaishnava, Shaivaite, Jain and Shakta religious orders.

In the temple courtyard: Two huge Deepa stambhas or the traditional oil lamp posts at theentrance.

Banshankari or also Vanashankari is made up of two Sanskrit words: Bana/vana ("forest")and Shankari ("the consort of Shiva, Parvati"). The temple is popularly called Vanashankari since it is located in the Tilakaaranya forest. The transformation of vana- to bana- reflects a common loanword adaptation in Kannada from Sanskrit words. The otherpopular name given is Shakambhari, which means the "Vegetable Goddess". It is formed by joining of two words Shaka and Ambari. In Sanskrit, Shaka means vegetables or vegan food and Ambari means "one who wears or bears to the hungry". It is said that

Banashankari is the sixth incarnation of the warrior-goddess Durga. Source.

Temple courtyard:

As usual, photography is not allowed inside the inner sanctum sanctorum, so we meekly bow our head in front of the deity inside and dash out.

As we move out, the bell at the entrance seems very attractive! Just could not resist clicking this photo while my hubby tried his luck at ringing the bell! And yes, he did succeed .

As we exit from the temple to the main street, it is about 5.30 pm and surroundings seem magical! The place looks completely picturesque!

We head staright to the Kalyani, where we see many middle aged ladies selling Jowar rotis, Green gram curry and buttermilk to the tourists; It is a common sight here. Well it isn’t time for dinner! But then who can tell them, we find the place little crowded. The view is tempting, but the people around are creating cacophony!

Hence we decided that we would walk along the main street and then enter the Kalyani from the side entrance, which looked more or less deserted!

The street now seemed busier than before but nothing to beat the view it was offering us.

Just look at the smile on that old lady’s face as she knows I was taking her photo !

We speedily moved towards the Kalyani. Aah, the multi-pillared corridor surrounding theKalyani looked most elegant!

The sun shone in between the pillars to create a prefect ambience for a peaceful & romantic evening!

Oh yes, my hubby remembered that I was the one taking photos right thru the day and I should also be given an opportunity to come in front of the camera once in a while ! Thank god for small mercies . But then, how could I let go of the opportunity of clicking some gorgeous photos in this scenic place! Initially, I did mention about a certain apt decision to move around this Kalyani at leisure remember? This was the perfect time, I bet.

If we were busy going click click, there were others, surely engrossed in their own jobs:

I am too busy for a photo shoot, so here I fly away:

Outside:

We had spent almost an hour walking around and taking photographs and thoroughly

enjoying the cool breeze in that serene atmosphere. We had taken photos from all possible angles, but then were definitely not satisfied, the place is worth much much more! But then we will have to now say good bye and return to the hotel, so what do we do? What else, take one last photo of this place! Greedy that we are, wanted the whole of this 'gorgeous Kalyani' to be captured in one frame'. Alas, that will remain a dream! But try, we did !

As the Sun went down slowly we also moved towards our vehicle. Most of the places in Badami were visited, we thought! And how wonderful it was, the whole day. As we droveback towards the hotel, this school with a huge playground drew our attention to it.

Hmmm, once upon a time we too had the opportunity to play in such huge grounds as we attended the schools. But now, open spaces are a rare sight, especially in big metro cities, we thought. Yikes, I whack the back of my head and tell myself, why am I thinking aboutcity life when we are in such a wonderful place!

We were back at the hotel around 7.00 pm. Too early for dinner and not very keen on watching some TV program, so we briefly go thru the Aihole details from the hotel brochure make some interesting observations. By about 8.00 pm decided to visit the nearby hotel ‘Heritage resort’ for dinner.

The place is excellent. We ordered for Thali lunch, yes again !! It was highly recommended by the captain of the restaurant, if I am not mistaken his name would be Raju. Before our dinner thali arrived, friendly captain cum assistant (for whatever), showed me around the resort and the cottages.

Loved those earthen lanterns lighted along the pathway.

Our dinner arrived in about 20 minutes, and surely it was ‘Yuummmyyy’!Dry Bhindi (lady finger) sabzi, green gram curry, rasam, vegetable sambhar, (Yeaaaa) Vermicelli Kheer (pudding), curd, papad, rotis & rice, green chilly on top!! What a dinnerit was and what a way to end the day, to be precise night !

Only thing I could mutter before hitting the sack and dreaming about the next morning was “Annadaata sukhi Bhava” ("May the Lord bestow happiness upon the one putting food (on the table)".)!! “Oh you are welcome ”, pat came the reply from my hubby who I believed had already dozed off !! “Huh, that wasn’t for you. I meant Raju at Heritage hotel resort who served us that hot, spicy & tasty dinner ”!!

Part - 8: Aihole Sightseeing.

November 20, 2011: New morning, new place to visit & lot of expectations, especially after having visited those wonderful monuments at Badami.

We had decided that we would visit Aihole & Pattadakal today and if possible ‘Mahakoota’ which would be on our way back to Badami, once we had completed our

visit at the places mentioned initially. It would be a hectic day, was very clear! But would the place be as good if not more than the one already seen? That would be answered shortly, the minute we land at Aihole, the first place of our visit !

Previous night we had enquired about the availability of food at Aihole & Pattadakal as we would be away for the whole day! We were informed by the hotel manager that there were small street side stalls where one would get fresh rotis (Indian bread) & curry & some snacks to tide over. Hence we were not much worried. It is 9.00 am; we are ready tojump into our vehicle after a light breakfast of Masala dosa and a strong cup of sugarless coffee.

On our way we refuelled our vehicle at a small ‘Indian oil’ petrol pump just a Kilometer away from our hotel! We full & our vehicle full, too , ready to hit the road and enjoy the day!

OK, let me warn at the outset that henceforth it would be temples & temples and more temple visits! So if one has already had enough of temples, architecture and cave-templesfrom my Badami report, better rethink before one proceeds ahead!

