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Aihole

AIHOLE
25 KM FROM Pattadakal village in Aihole, there are many small temples from 6th to 12th centuries belonging to early Chalukya, Rashtrakauta and later Chalukyas dynasties. From half broken temples to small shrines, there are more than 100 temples. This was a promonent trading city of the chalukyas. There are one jain cave temple and one Buddist cave temple. All the other jain and Buddist temples are made of the stone and resembles Hindu temples. Another interesting fact is that theses temples were built during the middle ages before any style was established and hence there is a mixture of styles.

JAIN CAVE TEMPLE( 6TH C/ JAIN)
Temple construction started with wood and when stone caves were built , the next step was stone construction . Jain cave temples can be seen at the foot of the mountains in the south of the city. The mandapa is at the end of the veranda and there are shrines on three sides. There are two pillars at both entrances. Inside the main shrine is a Pashwanatha statue.

MEGUTI TEMPLE (634/ JAIN)

This is a very old stone temple built by Pulakeshin II of the Chalukya dynasty on a hill overlooking the town. It is a square plan with a pathway around the shrine. The pillared partition on the outer wall, the base foundation and the parapet etc. in this temple ages. This first floor was added on later.

LAD KHAN TEMPLE (END OF THE 7TH C/ HINDU)


The special feature of the Aihole temple is that it starts with the Gowdaru temple style and then continues on to the Rastrakuta temple style. The wooden construction has been copied. The square and rectangle plan shrine has a steep roof, which is a copy of wooden styles into stones. The Nandi has been placed in the middle of the shrine and in the far corner the linga has been defied. This reflects the trial and error mode of building in the early experimental days of architecture.

HUCCHAPPAYA MATHA TEMPLE ( END OF THE 7HT C/ HINDU )


This temple can be seen as you go onto Badami. It is a small square temple. It stands majestically on wide precincts. The whole platform rests on a simple base and on the pillars gods and miduna sculptures are carved. Inside there are very minute and detailed carvings. The carved panel on the ceiling is the special feature of Aihole


MALIKARJUNA TEMPLE (BEGINNING OF THE 8TH C/ HINDU)
South Indian Aihole has many temples with North Indian type shikaras. The temple on the tank front is one of them. It has a shrine, madapa and a four pillared porch. The shrine has north Indian type Shikara with an amaraka on top. Instead of the vertical line, the shikara sports a south-styled seven stepped horizontal desig


DURGA TEMPLE ( 7TH C/HINDU)
The early Hindu constructions stared by copying Buddist temples. The durga temple in Aiholehas the straight front, circular back design of a Buddha Chaitya temple. Instead of stupa there is path around the shrine that continues on to the mandapa in the front. Usually there would be a porch on the front , but the unique element of this temple is that the whole structure is surrounded by a corridor reflects early Chalukya sculpture. On the shrine is a north-Indian style shikara and every layer has a horse shoe shaped arch. This unique design was not continued by later generations. Instead distinct north and south styles developed. The circular back straight front can be seen in some temples in south India and wooden temples of Kerala, but they have no Shikaras.


DEGAMVE (KAMAL NARAYANA TEMPLE) (12TH C/HINDU)

It is a temple of Kadamba dynasty that ruled western Deccan. The peak is broken, so it not much to look at from the outside. Inside there is a long mandapa connecting three temples and the pillars are heavenly.


DAMBAL ( DODDA BASAPPA TEMPLE )(12TH C/ HINDU)

As you come down from Solapur by rail to Bijapur and Badami , the next stop will be Gadag, where one can visit later Chalukya architecture of 10th to 12th century. There are three temples in the city of Dambael which is 20 km south east of here.
The later Chalukya architecture has a star- shaped plan for vimana.
The Dodda Basappa temple in Dambal has so many star points that it almost looks circular. One right angle is divided into four angles of 22.5 degrees. 48 such angles are further sub divided and decorated with engravings.
This style was common in Hoysala dynasty (12th- 14th centuries) too. The shikara is neither nor south style .Since it has incorporated both styles it can be called an “ in-between Style”.


