A PRESENTATION ON

CHALUKYAN ARCHITECTURE

PRESENTED BY:- ANKIT PUGALIA

ANKIT MALIK
RAJEEV SUTHAR
Architecture of
CHALUKYA
N Temples
A glance through history…

• Major powers of the first millennium:

Pallavas Cholas Pandyas
Chalukyans Rashtrakudas

• Among them Cholas emerged as the most

powerful.
• Cholas rule (900 A.D -1100 A.D)
• Pandyas rule (1100 A.D -1350 A.D)
EARLY CHALUKYAN ART
 Early Chalukyan art
• Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal near Bijapur in
Karnataka are centers of Early Chalukyan art .

• Aihole was the first capital of the early

Chalukyas.

• Aihole is to the west of Badami, along the

Malaprabha river, while Pattadakal is to the
east.

• Pulakesi I, one of the greatest rulers of this

dynasty, moved the capital to Badami nearby.
Badami was then known as Vatapi.
Features
• curved towers decorated
with blind arches
(northern India).
• Pilastered walls with
panel inserts (southern
Indian style)
• Deccan style is in their
balcony seating, angled
eaves and sloping roofs,
and elaborately carved
columns and ceilings
• brought together the
prevailing styles in their
neighbourhood to create
the Chalukyan style.
 Features
• Typical features unique to Early Western
Chalukyan architecture include
• mortarless assembly,

• an emphasis on length rather than width

or height,

• flat roofs,

• richly carved ceilings, and,

• Sculpturs isolated from each other rather

TEMPLES AT AIHOLE
Aihole • The prominent temple
group
 Kontigudi group- three
temples
 Galaganatha group- 30
temples

Kontigudi group
Lad Khan temple,
Huchiappayyagudi temple
Huchiappayya math.
Aihole
LadKhan temple • LadKhan temple :

 a shrine with two

mandapams in front of it.
 The shrine bears a Shiva
lingam.
 The mukha mandapa in
front of the sanctum has a set
of 12 carved pillars.
• The sabhamandapa in
front of the mukha
mandapam has pillars
arranged in such a manner
as to form two concentric
squares.
• There are also stone grids on
the wall carrying floral
 • sloping roof,
Ladkhan Temple • two-tiered roof,
Aihole, late 7th – • imitates wood
early 8th century construction
• stone "logs“ cover the
joints between the roofing
slabs.
• The porch fronts a square
mandapa.
• In the center of the
mandapa, a Nandi faces
the small interior shrine,
• Shrine abuts the rear wall
of the mandapa.
• Instead of the usual
tower, a rooftop shrine is
positioned over the center
of the mandapa.
• Huchappayyagudi temple
 curvilinear tower (shikhara) over the sanctum
(unlike the Lad Khan temple).
 interior of the temple has beautiful carvings.

Galaganatha group

 main shrine enshrining Shiva

 has a curvilinear shikhara
 has images of Ganga and Yamuna at the
entrance to the shrine.
 • best known -Durga or
Durga Temple the fortress temple.
Aihole, late 7th century • apsidal in plan
• a high moulded
adisthana
• a tower - curvilinear
shikhara.
• pillared corridor runs
around the temple,
enveloping the shrine,
the mukhamandapa
and the
sabhamandapa.
• All through the temple,
there are beautiful
Durga Temple
Aihole, late 7th century • The name "Durga" refers
to a fort, not to the
goddess; apparently at
one time the building
was used as a military
outpost (durg). It is not
known to which deity
the temple was
originally dedicated.