Having issued that warning , we can safely proceed further. Aihole can be reached from Badami in more than 1 route. The roads in the villages are well connected hence with little enquiry here and there and with the help of a few ‘sign boards’, one can easily maketheir way towards Aihole!

One of the sign boards as we travel towards Aihloe, surprisingly no mention of Aihole here! But not to worry, we are told by a passerby, you will have to drive via Pattadakal to reach Aihole! Aah, relieved, we thought!

Aihole is around 48 Kms from Badami by road. It would be approximately an hour’s drive, if the road condition would be good, is what our first thoughts were. Oh surely, the road condition was good in more than one sense , at least for me ! Within 15 minutes of our drive, I could spot a ‘black beauty’ perched atop an electric pole!! Immediately I told my hubby that there was no need to speed up and just fly to Aihloe! ‘Sightseeing we would complete, I promise, I will not even deviate from the original plan and for sure no trekking , but please, puhleeeaase don’t drive fast and deny me the opportunity of sighting some birds en-route ’, I was almost on my knees in the vehicle itself! Just imagine my plight !! Let it be!!

Not even a few minutes of drive further; there is this sweet chirp from atop a tree! Brake please, I need to explore, I feel there is something interesting! Hubby dear, how much I love him (better I start buttering him from now itself, was my thought ), pulls over to a side ! Stealthily I sneaked into a field and took this snap! There was this chick and it’s mom sitting beside it. Infact, I could get a beautiful snap of the nest too, but I learned only later that nest & nesting places are not to be published!

So moving ahead, the sight of those fields and the haystacks made for a beautiful sight!

With camera in my hand everything seems to me a beautiful sight, just wonder what others might be feeling!!

Oh yes, I could also spot a ‘not-so-friendly hoopoe’ too! Now I start wondering, how come suddenly I am able to spot these wonderful birds! Never in Mumbai could I see so many birds…who cares Mumbai or Badami, I am getting to click these, that’s should be good enough!

It was almost 45 minutes since we started our drive from Badami and how much distance had we covered, hardly 15 kms ! Hmmm, now I can see that my hubby was getting impatient and wasn’t keen on all those ‘birdie stops’! With a heavy heart, I told him that we would now surely concentrate on reaching Aihole as early as possible and forget thesebirds! Hubby is happy and is now concentrating on the road and is able to cover next 10 Kms in 6 minutes flat. But poor me, sat tight lipped and watching from the corners of my eyes various birds either flying or perching very close ! On certain occasions ofcourse I did try to make those appropriate noises like ‘wow’, ‘Oh my god, look at that one’ or ‘Ohlovely, but huh let it be’ and those long heavy sighs in between, definitely did the trick ! Finally not able to bear, my hubby did relent to let me click some more photos of the birds, that is, if I sighted them !

Another 15 minutes, we were almost in Aihole. Totally engrossed with the birds, I almost forgot to mention that the road condition from Badami to Aihloe is good if not excellent. Frankly, I concentrated a little less on the road and more on the electric poles & wires, forobvious reasons, but I assure there were no bad patches!

Around 10.30 am, and just 1 ½ hrs drive we are at Aihole and infact right in front of the main temple complex! We park the vehicle and check if it is too crowded, it’s SUNDAY! The place looks calm and peaceful with a few families visiting various temples. Hmmm, a big sigh of relief!

As my hubby waits at the ticket counter to purchase the entry tickets, a brief introduction to this magnificent place called ‘Aihole’!!

Aihole is a temple complex in Bagalkot district. It is one of the most prominent places in the history of art in the state in north Karnataka. A picturesque place located along the Malaprabha River, Aihole undoubtedly is a very popular tourist spot. Ayyavole and Aryapura are the other names mentioned in the inscriptions. Now the place is known as Aihole, or Ayyhole, considered to have been a prominent city in the Badami Chalukyan times from 6th to the 12th century.

The lawn, as we enter the temple complex!

The monuments have been taken under the care of Archaeological survey of India and thesame has done an exceptional job of restoring & maintaining the monuments. One look atthese temples and one will realize why it is historically famous as “the cradle of Hindu temple architecture”. The village has 125 temples divided into 22 groups scattered all

over the village and nearby fields, as per the Archaeological Department. Most of these temples were built between the 6th & 8th centuries and some even earlier, I gather.

As one stands near the lawn and pans across the whole complex, instantly one’s eyes are fixed to this extra-ordinary testimonial of the Chalukyan temple architecture!!

The Durga temple, as seen from the main entrance!!

Just a little more useful information about the Chalukyan architecture as we visit various temples , I promise not to go in detail after this !! The early Chalukyas inherited architectural styles largely from their neighbors to the north and south of their kingdom. Usage of curved towers decorated with blind arches came from northern India. Plastered walls with panel inserts are a southern Indian style. The usage of Deccan style is in their balcony seating, angled eaves and sloping roofs, and elaborately carved columns and ceilings (George Michell, 1997). In short, they artistically brought together the prevailing styles in their neighborhood to create the Chalukya style. Source.

This complex houses the most exclusive & most visited temples like Durga temple, Ladkhan, Suryanagudi, Gowdara gudi etc, a visual treat for a connoisseur of architecture as well as a lay-man apart from being a photographer’s delight !

So without any further delay, we move straight towards the most illustrious structure, to me personally, Durga Gudi (Gudi meaning Temple in Kannada)! I have promised not to write much and bore, so kindly read the useful info displayed in front of this temple!! This sure helps to understand the structure and to photograph the important places inside the temple!

Old habits die hard , so just for our information, Durga gudi contrary to it’s name doesn’t mean temple dedicated to goddess Durga, it refers to a fort; apparently at one time the building was used as a military outpost (durg), so says the ASI site. One can spend hours photographing at this particular place.

The temple's much talked & discussed about remarkable apsidal form is thought to imitate the earlier Buddhist chaitya halls. An inner wall of similar shape encloses the hall.An incomplete tower/shikhara perches on the roof above the main temple.

To the left hand side as we face the temple! A small Kalyani!

