Aihole, Badami, Pattadkal

Aihole, Badami, and Pattadkal

The three ancient sites in the rural footprint of northern Karnataka presents a unique cradle of Indian civilization where the experiment of temple architecture came into existence after a transition from the cave temples. These three sites date back to 5^th century  CE (Aihole), 6^th to 7^th Century CE (Badami), and 7^th to 8^th century CE (Pattadkal) when archeologists and historians believe the temple architecture had started. Of the three Pattadkal happens to be the UNESCO world heritage site.

Aihole

The medieval era temple architecture probably started at Aihole. Though the period is said to be between the 4^th – the 12^th century CE, there’s hardly any structure that can be ascribed to the 4^th century. Though a 5^th century temple dedicated to the Sun god stands next to the Lad Khan temple another 5^th century temple standing in the Aihole complex. 

The iconic Durga temple built in the 7^th CE has a unique apsidal (horseshoe type) design. That is probably influenced by the Buddhist construction of Chaityas  (place of worship) and Viharas (place of living). There is a striking resemblance of this Durga temple is to the apsidal chaityas of Lalitgiri (4^th -2^nd  BCE) in Orissa.

https://sudanjotting.blogspot.com/2015/06/udayagiri-ratnagiri-lalitgiri-diamond.html

Badami

Badami is famous for its caves temple architecture. There are four caves representing the figures from the Hindu pantheon and the mythological order. Cave no. 3 is richly carved and the cave no. 4 has statues of Jain gods carved therein.

The sandstone hillocks of Badami where these caves are cut into look like the rocky terrain of Petra (Jordan). Badami, however, is very small in comparison to Petra.  https://sudanjotting.blogspot.com/2018/09/petra.html

Pattadkal

The Pattadkal complex of Hindu temples (7^th – 8^th CE) is a well-preserved treasure of temple architecture. It carries a world heritage site tag that has eluded both Badami and Aihole. Pattadkal is situated on the banks of the Malaprabha river. Literally, it means coronation stone because of the fact that the Chalukya rulers would have their coronation ceremonies here. The place having red soil by the river was considered sacred.

How to reach

I took a night train from Chattarpati Shivaji Maharaj Terminal (CSMT), Bombay to Gadag. The superfast train doesn’t stop at Badami. I got down at Bagalkot and took a bus to Badami (about 40 minutes) where I had booked my accommodation. The public transport system in Karnataka is very efficient and cheap as well. There are lots of buses plying between Bagalkot and Badami, between Badami and Aihole (Pattadkal is on the way). To catch a bus to Bijapur one has to take a bus to Kerur from Badami (30 minutes). From Kerur it is two hours to Bijapur and the bus service is frequent; every 15 minutes there’s one bus to Bijapur.

A superfast train also links Badami (the railway station is 4 km outside of the town) to Secunderabad. Good for the night journey from Badami to Secunderabad or to Hubli if one wants to club Hampi with this tour.

I didn’t find the flight option (Belgaum airport) practical for my trip. The flights are very limited and timings odd. Bombay, Hyderabad, and Bangalore could be considered better options for air connectivity.

(I visited in March/April 2019)

PS:

I have yet to see a 4^th century CE or earlier (if any) temple standing in India. The only place I saw a 4^th CE temple is in the My Son (pronounced “miseon”) valley of Vietnam. The ruins of the Shiva temples date back to 4^th – 7^th CE. The Champa kingdom of the Cham Hindus is said to have existed in the 2^nd BCE, though the temple construction dates back to a later age in the 4^th century CE.

https://sudanjotting.blogspot.com/2017/11/my-son-site-of-ancient-ruins.html

Some Photographs

Aihole

The Durga Temple (7 CE). Apsidal construction.

The Lad Khan temple. Also seen is a temple dedicated to the Sun God. Both 5th CE.
The temple dedicated to the Sun god is not in the league of the Sun temples of later years in India.

Badami

Cave No. 3
The Ceiling architecture (3 shots) is pictured below.

Pattadkal