• The entrance is east

•
• An incomplete tower
perches on the roof above
the sanctuary
 TEMPLES OF
PATTADAKKAL
 Temples of Pattadakkal
• huge complex of temples
• located next to the river
• Jambulinga Temple
 Entering the complex is the Jambulinga Temple ,
 shikhara recalling the temples of Bhubaneshwar (Orissa) with a
projecting horseshoe each bearing a figure of dancing Shiva.
 In nagara style
• Galaganatha Temple
 conical shikhara is like the (north Indian) nagara style with
horizontal layers separated by tiny cushion-like motifs.
 Galganatha temple contains a sculpture of Lord Shiva
killing the demon Andhakasura,
• Virupaksha and Mallikarjuna Temple
 These two temples have tiered pyramidal, not conical, roofs made up
temple replicas.
Pattadaka • The temples were built in the 8th
century CE.
l • Uniqueness derives from the presence of
both the dravidian or the Southern and
the Nagara or the Northern (Indo-
Aryan) styles of temple architecture.
• There are ten temples including a Jain
sanctuary surrounded by numerous
small shrines and plinths.
• Four temples were built in dravidian
style, four in nagara style of Northern
India and the Papanatha temple in
mixed style.
• The group of mounuments in
Pattadakal was designated a
World Heritage Site in 1987.
 • Mallikarjuna Temple is a
smaller version of the
Virupaksha temple and was built
by Vikramadiyta's second queen
Trilokyamahadevi in 745.
• Kadasiddeshvara temple which
has a sculpture of Shiva holding
a Trident or Trishul in his
hands and its twin temple,
Mallikarjuna • Sangameshvara Temple are other
temples
Temple
• Jain Temple is built in the
dravidian style by the
Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta. It
has some very beautiful
sculptures & probably dates from
the 9th century and was built
by either King Amoghavarsha I
or his son Krishna II
• Kashivisvanatha temple was
 Virupaksha Temple
• built by Queen Lokamahadevi in 745 to commemorate
her husband's victory (Vikramaditya II) over the Pallavas
of Kanchi.
• resembles the Kailashnatha temple in Kanchi
• rich in sculptures like those of lingodbhava, Nataraja,
Ravananugraha and Ugranarasimha
• has a wonderful Nandi porch in front,
• a porch leading into a pillared hall
• the garbha griha at the rear end of the building.
• Around the temple wall are some very high quality
sculptures set inside little niches.
Virupaksha Temple
 Papanatha temple
• is built in the vesara style dated to 680.
• The temple was started in nagara style but
later changed to a more balanced dravidian
style.
• Sculptures here speak of scenes from
Ramayana and Mahabharatha.
• This temple has many similarities with the
Navabrahma temples in Alampur, Andhra
Pradesh, which were also built by the same
dynasty.
Papanatha temple
Mallikarjuna and
KashivisvanathaTe
Temples at Pattadakkal
Temples at Pattadakkal
Temples at Pattadakkal
Temples at Pattadakkal
TEMPLES AT BADAMI
 • It formed a neutral protective
Badami wall for the capital of the
Chalukyas.

• Embraced by the horseshoe-

shaped curved cliff is a lake
that supplied water.

• local pink -building the

temples.

• relatively small

• as a key to the evolution of

different architectural styles.
• The loveliest is
the
Bhutanatha
Temple that
stands under
the shadow of
the cliff,
reflecting its
beauty on the
surface of the
lake.
 BadamiCav
e temples

• On the southern side -cliff - stairway that leads

to four exquisite rock-cut shrines carved into the
hillside.
• The first cave is for Shiva; the next two for
Vishnu (with superb sculptures), and the
furthest is a Jain shrine.
• Within the shrine is the sanctum, the center of
worship.
• Like a sculptural building, the hall in front has
rows of carved pillars.
• The pillar designs in Badami, Aihole, and
 Architecture

• These famous temples are carved out of sandstone

housing a shrine, a hall, an open verandah and
pillars.
• exquisite carvings and sculpture
• The freestanding stone temples in Badami, is a
specimen to the evolution of the Chalukyan style of
architecture
• The shrine of Nagamma, the local serpent
goddess, within a massive tamarind tree is
another example of the architecture.
• Important carvings are of hindu deities
Ganapati, Shanmuka, Mahishasura Mardhini,
Ardha Nariswara, Sankara Narayana, Vishnu,
Trivikrama, Astadikpalakas and Adisesha.
• Three rock-cut Badami Cave temples between the
Cave 1
• Carved on the (right) side entrance wall of Cave No. 1 is
the most dramatic sculpture to be found at Badami.
• It is rare image of an eighteen-armed dancing Shiva .
Here as Natraj, the cosmic creator, Shiva waves his arms
in vigorous movement, accompanied by his young son
Ganesh and musicians on drums.
• He holds in each hand a symbol of his many varied
attributes: the trident of destruction and the damru
(drum) of creation.
• One foot is securely on the ground while he is about to
raise the other. Shiva, the original parent of the world,
who is as old as the earth (is young) is portrayed here
as a youthful, ruddy (red from the stone), taut, and
very appealing male god.
 • The second cave is
Cave 2 perched on a sandstone
hill.
• Lord Vishnu is the
holy deity of this cave
manifested as a dwarf
or Trivikrama.
• Lord is in the position
of conquering the
Earth by his one foot
and rules the sky with
his other foot.
• The temple also
showcases Lord Vishnu
as a 'Varaha' or as a
boar, riding the
Garnda all surrounded
by beautiful lotus
flowers.
Badami Cave
Temple
No3.(Vishnu) • The third cave -70 feet
wide

• The art depicts ancient

dresses, jewelry, hairstyle
and the lifestyle of the
glorious past

• The high alleviation of

Vishnu manifested in
many forms - Vishnu
with a serpent, Vishnu as
Man-Lion, Shiva Vishnu
and Vishnu as
Trivikrama are the other
attractions of the cave.
 • Fourth cave temple
Badami Cave daing back to 12th
Temple No.4, century with carvings
of Jain Tirthankaras
Gomateshvara Mahavira,
Parshwanatha and
Padmavati.
• main attraction -the
sculpture of Lord
Mahavira decking the
shrine besides the
images of Padmavathi
and other
Thirthankaras.
• The cave also leads
towards the southern
part of Badami Fort,
after climbing few steps
a cranny is formed
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