As we climb up the stairs and land on the platform in front of the main hall! Beautiful buthuge pillars of the corridor! Closer look at the pillar which depicts passionate couple! Carvings on the roof!

Intricate carving which depicts a conventional yet very modern styled lotus creepers,fish, encircled by a band of lotus plants, converging at the centre! Lot of resemblance to the one found in Badami rock-cut cave temple!

Absolutely gorgeous panel depicting King of Serpents, with a garland in his right hand!

We will now enter the main hall and move towards the inner sanctum santorum. Once we are thru inside we could take a walk along the outer corridor which houses the most extra-ordinary carvings.

The carvings around the entrance to the inner hall is beautiful & detailed.

As we enter the hall, it is clear that the inner sanctum sanctorum is devoid of any deity!

Now back to the outer corridor, of this temple. The pillars!

The passage to take a walk along the corridor! The temple houses sculptures relating to Vishnu in his various incarnations & Shiva!

The panel along the platform:

Those attractive windows!

Now, as we walk along the corridor - Various sculptures one gets to view!

Narasimha Avatar (Man-lion incarnation):

Vishnu with his feathered vehicle, Garuda. Though the Garuda looks strange, a few feathers are visible to the right of the figure.

Vishnu's Varaha (wild boar) incarnation: Depicting Bhu Devi being rescued, while keeping the snakes suppressed under is left foot.

The Mahishasura mardhini (Durga slaying the demon Mahishasura)!

In all probability, this figurine could be Harihara - with celestial bodies depicted above the head and assuming that it is Gana and a female attendant at the feet of this sculpture.

It is difficult to absorb and enjoy each and every sight this structure offers in a very short period of time, there are so many such amazing structures to be visited. So taking that into consideration, we move out. Just before moving ahead, one last photo of this wonderful 'Durga Gudi'!

Part - 9: Aihole Sightseeing

Once the Durga Gudi was visited, we now wanted to proceed towards the other part of this temple complex where some popular temples are housed. This group of three templesmainly being Suryana Gudi, Gowdara Gudi & Ladkhan temple. There are also a few smaller temples. But we needed to visit the archaeological museum too, another important part of this temple complex which lies exactly opposite to the Durga Gudi. We

decided that all the temples should be covered first and at leisure one could visit the Museum!

A small but pretty temple deserves to be clicked as we move towards the Surya temple.

There are many small temples around the Durga gudi and it becomes increasingly confusing as to which temple belongs to or is dedicated to which deity!

We reach the Suryana Gudi and found it to be a small temple! With some time on hand and seeing a few people hovering near the Ladkhan temple, we decided to check out this temple 1st.

This temple is assigned to 7th or 8th century. The Garbhagriha or the inner sanctum sanctorum’s doorframe has Garuda (Lord Vishnu’s Vehicle)!

The sanctum sanctorum has 2 feet tall beautiful idol believed to be of Surya (Sun) which seemed to be illuminated! The peculiar thing being there weren’t any windows through which sunrays could make its way.

The Ladkhan temple is the next temple in the immediate vicinity, but being a popular temple structure next to Durga Gudi, it had its fair share of visitors hence we decided to move to the farthest end and visit “Goudara Gudi" believed to be the oldest and is assigned to 5th Century!

The temple stands typically on a solid stone platform and has multi-pillared hall and a garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum).

The temple may have been dedicated to some goddess! One can observe certain ancient Kannada inscriptions on the lintel.

Ladkhan temple: This temple bears a lot of resemblance to the ‘Goudara gudi’ at the first sight and is located adjacent to the Goudara gudi! But the temple is much more beautiful and grand.

It is a popular belief that the temple was converted into a residence by a prince/saint named (Lad Khan) in later years, thus the name. The temple's sloping two-tiered roof surely seems to be based on a wooden construction design. The temple is built in a Panchayat Hall Style indicating a very early experiment in temple construction.

The mukha mandapa in front of the sanctum has a set of 12 carved pillars.

As we enter the inner hall, we can see a massive stone Nandi, the vehicle of lord Shiva. Atrivia here : The board outside the temple mentions that Pulakeshi I had performed a horse sacrifice in this hall and the same hall was used later for many religious functions.

This temple now houses a Shiva Linga.

The walls with artistic lattice work windows and the light emerging from them make for apretty picture.

Back into the outer porch, on the pillar: Carving of a passionate couple with a maid at their feet.

On another pillar, an elegant or royal motif: Parasol and crossed chauris (royal hand-held fans), two panels with lotus flowers. The last row depicts dwarf figurines probably (ganas) playing musical instrument.

A view of the lattice work windows from outside! Also one can observe small temple rests on the top of Garbhagriha with a ‘Harihara’ figurine!

Considerable time had been spent in this part of the temple complex. We could see more temples being restored around the main temple complex. This one did not have a direct approach hence could take only one photo. It is the ‘Badiger Gudi’, assigned to 9th century originally a Surya (sun) temple. It has a curvilinear tower on the Garbhagriha. This is considered to be a Badami Chalukyan Monument!

Again - Durga Gudi at a distance !! This structure is the centre of attraction wherever one moves around!

We are almost through with the 'Kontigudi group of temples' and heading towards the Archaeological temple when this small but very picturesque temple caught our attention. Though initially we did feel that it would be like one of the few temples we have already visited, we did not want to miss having a look at it’s interiors.

That proved to be a wise decision as the temple was very different from the ones we had visited.

The massive pillars inside this small temples were extremely decorative and made a greatsight for good photographs!

The inner sanctum sanctorum was empty, though.

We had covered all the temples in the complex and hence as decided initially we would head towards the Archaelogical Museum .

Part - 10: Aihole Sightseeing

The museum is located right opposite to the Durga Gudi in the same complex. It was originally planned as a sculpture shed in the year 1970 and was converted in to a full-fledged museum in the year 1987.

