Badami Cave Temples

Acknowledged as the capital of the ancient kingdom of Chalukyas, Badami was earlier known as Vatapi. Because of the terrain here in almond colour, it is renamed as Badami (‘Badam’ means almond in Kannada). The town lies at the mouth of a ravine with rocky hills on either side which are carved out of the soft sandstone of these hill cliffs. Founded in 540 AD by Pulikesi I, Badami served as the capital of the Chalukyas till 757 AD. The four cave temples were built by Kirthivarman (ruled in 567 – 598 AD) and his brother Mangalesha I (ruled in 598 – 610 AD), the sons of Pulakesi I. Although in many respects these structures repeat the architecture of similar Indian cave temples created before, the art of Badami shows influence both Dravidian and Indo-Aryan Nagara style.

All the four caves share the same plan of a veranda with columns and brackets leading to a main hall, the pillared maha mandapa which in turn leads to the small sanctum which houses the sculptures. At the cutting edge is an artificial reservoir (Agastya lake) that collects the rainwater of the caves. The four cave temples represent their tolerance to different religions. Cave 1 is dedicated to Lord Shiva, caves 2 and 3 to Lord Vishnu and cave 4 for Jainisim. Built around 578 AD, cave 1 is considered to be the oldest of all. Entry to this cave contains four freestanding square columns and two semi-columns with the attendants of Shiva. The cave is adorned with exquisite reliefs of nearly 80 dancing poses of Lord Shiva, which is colloquially Lord Nataraja. Cave 2 is believed to be built during the late 6th century dedicated to Lord Vishnu, which can be reached by taking some 60 steps.

Vishnu is portrayed as Trivikrama, with one foot on Earth and the other directed to the North. There are reliefs of guardians with smaller female attendants on the entrance. On the roof of the temple is a panel made up of a wheel of fish and swastikas. Multiple stories of Krishna and Vishnu are also found carved throughout the temple on the roof. The largest among 4, cave 3 was most likely created in 578 – 580 AD. It contains inscriptions by later Chalukya king Mangalesa in Kannada. Main hall, together with the verandah goes up to 14.5 metres deep into the mountain and the shrine makes the cave some 4 metres deeper. This cave is reached by climbing 60 steps from the second cave. Here, Lord Vishnu is represented in various forms as Vamana (the dwarf), as Trivikrama (an enormous entity measuring the world), as Narasimha (lion headed) and as Varaha (lifting up theEarth from the sea) and Vishnu, sitting on the serpent Adisesha.

There are also murals depicting the marriage of Shiva and Parvati. Cave 4 is for Jainism and recorded to be built around the 6th-7th century AD. It is higher than other caves, but rather less elaborate and smaller. It contains carvings of the Tirthankara (saint) Parshvanatha with a serpent at his feet. There is a sculpture of Jain saint Mahavira in seated pose. Also, a standing Gomateshwara with creepers twisted around his legs is an added attraction. A visit to these caves represent Indian art and architecture at its finest & reflect the precision of Indian craftsmanship. These cave temples are the place for ‘college’ education for the art and architecture. The Badami cave temples are a strong contender in UNESCO’s world heritage sites list.