KUKKANUR (NAVALINGA TEMPLE) (END OF THE 9TH C/ HINDU)
Kukkanur which is 40 km from Gadag., has a Navalinga temple built during the Rashtrakuta dynasty and the Kaleshwara temple which was built during the later Chalukya dynasty. Navalinga means nine lingas and accordingly nine linga temples are lined up. All of them have south-Indian styled shikaras.

BADAMI

It is one of the specially fascinating places in the South . Pattadakal and Aihole nearby are also worth seeing. Unspoiled by tourism because of bad roads and poor accommodation one should take a train to Sholapur then change to a local train via Bijapur. Hire a tonga from the station into the city to enjoy the beautiful tree-lined roads.
This is a small town of 20,000 people. In the 6th-8th centuries it was the capital of the Chalukya dynasty and was called Vadapi. Along with Aihole this is the place where the origins of south Indian architecture can be seen. A large man-made lake has rocky mountains on three sides. The town is spread over plains on the fourth side. There is fort on the mountains. Ancient stone temples blend with the north and southern mountains they are built on. Bhutanath Temple on the other side of the lake looks it is floating on the water. The evening view is unforgettable. It looks like a painting of India in the Middle Ages.

MALEGITTI SHIVALAYA TEMPLE (7TH C/ HINDU)
There are three Shiva temples in this area called upper, lower and Malegitti Shiva Temples. It is one of the temple groups of the early ages built with stones from the caves and is influenced by the Palllava style of the same age. Malegitti Temple is comparatively well preserved. It is very proportionate, with the mandapa and shrine design and has a small porch in front.

BHUTANATHA GROUP (7TH ,11TH C/ HINDU)

The Bhutanath group of temples at the far end of the tanks vary in time and style. Temple 1 with a veranda extending ti the water surface is like the Malegathi temple. The shikhara could be north Indian or early south Indian as in the Mahabalipuram Shore Temples, built close to the water. Temple 2 on the otherside sports a Vimana the early Chalukya style.

CAVE TEMPLE (6TH C/ HINDI, JAIN)

There are four cave temples on the mountains in the south. Three are Hindu while the fourth is jain. They are the oldest Hindu Temples in the South. Cave Temples 1 is dedicated to shiva and Temple 2 to Vishnu. The walls are filled with Lively sculpture. All the caves have pillared halls with the shrine at the far end. The direction of the beam in Cave1 is parallel to the facade. In Cave2 it is vertical and in cave 3 it is in the shape of the cave and thus all three caves are different. The jain temple is the smallest and has status of thirthankaras.


BANASHANKARI TEMPLE (HINDU)
Banashankari village is 6 km from Badami on the way to Gadag. There is a tank with a surrounding corridor and a temple with black goddesses deified in it. Near the tank is a rare watchtower that reflects the Vijayanagara Hindu and Islamic style. Not only the tower on top , but also the whole building is called the ‘victory tower’. It may belong to the Maratha age.

Badami & Aihole Archeology Nearest Attraction
Aihole Historical
Once the capital of the early Chalukyan dynasty (6th to 8th centuries), Aihole is a picturesque village on the banks of the Malaprabha river. Variously called Ayyavole & Aryapura in the inscriptions, Aihole is historically famous as the cradle of Hindu temple architecture.....more
Badami Historical
Badami, formerly known as Vatapi, is a taluk in the Bagalkot District of Karnataka, India. It was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from 540 to 757 AD. It is famous for rock cut and other structural temples.....more
Pattadakal Historical
Pattadakal: Situated on the left bank of the Malaprabha River, Pattadakkal is a World Heritage Centre. The town has 10 major temples representing early Chalukyan architecture. Located on the banks of the river Malaprabha, Pattadakal is the capital of the Chalukya rulers.....more