Archaelogical Museum:The museum mainly comprises of stone sculptures of

Brahmanical, Jaina and Buddhist faith, fragmentary carved architectural members, inscriptions, hero stones, sati stones, etc. Period wise they range in date from 6th century AD to 15th century AD. These antiquities were acquired through exploration, excavation and scientific debris clearance near the protected monuments.Timings: 10.00 am to 5.00 pmClosed on - Friday

(Photography is strictly prohibited inside the Museum) One can photograph the artifacts exhibited in the open air gallery, though.

The museum comprises of six galleries and an open air gallery. One of the galleries accommodates bird’s eye view model of Aihole and its environs (Malaprabha valley) with location of various monuments.

The hero stones:

A variety of Ganesha sculptures, Saptamatrikas with archaic features, Nataraja, Ambika of Jaina affinity, attractive sculpture of Bodhisatva and a mutilated anthropomorphic figire of Megalithic period are some of the important exhibits.

Sapthamatrikas:

The exhibits comprise of sculpture of Saiva, Sakta, Ganapatya, Vaishanva, Jaina and Buddhist affinity.

The objects displayed reflect Chalukyan style of art and architecture besides socio-religious and cultural aspects of the early medieval period.

Varuna on Makara (Rain God on Crocodile)

Nataraja:

Beheaded Sheshanaag(coiled serpent king)!

Extract

Everything seen in this complex, we head out towards the car parking area, but we have this small complex which houses the ‘Ambiger Gudi’ a few temples mostly ignored by visitors. This is right in front of the main gate of Durga Gudi temple complex. It wasn’t fair to just pass by this gate and not take peek inside, even if it meant a quick visit, we went in to glance through.

‘Ambiger Gudi’: Ambiga is a person who rows the boat - a boatsman. Boatsmen community must have resided close to this place hence the name. The main temple standson a stone platform:

This complex has not been restored completely even though it is taken care of by the ASI.On closer observation, one can see the ruins!

The doorframe of the mantapa seems highly embellished:

Another temple:

The roof:

So here we are, had thoroughly explored the place and the temples. It was 12.45 pm by now.

Most of the visitors to Aihole visit the Durga Gudi & Ladkhan temple and if possible the other smaller temples in the immediate vicinity. We too had decided that if we could not find time to visit all the important structures in Aiole we would visit only the main temples and proceed towards Pattadakal. But, the list we were carrying with us also mentioned about a few other temples of some importance. We are not going to visit Aihole every now and then, would we? No, so when we are here, let us drop in and visit as many temples in our list and make a move towards Pattadakal, was our thought while we were having tender coconut water near the car parking . That was one refreshing drink! It was comfortably warm by now and the ‘Masala dosa’ breakfast had fast vanished from our stomach, so the tender coconut water did give us the much needed kick , and we proceeded towards…Hucchimalli temple.

Just a kilometer away from the main temple complex of Aihole, to the north of the villagelies a beautiful group of temples - Huchimalli Group of Temples.

We were extremely happy to see this completely isolated place with an extremely beautiful temple!

But our happiness was short lived as a tempo traveler full of visitors arrived at the spot . Me and my hubby were still wondering as to how we would manage to get some photos in this place and spend some peaceful time when one of the male members from that group speedily ran into the temple, examined the place and yelled back to his co-travelersin Kannada ‘le irlibidro, enu illa, same gudi same devaru, time waste maadodu beda kanro’(Listen, don’t even get out (from the vehicle), nothing is there, same temple & same deity, let us not waste time)!! Gosh , his hoarse voice should have actually put us off, but one silent glance at my hubby , confirmed that he was equally thrilled like me andit almost sounded like music to our ears ! We can be mean too, now, right? But then it was their choice to leave immediately and who are we to stop anybody ? Within 2 minutes the tempo traveler left the place and me & my hubby almost did a jig !

Well the actual reason for that jig, I would explain now. At the main Aihole temple complex, we were not allowed to carry the tripod; hence we could not click as many photos with me and hubby in a single frame. When we reached this place and saw that wewere free to use tripod we were almost on , but that was short lived as the group had

arrived just immediately!

But now…celebration time !! Huh, whoever is interested in my useless banter? Let us proceed inside the compound.

This compound houses 3 temples, and stands royally on an elevated platform.

The Majestic temple dedicated to Shiva.

A small Kalyani with steps from one side, to the left as we enter the compound! It has beautiful carvings on the inner and outer walls.

Mostly Patel shots were taken here , hence, not many photographs of the interiors of the temple! But I can post the photo of this beautiful curvilinear Shikhara (the tower) on the Garbha griha (inner sanctum sanctorum) of the main temple.

A close up of the figurine on the Shikhara - A Nataraja (Shiva in dancing posture)!

Shikhara from another angle:

This place definitely deserves a visit by people who come to Aihole. The best part of this visit apart from getting to see this temple was an opportunity to see a few friendly souls, who did not mind our presence there and we had no business minding their presence at the temple complex! After all people do need a break from ‘Temples, Temples and more temples’, right? Loved this place, let me reiterate!

Next, we would proceed to ‘Ravan phadi’ and those of you who visited Aihole & did not visit this place, please do not repeat the mistake and those who are planning to visit Aihole, add it to the top priority list of must visit places along with Durga Gudi, Ladkhan temple & the archaeological museum!

Part - 11: Aihole Sightseeing

Makara Sankranti Special - Caution, a lengthy special edition at that !!

Visit to Hucchimalli temple was a real treat for us who had thought that Aihole is all about ‘Durga gudi and Ladkhan temple’! As we moved ahead visiting each and every structure one after the other, we were totally in awe of the whole place. What a contrast this place was from Badami, where mostly the rock-cut cave temples and the sculpture there had hogged complete limelight as against the structural temples! But Aihole was full of structural temples, ofcourse many are restored and are still in the process of being restored, till date.

So,as mentioned in my previous post, we move towards‘Ravanaphadi’ CAVE TEMPLE! Yes, it is a rock-cut cave temple in Aihole, and what A place it is! Just a few hundred meters away from Hucchimallimalli group of temple, lies this cave temple.

