Further continuation from the previous blog – Initial
Hiccups & Bijapur!
Plan from Bijapur to Badami & farther places was simple,
reach Badami by 7.30 pm, stay at Badami, and next day cover Badami, Aihole
& Pattadakal along the way, wrapping Banashankari & Mahakuta too by
hiring a Auto or Taxi.
But then, there is always a twist. Thankfully, I did not let
the focus steer away from the actual plan. Train arrived at Bijapur station at dot time, we had
already reserved the tickets prior to the journey. It was a 3 hours journey
against the beautiful backdrop of sunset, greenery, crossing many rivers (which I assumed as main river in that part - Krishna & its tributaries) including Almati Dam over Krishna River.
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| Almati Dam & Coracle! |
Since, we all had a harrowing previous
night. Catching a nap was mandatory. I woke up after a power nap, saw the
Almati dam. That one was a sight to behold. I saw a man rowing a coracle in the
river. I made everyone get up to catch that sight. We had plan of cruising on a
coracle at Hampi. Saw the beautiful, reddish orange lit sunset. The entire route from Bijapur to Badami was
stunning with rivers crossing the tracks at every few minutes.
We reached Badami by 7.30 pm. As soon as we came out, we were greeted by
Shrishail, who brought Nano car alongwith him. Initial plan was to hire an auto
for Badami. We settled our bags and
ourselves in that mini car and were off to Badami. Being dark, we couldn’t make
out the view outside. In next 15 minutes, we were at the heart of Badami.
Shrishail had already booked the accommodations, which was a surprise. Being
off-season, it came cheap. We freshened
ourselves because it was really a long day that went by right from travelling
from Mumbai to Bijapur tour. By 9.00pm, we came down for dinner and dozed off
for the next beautiful day.
BADAMI:
We all got up early by 5.30 am to catch the Sunrise from
Badami caves. Munched some packed
snacks, as to keep the tummy happy till 9.00 am, time when the city actually opens
up. Badami is an ancient town, capital of the Chalukya Dynasty that
ruled over the most parts of peninsular India. Badami is comfortably tucked in between two
rugged sandstone outcrops. This town lies surrounding the 5th century Agastya
Tirtha Lake, a holy lake famous for the healing property of its water. Badami
was earlier known by the name Vatapi. It is believed that this name
is related to the legend of the demon Vatapi, which is associated with Sage
Agastya. According to another story, Badami got its name from the Badam
(Almond) color of the sandstone of this place.
The rock cut cave temples of Badami were constructed in
between 6th and 8th centuries by the Chalukyas ‑ Kirthivarman and Mangalesha I.
These cave temples are dedicated to the deities of Hinduism and Jainism. Out of the four cave temples, one is
dedicated to Lord Shiva; two are dedicated to Lord Vishnu, and another one to
the Jain Tirthankaras. These temples are noted for the early style of South
Indian style of temple architecture. The walls of these cave temples also have
inscriptions that date back to 6th and 8th centuries. One has to climb the steep
steps adjacent to these caves one after another.
We first ascended directly to the top i.e. Fourth cave - The
only Jain cave housing statues of the Jain Tirthankaras in different postures.
From here, one can view the entire Badami town alongwith the lake. Sun Rays
falling on these caves, lit up the whole place, giving a magnificent texture to
the surroundings including the lake. Being Saturday, the crowd started swelling
in numbers. We started descending, visiting the Third cave – showcasing sculptures
of Vishnu in different avatars, Narasimha (Vishnu as Man-Lion), Varaha,
Harihara (Shiva Vishnu) and as Trivikrama. It was the grandest one. Next was
second cave – Dedicated to Lord Vishnu and highlights the carvings and
incarnations of Varaha (boar) and Vamana (dwarf). Finally, the first cave
which is dedicated to Lord Shiva with sculpture of the 18-armed Lord Nataraja
(Dancing Shiva), and Shiva Lings.
After our usual photo shoots, admiring the
sculptures with the addition of lots and lots of photography, we proceeded
towards the Bhuthnatha Temple. It was on
the other end of the lake, we continued on foot. On the way, we gave a peek to Museum and Art Gallery, which is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Beyond that we could see the stairs leading to the top of the Hill, some more temples
on top.
I did realize that Badami alone requires more than a day to
tour. Thinking of visiting again, we went ahead to the Bhutanatha group of temples.
The Bhutanatha group includes two major temples, one on the east and the other
on the north-east side of the Agasthya Tirtha or Agasthya Lake. The Bhutanatha
temple is situated on the eastern side of the Agasthya Tirtha. The style is a
blend of North Indian and early South Indian temple architecture. This temple
seems to have been built in two stages. The inner hall and the shrine reflect
the style of the Eastern Badami Chalukyas, while the outer hall represents the
style of the Kalyani Chalukyas of the west. This temple came under the
influence of Jains for a period of time.
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| Bhutanatha Group of Temples |
Later, it was taken over by the
Lingayats who installed a Shiva Linga in the shrine and a Nandi in
front. The temple on the north-east side of the lake is the Mallikarjuna Temple
which belongs to the period of the later Chalukyas, the Chalukyas of Kalyani.
It has the tiered pyramid structure characteristic of Western Chalukya
Architecture. We went around catching each and every angle of the majestic view
in our camera.
