Monuments at Pattadakal

Monuments. By cruisingindia.com on Mar 25, 2006.

Situated around five-hundred kilometers away from Bangalore and thirty kilometers from Badami in the southern state of Karnataka is Pattadakal, the ancient capital city of the Chalukya Dynasty. It houses some of the finest monuments, sculptures and buildings in South Indian history, and was deemed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987.Pattadakal is a corruption of “pattada kisuvolal”, and means “stone of coronation”. It was the auspicious site where the Chalukya kings were crowned. Pattadakal appears to have been inhabited since prehistoric times and even earns a mention in the great geographer Ptolemy’s writings as Petrigal.

The Temples of Pattadakal

Pattadakal is blessed with ten temples. Nine are Hindu in inspiration while one is a Jaina house of worship. These temples present a blending of North Indian, or Nagara, and South Indian, or Dravida, styles of architecture. Situated on the crossroads of trade routes, the Pattadakal artisans picked up both the styles of art. The earlier temples like Papanatha, Jambulingesvara, Kadasiddesvara, and Kasinatha represent the Nagara style while the three great Shaivite temples of Sangamesvara, Vuirupaksha, and Mallikarjuna are in the Dravida style, as is the Jaina temple. Frequent contact with the Tamil Pallava rulers led to absorption of Pallava styles also. For example the Pattadakal Virupaksha temple is supposed to have been heavily influenced by the Kailasnath temple at Kanchipuram.The Sangamesvara TempleThe oldest temple built in Pattadakal is the Sangamesvara built by Vijayaditya Satyashriya (AD 697-733). The temple is simple in design but its massive structure echoes a unique elegance. The Virupaksha and Mallikarjuna TemplesThe Virupaksha (745 AD) and Mallikarjuna (755 AD) temple are the main attractions in Pattadakal. They were built by two queens of Vikramaditya II to commemorate his victories over the Pallavas. The Virupaksha temple, built by queen Lokamahadevi, was built in the Southern Dravida style and is the largest in the enclosure. It has a massive gateway and several inscriptions. It is the one with the most Dravidian influence because of the wars with the Pallavas. The courtyard of the Virupaksha is surrounded on east, north and south sides by pillared porches. The entry through the east side leads to a number of shrines of family deities, which were thirty-two in number initially. Inside the main gateway is a raised pillared pavilion housing the statue of Nandi, the bull mount of Lord Shiva. The pillars of this mandapa of Nandi are carved with beautiful figures of people and animals.The ceiling of the eastern side of the Virupaksha is covered with a striking image of Surya the Sun god with his chariot yoked to seven horses. The external wall is studded with thirty-five niches containing only images of Lord Shiva. Among these figures, the Natesa is most notable. There are also beautiful decorations on the walls and strategic openings to let in the light to add to the sublime effect.The interior walls are broken into aisles by arrow of four pillars. The decorations of the walls and the pillars are gorgeous, representing scenes from the Ramayan, Mahabharat and Panchatantra. Some images like Dwarapalas, or gate watchmen, are artistically carved. Virupaksha has subsidiary shrines for Ganesha and Mahishasura Mardini. The image of the latter is one of the most striking sculptures in the temple complex.The Virupaksha and Mallikarjuna temples resemble each other in architecture, although the former is larger and better preserved. The walls of the temples showcase Saivite imagery and Chalukyan pomp and pageantry. Behind the walls of both temples lies a spacious courtyard and some tutelary shrines. Both temples are four storied and have an ambulatory path around the sanctum. In both, The Granite Lingams appear in contrast with the red sandstone of the temples.Towering over the sanctum in both Virupaksha and Mallikarjuna is the Vimana whose pyramidal structure and symmetry is pleasing to the eye. Both are decorated with miniature ornamental temples and Hamsamalas, or swan like garlands. Another attractive feature to these temples is the Toranas or gateways to the Garba Grihas, which house the deities and are intricately decorated with figures of couples.The Virupaksha temple is believed to have inspired the Rasthrakuta kings to carve out the Great Kailasa temple at Ellora.The sculptural art of early Chalukyas is characterized by grace and fine detail. The ceiling panels of the Navagrihas, dipakalas, the dancing Natarajas well as the wall niches containing Ardhanarisvara are all examples of the skills of the artisans of that era.The Jambulinga, Jain, and Banashankari TempleThe Jambulinga temple is another small temple with a fine statue of a dancing Shiva or Nataraja along with Nandi and Parvati by his side. Built with a northern style there is a horseshoe shaped arched projection on its facade. The Jain temple is less than a kilometers on the Pattadakal – Badami road, and is built in true Dravidian style. It has some fine sculpture like two stone elephants dating to the ninth century AD. Also worthy of a visit is the Banashankari temple, which lies on the route to Badami. The Devi or goddess guarding the village is depicted with eight hands atop a snarling lion. A huge fair is held there attracting thousands of devotees.Pattadakal is five-hundred kilometers away from the nearest airport in Bangalore and twenty-nine kilometers from the nearest railhead in Badami. It is open on weekdays from sunrise to sunset. Entry fee is Rs 5. For those seeking more art and history, the Archaeological Survey of India has a museum at Badami. The annual Pattadakal Dance festival takes place every fourth week of January.

Directions:
Pattadakal is about 500 kilometers from Bangalore

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