Just like majority of visitors who visit Aihole and leave immediately after visiting the main temple complex, we too would have proceeded towards ‘Pattadakal’ but for the printout of ‘list of temples in Aihole’, which I was holding in my hands constantly. Once we visited Huchhimalli temples, we did a complete ‘U’ turn and decided to visit as many temples as possible on our way back lest we miss out on something nice! It is this decision which helped us in stopping right in front of ‘Ravana phadi’! From the road, thismini mountain (more of a huge boulder, by the looks of it , hardly attracts any visitors. But as the wise ones say ‘do not judge the book by its cover’ and certainly don’t judge this place just by a glance ! For us it was a 'treasure trove'!

Ravan Phadi: The place does look very inviting, perfectly maintained lawn, tree with yellowish white blossom, a huge Nandi (Shiva’s vehicle) and the neat entrance to this cave makes for a perfect picture except for this broken column. Again a great job of restoration & maintenance by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). This 6th Centurycave temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.

We could do with a clear view, right? Here it is. We can observe that the cave temple stands on a high platform and it’s exterior is simple and yet well-designed with 2 columnssupporting the roof. Also there are isolated shrines on either side.

Moving ahead towards the entrance of the cave, we pass by this huge Bull:

Let us get a closer look of the cave entrance; we can clearly see the carvings of the guard deities & entrance decorated with reliefs of pot-bellied deities on either side.

The independent temple to the right of the cave temple, simple but the carvings are clearly visible on the door frame, lintel & the pillars!

We move on to the main cave temple: As we enter the cave temple one is automatically transported to an entirely different world! We are left speechless for seconds. The cave entrance opens into a hall with main temple sanctorum (fairly big) right in front of the main entrance. One could also see the huge figurines at the left hand corner. Just to give the a sense of depth, I have taken this photo slightly moving towards the right side of the main entrance!

Hold your breath. A big chamber on the right hand side as we stand near the main entrance. This chamber does not have any carvings or idols inside. But the sculpture adorning the exteriors are simply beautiful!

Seemed more like a chaitya hall, inside the chamber!

Also a narrow chamber to the left hand side could be seen , but we will come here at leisure once we finish off visiting the inner sanctum sanctorum !

The entrance of inner sanctum has this guard deity on the left side. The trident and snake

complete the embellishment!

Inside the inner sanctum sanctorum, towards one corner (right side) we have this huge Mahishasuramardhini (Godess slaying the demon king Mahishasur):

Another view:

To the left of the sanctum sanctorum, wall is decorated with a huge sculpture of “Varaha” (relief depicting Vishnu in his Varaha incarnation). On his arm rest Bhudevi- goddess earth!

Having inspected the inner sanctum, we come back to the Main hall of this temple and here starts our visual treat, which I had kept for last! The chamber & the side walls of the temple hall are full of life size reliefs of Shiva and Vishnu. By now we are familiar with almost all of the sculptures of Badami and the same can be seen here. But the difference being, this rock cut cave temple could not even be half the size of the ones we have visited in Badami. But the sculptures are huge and exhibits lot of details! Less talk more photos!

The narrow chamber with exquisite carving of “Nataraj"! This relief is also considered bya few as depiction Shiva's triumphal dance after he defeated the demon Andhaka.

Close up reveals that it is not only exquisite but also stunning! 10 armed Shiva in dancingposture flanked by Parvati and figurine of a healthy looking Ganesh. Shiva's extended upper body, the head gear; beautifully designed pleated garments may resemble the Early Western Chalukya style in sculpture.

On the adjacent walls (on either sides) of this Nataraja, one can see figurines of females (could be the Sapta Matrikas). The features are beautiful so are their postures!

A close up of these female carving, with the Nataraja's face in the foreground:

Having taken the photos inside this shallow chamber, it was time to inspect the main hall as it contained maximum number of carvings. All the 4 corners had different carvings andeach one deserves its fair share of attention!

Let us start with the one right beside the inner sanctum sanctorum! Two large carved figures stand to the right as you face the entrance to the inner sanctum sanctorum.

The figure at photo left is a form of Shiva; he wears a skull in his headdress, and his righthand bears a staff with entwining snake. Another snake appears above his left shoulder. The figure at photo right is Harihara, a deity that is half-Vishnu, half-Shiva. The figure has four arms, the upper arms being faint and shallowly carved. His right upper hand bears a snake, and the right half of his headdress bears a crescent moon, both symbols of Shiva. His left upper hand bears the conch, a symbol of Vishnu. Source

Another corner of this hall which is highly embellished is the extreme right corner, immediately as when one enters the main hall. The huge relief of Shiva & parvati and a sage next to Shiva in a meditating pose! Certain posts on the web refers to the sage as ‘Agastya’ and some also mention it to be the figurine of ‘Bhringi’! Also one can observe celestial bodies in the corner!

Also the panel running close to the ground/floor has some interesting dwarf sculptures too!

Now that we have had a look at almost all the nook & corners of this place, just to give perspective of the main hall and the inner sanctum sanctorum together in a single frame, here is a photo! Kindly ignore the tripod & my ‘hubby dear’ in the frame ! This photo is taken from the chamber where no art work could be seen!

One might have already noticed the work on the roof in the previous photo! So why leaveit without an exclusive photo - the roof carvings!Sheer bliss to watch this, nothing more to add! Take a look and we will exit from here.

Even as we exit, a photo or two of the sculpture which adorns the entrance from within the temple : Make no mistake in identifying the details, the right hand holds a 'Trishul' and the head gear has the ardha chandra (Half moon) which denotes Lord Shiva and the left side of the figurine shows the elegant female standing posture, a bosom, a very decorative piece adorning the left ankle (serpent!!) and the face of a lady - Yes it is the Ardha Naareeshwar!

So out in the open, time to start from here! But just before we leave, this cute little templestanding alone at a distance needed to be clicked!

