A PRESENTATION ON

CHALUKYAN ARCHITECTURE

PRESENTED BY:- ANKIT PUGALIAANKIT MALIK

RAJEEV SUTHAR

Architecture of

CHALUKYAN 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 than arranged in crowded groups.

TEMPLES AT AIHOLE

• The prominent temple group

Kontigudi group- three temples

Galaganatha group- 30 temples

Aihole

Kontigudi group Lad Khan temple,Huchiappayyagudi templeHuchiappayya math.

Aihole

• 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 designs.

LadKhan temple

• sloping roof, • two-tiered roof, • imitates wood

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.

Ladkhan TempleAihole, late 7th – early 8th century

• Huchappayyagudi templecurvilinear 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 shikharahas images of Ganga and Yamuna at the

entrance to the shrine.

• best known -Durga or the fortress temple.

• 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 carvings.

Durga TempleAihole, 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

Durga TempleAihole, late 7th century

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.

Pattadakal

• The temples were built in the 8th century CE.

• 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,

• Sangameshvara Temple are other temples

• 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 built by the Rashtrakutas in the 8th century.

• .

Mallikarjuna Temple

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 KashivisvanathaTemples

Temples at Pattadakkal

Temples at Pattadakkal

Temples at Pattadakkal

Temples at Pattadakkal

TEMPLES AT BADAMI

Badami • It formed a neutral protective 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.

BadamiCave 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 Pattadakal are very beautiful:

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 6th and 8th centuries.

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.

Cave 2• The second cave is

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.

Badami Cave Temple No.4,

Gomateshvara

• Fourth cave temple daing back to 12th century with carvings of Jain Tirthankaras 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 between Cave II & II I , that leads to the fort where an old gun placed by Tippu Sultan is an attraction in itself.

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