Only one more place needed to be visited here in Aihole, we thought and that was Megutitemple, which again, is just a few hundred meters away from Ravana phadi. Even as we drive towards Meguti temple, we see along the side of the road, some temples being restored:

But we proceed towards Meguti, perched on a hillock. The approach to this temple is quite bad.

Infact the flight of steps starts suddenly in between a residential locality. We did manage to reach the base of this hillock but the thought of climbing up the stairs in the hot sun, did put us off. I should accept, by now I was tired a bit and was not very keen on climbing the steps but some write ups had mentioned that one could get a clear view of Aihole temple complex from the top of this place, so we were in 2 minds whether to venture or not. In the meantime I did take 2 snaps from the base from our vehicle.

We decided that it would be better to proceed ahead and visit some other temple if we spot en-route ‘Pattadakal’ rather than climbing up the steps here. So that was a short visit,wasn’t it !

Hmmm may be another kilometer travelled, we found a narrow mud road with fortified walls and a nearby info board mentioned that there was a Gauri temple and a group of Jain temples inside the complex. So, what else could be expected of us? Immediately we parked the vehicle, ate 3 ‘GOOD DAY’ biscuits each, oh yes, we had to eat something , we would reach Pattadakal a little late and we had not seen any hotels or roadside stalls inthe immediate vicinity. For such emergencies it was only wise to carry something with us, right? Felt better after gobbling up those biscuits and then we continued with our exploration.

The road towards the temple complex!

One more, with the temple visible.

And what do we see as we are standing right in front of the temple cluster? We were totally taken aback with sight in front of us!

Actually, the Jain group of temples is located to the left and the Gauri temple to the right. My hubby was totally confused as to which one we would visit first!

Well, the jain group would be first! It is located right in the middle of the village, atleast it seemed so. It is referred to as Jaina Narayana or the Yogi Narayana group of temples.

This group has 3 Temples and is assigned to 11th Century. We immediately made a beeline to check what we could see inside. Oh well, we were not alone!

What could be there inside? Nothing much, really! The Garbha griha ( inner sanctum sanctorum) is empty but we could see a platform highly decorated as also the main doorframe completely decked with carvings. A small carving of ‘Mahavira’ in the middle of the doorframe closer to the lintel can be seen.

Ofcourse a closer look at the seat where a huge idol could have been placed centuries ago!

We moved to other smaller temples in that group.

One particular temple had this stone idol of ‘Mahavira’ intact, seated on a platform, lowerpanel of which had carvings of lions!

With the flash on, one more !

We came out wondering why these temples were not being maintained or restored completely.

Anyway, we next moved towards the temple which stood right in front of the Jain group of temples!

By the looks of it, a solid stone structure, may be slightly restored. But would it be worth visiting?

Let us check up!

Now, what does one say ? Absolutely wonderful! It is the Gauri temple.

It was extremely surprising to see such a wonderful temple lying uncared and also probably not visited by many!

This virupaksha Temple with a Shivlinga in the inner sanctum sanctorum has 2 female figurines in the mantapa!

The Shiva linga:

Godess Gauri/Parvati:

Every nook and corner has some carving! The pillars too very well done and closer observation did suggest a ‘Lord Vishnu’s worship’ here!

Tremendously satisfied with this visit, we moved back towards our vehicle. It was high time we started back towards ‘Pattadakal’. It was 1.45 pm and we were yet to have our lunch too! 'So no more stops, it would be a non-stop drive and immediately after our halt we would dash off for lunch', were the words of my hubby! “Yes Sir, no arguments on that issue’ I mumbled but thought to myself ‘there goes my chance of clicking birds en-route ’. Hmmmm, could not risk uttering it loud, one never knows how a starved person reacts, you see ! It is about 2.30 pm!

So a half an hour's drive and by 3.00 pm we are at the main gate of Pattadakal temple complex. It is slightly hot. We had to first have our lunch before we could think of anything else. Parked the vehicle and reached the nearest stall which was serving hot ‘Jowari rotis’ (A type of Indian bread made of sorghum seeds).

Hotel Chalukya !

My Thali: Cluster Beans dry sabzi, Black eye beans curry, Jowari rotis, pickles, a small cup of curd and Chutney powder (dry spicy powder is the best I could translate it to, but to know more about Chutney click here )was served. Also rice and Rasam, was served later. Freshly made rotis definitely tasted yummy!

Once we had our lunch, we decided to take it easy from here. It is 3.30 pm and we could comfortably visit the entire temple complex at leisure but would have to skip ‘Mahakoota’ on our way back to Badami, we thought! That’s OK, one cannot see everything in one visit ! There can always be a next time; Hampi is one place we might want to visit very soon, so… .

Before we could start our next visit, we saw this interesting sight by the roadside next to the temples!

In the background one can see the ancient Pattadakal ruins standing still and here a machine methodically going on about it's business! What a contrast!

I have not forgotten about moving ahead, just taking some time out before we embark upon a heavy dose of 'temple visit' in my next edition !

Here is a peek of the place where we would be heading soon

Part - 12: Pattadakal Temples

A heavy lunch, some rest definitely did good to us and we were ready for some serious temple visits here onwards. Just standing near the main gate of the ‘Pattadakal temple complex’, I wondered how different the place was when compared to a few other places we had already visited! Could we take a look at this temple complex, from a distance?

We had seen Badami & Aihole by this time and when compared to those places, just by a glance we could make out that this place had excellent structural temples! Badami had more popular rock-cut cave temples where as Aihole did see the introduction of structuraltemples but the temples were all at nascent stage when compared to the temples we were in front of, at Pattadakal!

We walked on the path alongside the green lawn where many kids were merrily playing cricket. But even as we walked we could watch the rear side of those beautiful temples we were about to visit!

Me and hubby decided that it would be wise to hire the services of a guide here who would show us the temples in a systematic manner. The guides are easily available at the entrance. They are appointed by the ASI and are quite knowledgeable about the details of the place & temple structure. So with a guide by our side we moved ahead -

Pattadakal: Useful info: The Archaeological Survey of India’s website: Pattadakal Intro provides excellent information about these temples.

Pattadakal or Pattada Kisuvola (red town), a small town that is renowned for its ancient temples, is believed to be the place where the early Chalukyan emperors had their pattabanda (coronation). The Temples of Pattadakal, exhibit the zenith of 'Vesara' style of Hindu temple architecture. Owing to its incredible temples, Pattadakal was titled a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987.

Historical PerspectiveThe history of Pattadakal goes back even earlier to the Pre-Chalukyan period. The place has cultural vestiges ranging in date from the pre-historic times. In ancient times, this

place was known as Kisuvolal (valley of red soil) or Pattada-Kisuvolal or Raktapura. In the literary works it was better known as ‘Petirgal’ by Ptolemy in his ‘Geography’ (2nd Century A.D.), Kisuvolal (Kavirajamarga of Srivijaya c. A.D. 840) and Pattasilapura or Hammirapura (Hammirakavya by Singiraja c. A.D. 1500).

The early Chalukyan reign reached its zenith here during Vinayaditya’s period (c. A.D. 681-96). The Chalukyan monarchs were being crowned in this place as mentioned in the epigraphs and literature of early medieval period and hence the place name Pattadakal - the place of coronation. The group of temples built during the period of Chalukyas of Badami (7th-8th Centuries A.D.), is the landmark of this place. It was a great center of Chalukyan Art, Architecture, and Sculpture as gleaned by inscriptions.

The sculptures are characterized by grace, rich imagination and delicate anatomical and ornamental details. It was a place of political, historical, religious and cultural activities. Pattadakal flourished as a cultural capital mainly due to its strategic and auspicious location, where the river Malaprahari takes a northerly turn (uttaravahini). Subsequently it became a political, historical and religious centre.

Architectural Achievements

On a pillar close to Virupaksha temple, Pattadakal!

The political stability, abundant material prosperity combined with peaceful atmosphere, and a high level of religious tolerance in the Chalukyan dominion fostered all round cultural development.

A number of indigenous elements were harmoniously blended with the architectural and sculptural traits of the northern and southern styles, then in vogue. The greatest contribution of the Chalukyas of Badami thus, is the evolving of the two main temple styles - the southern dravida-vimana and the northern rekha nagara prasada type through a series of experimentations that commenced at Aihole, continued at Badami and culminated at Pattadakal. The epigraphs record the date and persons responsible for the temple construction besides containing information on the architects and artists of the period, enhancing the significance of these structures. In a nutshell, the temples of Pattadakal “provide a striking illustration of the co-existence of different building styles and artistic traditions”.

The sign board on the left of the pathway indicated from where we would start our visit!

It would be the Kadasiddeshwara temple! It is a modest temple, probably built in the middle of 7th Century AD. It does seem to be from the initial period of structural temple architecture. It is built on a high platform.

The temple has some simple carvings on the lintel. The ornate doors also have the guard deities! The shikhara can be seen on the Garbha Griha!

Next we move on to the Jambulinga temple, which is almost exactly the same as the first one! It has a Nandi bull in front of the entrance.

The shikhara displays a carving of Nataraja, Shiva in dancing posture.

The temple has a small hall as one enters and a garbha griha (inner sanctum sanctorum where in one can see the Shivling!

As we move ahead, the 3rd in the row is Galaganatha temple also dedicated to Shiva. A more stylish and bigger temple of the three, we observe. Built in rekha-nagara prasada style - Galaganath temple which was built in AD 750, seems to be more attractive structure and the concentration of sculpture too seems more complicated than the previous 2 small temples.

It is here that one can make out the difference between the temples at Badami & Aihole which had more of life size reliefs. Where as in Pattadakal, it is actually the temple architecture & more compact yet classy sculpture that one gets to watch! Also one can easily observe that here the temple exterior has more sculpture than the temple interiors.

Lord Shiva at Galaganatha temple adorns the exteriors of the temple wall:

It is here that the guide showed us that iron was used even during the ‘Chalukyan’ period!They were used in temple construction!

There are some huge structures, yet to be restored to it’s original glory, around the main temples!

Galaganatha temple Sikhara:

The next temple to be visited was the “Sangameshwara” temple. This temple is believed to be the oldest temple in Pattadakal, built in Dravidian style.

The most significant among the temples depicting the typical South Indian temple architecture, it was constructed by Vijayaditya Satyasraya (697-733 AD).

A view of the outer wall.

It has a hall with massive pillars!

Ancient inscriptions too can be found here.

Inner sanctum sanctorum with Shivalinga!

Once we were out of the Sangameshwara temple, the nearby temple with excellent sculpture naturally caught our attention. It was the ‘Virupaksha temple’! The monolithic pillar even before we move towards the entrance, makes it’s presence felt!

This Virupaksha temple, in worship, is also known as ‘Shri Lokeswara-Maha-Sila-prasada’ from the epigraphs, was built by Lokamahadevi, the Queen of Vikaramaditya II (A.D.733-745) in about A.D.740 to commemorate her husband’s victory over the Pallavas of Kanchipuram. It is believed that the temple closely resembles the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram on plan and elevation and represents a fully developed and perfected stage of the Dravidian architecture.

The external walls of the temple cluster in this place, are highly embellished with skilful sculptures. One can keep photographing here till one feels completely exhausted, but he/she would not have covered the entire place, by the end of the day!

The enclosure has been provided with ornate entrance.

A huge Nandi Bull, Shiva’s vehicle, can be seen right in front of the east side entrance!

The Nandi-mandapa situated to the east of the temple, is a square pavilion open on all thefour sides. It houses a large image of Nandi on a raised floor.

Its flat roof is supported by four pillars and short lengths of walls whose outer surfaces are carved with attendant figures and Kinnara-mithunas (couples)!

Back at the Virupaksha temple, the main entry point is from the eastern porch where the inner ceiling has huge image of Surya (Sun god), moving on his chariot with his paraphernalia!

Of course one can spot these extremely healthy looking figurines by side of the guard deities near the entrance:

The ranga mantapa or the main hall, as one enters the temple, has 18 massive rectangular pillars.

The whole of the interior of this temple is embellished with elegant carvings and aesthetically modeled sculptures.

Episodes from the Ramayana (e.g. abduction of Sita) Mahabharata (e.g. Bhishma lying ina bed of arrows), Bhagavata (e.g. Krishna lifting the Govardhan mountain) and Kiratarjuniya (e.g. Arjuna receiving the Pasupatastra from Siva) are depicted on the pillars of the sabha- mandapa. Here are only a few photographs to give an idea of the work inside the temple!

Pilasters here have the sculptures of Rati and Manmatha. Experimented with a B/W photo!

An interesting sight inside the temple was a young person squatting in one corner of the temple mantapam and making a sketch of the sculpture in front of him.

The inner sanctum sanctorum has this Shivalinga, which is worshipped till date! We wereinside the temple during the ‘aarti’ hence took the prasad and left for the next temple.

As we exited the temple, could not resist taking a few photos of this huge Nandi!

Virupaksha temple, another view!

Within a short while, we were walking along corridor beside the ‘Virupaksha temple’! We could observe artistic touch in each and every stone lying here at Pattadakal.

A temple located just behind Virupaksha temple, was closed from one side. But still the carvings on the pillars called for some ‘click click’, surely!

We move towards the Papanatha temple, the sculpture on the external wall:

On the walls of this temple adorns many sculptures telling different stories, one being - Son of Garuda (Vishnu’s ride), Jatayu trying to prevent the kidnapping of Seetha by demon king Ravana!

Many such wonderful carvings around the Papanatha temple vie for one’s attention!

Dedicated to Mukteswara according to inscriptions, this modest temple seems to have been completed around 740 A.D.

Lions and sardulas are carved at the corners above the entablature and the ceiling panel depicts dancing Siva with Parvati and musicians and flying figures. Pillars and pilasters of the other mandapas are relieved with medium-sized graceful sculptures of damsels andcouples (mithunas) in playful moods.

This Mallikarjuna Temple, also called Sri Trailokeswara Maha Saila Prasada in an inscription was built around 740 A.D. by one of the Queens, Trailokyamahadevi of Vikramaditya II (733-45 A.D.) to commemorate her husband’s victory over the Pallavas of Kanchipuram.

In general appearance and style it resembles the Virupaksha temple built for the same purpose, at the same time, and most probably by the same guild of architects.

These two temples stand side by side; closely resembling each other in their plan elevation, decoration and even the arrangements of sculptural art.

Kasivisweswara Temple

Datable to the middle of the 8th century A.D. this temple was probably the last to be builtin the Early Chalukyan style at Pattadakal. The superstructure displays the fully evolved rekha-nagara (Northern) Sikhara rising in five stages with its amalaka and kalasa missing.

A mesh-like design covers its surface completely.

The mandapa has an ornate doorway!

By visiting Mallikarjuna temple, we had come to the end of our wonderful journey into the heart of ‘Chalukyan temples’ which would have been constructed with immense patronage shown by the then kings and queens.

As we moved towards the exit, assorted temples:

The splendor could be seen all over the complex at short distances. We had paid the guidefor his services and as we moved towards the exit, we still felt that this place would deserve all the time in the world to know each and every stone which had it’s own story to narrate! But then, we had to move on!

The joy of having visited this place was immense, and with photos to remind us constantly about our visit we reached our vehicle only to head back towards Badami for the last night’s stay.

We started back from Pattadakal around 5.30 pm. The drive back to Badami was more or less eventless except for me humming this old kannada song “Apaara Keerthi galisi mereva bhavya naadidu, Karnatakaviduvey nrutya shilpa kalea beedidu” from a 1961 movie ‘Vijayanagarada Veeraputra’! The translation of which is somewhat like this: A wonderful land which has earned enormous fame, (our) Karnataka is an abode of dance, sculpture & art! Watch this B/W song sung by Shri P.B. Srinivas, here: Song!Probably it was the one & only time my hubby too agreed with what I was humming! Ofcourse, he did register a strong protest towards my ‘humming’ & later my full-fledged singing capabilities!

Truly a wonderful land!!

We were back at the hotel within 1 hour, only to pack our belongings! Evening was spent silently in the room, reminiscing the events of the whole day. A quiet dinner in the room marked the end of our activities for the evening. We would be leaving towards Hubli the following morning, en-route ofcourse we did have a few interesting places to be visited, on our mind!

The main trip report, has indeed finally come to an end! Some interesting posts ofcourse would follow!!

To summarize: The places visited during our 3 nights stay at Badami included:

Day 1: Arrival at Badami & evening at leisure.

Day 2: Sightseeing at Badami - Rock-cut cave temples, Bhutanatha temples, a small trek, Archaelogical museum visit & Banashankari Amma temple visit.

Day 3: Aihole Visit (First half of the day)- the main temple complex which included Durga gudi, Suryana Gudi, Goudara Gudi, Ladkhan Temple, Badigera Gudi and few other small temples in the same complex & the Archaeological survey museum!

Outside the main temple complex - Ambigera Gudi, Huchhimalli temples, Ravana phadi, Meguti temple from a distance, Gauri Gudi & Jaina temples.

Pattadakal temple complex (2nd half of the day) - Covered Kadasddeshwara, Jambulinga,Galaganatha, Sangameshwara, Virupaksha, Papanatha, Mallikarjuna, Kasivishveshwara temples!

Missed Mahakoota while returning back to Badami.

One of my extremely enjoyable trips, this was. I wish to thank all my IM friends who religiously encouraged me as and when I updated this trip report of mine!! TD, please allow me one more smilie here - !!