BANASHANKARI TEMPLE:
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| Banashankari Temple |
We retraced our path back to the caves, where the car was
parked, and further went towards Banashankari Temple. It was around 5 kms. We
had our proper breakfast at the restaurant, took a tour of Temple. It is
dedicated to Goddess Parvati, built by the Chalukyas during the 7th Century. According
to an inscription, this image of the Banashankari Amma
was installed by Jagadekamalla I in 630 AD. The temple was
initially built in the Dravidian style of the Chalukyas. It was later rebuilt
in the Vijayanagara and Maratha periods. In the sanctum, the goddess
Banashankari is depicted in a seated posture, with eight arms. She is shown
sitting on a lion, while crushing a demon under her foot. There is a square
tank in front of the temple. This tank, originally called Harishchandra
Tirtha, is now known as Haridra Tirtha. It is surrounded by a walkway, with
stone mandapas on three sides. There are two Deepa Stambas, one on the west
bank of the tank, and one at the entrance. The lamp tower by the side of the
tank is also an unusual guard tower.
As per the Folklore, The Skanda Purana says that an Asura
named Durgamasura lived in this region. He used to harass the people and made
their life unbearable. The Devas were moved by their plight and prayed for a way
to kill the Demon. Goddess Parvati answered their prayers. She came down to
earth as Shakambari and killed Durgamasura after a fierce battle. Shakambari
stayed on in the region to protect the people. She came to be known as
Banashankari or Vanashankari. Vana means forest in Sanskrit, and Shankari means
the consort of Lord Shankara.
MAHAKUTA TEMPLE:
Moved ahead towards Mahakuta
in the opposite direction crossing Badami again, this was further 14 kms from
town. Whole road was lined by Jowar, Sunflower fields alongwith Coconut
plantations. Being Monsoon season it was green throughout. Road lead to a fork,
which lead one road to Mahakuta and Pattadakal on other one. We decided to
visit Mahakuta first.
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| Mahakuta Temple |
Mahakuta is a place of religious and historic significance.
These temples were built by the Badami Chalukyas, and reflect the Aihole style
of temple building. The most important
temple here is the Mahakuteswara Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. It has a
Shiva Linga in the shrine topped by a curvilinear tower. It is built in the
Dravidian style. In the temple courtyard, there are several other small
temples. There are around two dozen Shiva temples in a huge temple complex
surrounding an attractive spring fed tank known as Vishnu Pushkarini.
PATTADAKAL:
We again went over to the fork and went further to
Pattadakal –Group of Monuments. The first sight itself was jaw-dropping. We
were in awe. It was hard to believe that so many beautifully carved temples are
in single place grouped together. Jain Temple, Dolmen, Kadasiddheswara
Temple, Jambulingeswara Temple, Galaganatha Temple, Chandrashekhara
Temple, Sangameswara Temple,
Kasivisweswara Temple, Mallikarjuna Temple, Virupaksha Temple, Monolithic
stone pillar bearing inscription, Papanatha Temple. The tiny village of Pattadakal is
situated on the banks of the Malaprabha river. This place reached its pinnacle
of glory under the Chalukyas from the seventh to the ninth centuries
functioning as a royal commemorative site. The group of about ten temples,
surrounded by numerous minor shrines & plinths, represents the climax of
early Western Chalukyan Architecture. King Vikramaditya II (734 - 745 AD) and
his art loving queens Lokmahadevi and Trailkyamahadevi, brought sculptors
from Kanchipuram to create fantasies in stone in Pattadakal.
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| Pattadakal - Group of Monuments |
Jambulinga Temple is a small temple with a fine figure
of the Dancing Shiva with Nandi and Parvathi by his side. Built with a
northern style tower, there is a horse-shoe arched projection on its facade.
The Mallikarjuna and the Virupaksha temples are rich in
sculpture like those of Lingodbhava, Nataraja, Ravananugraha and Ugranarasimha. Built in the southern Dravida style, it is the largest temple in
the enclosure.
Galaganath Temple is built of sandstone, the tower is
in the northern "Rekhanagara" style. The temple was probably never
completed. It contains a beautiful sculpture of Shiva in the act of killing the
Andhakasura.
Sanghameswara Temple is the oldest temple in
Pattadakal, built in Dravidian style and consists of a sanctum, inner passage and a hall. There are sculptures on the outer wall like those of
Ugranarasimha and Nataraja.
Kada Siddeshwara Temple is a small North Indian style
temple, consists of shrine & a hall. There is a fine sculpture which
depicts Shiva holding a serpent & trident in his raised arms with Parvathi
by his side.
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| Pattadakal |
Malikarjuna Temple is similar to the Virupaksha Temple but smaller in
size. The ceiling has panels of Gajalakshmi and Nataraja with Parvathi.
Pillars in the temple depict the birth and life of Krishna. There are
sculptures of Mahishasuramardini (very similar to the one in Mamallapuram) and Ugranarasimha.
Papanatha Temple contains impressive sculpted scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharatha.
We missed out on Jain Temple which was located half a
kilometer away. It was around 2.30 pm and we were all hungry, we munched on
tidbits that we carried to pacify our hunger. Of all the places, only Aihole
was pending. We decided to give a brief visit to same and head back to Badami
before dark.
AIHOLE:
Aihole was again on the banks of Malaprabha. People co-habited with these temples. It is
said that Aihole is the birth place of Art and Architecture that we see
everywhere around. Called Ayyavole and Aryapura in the inscriptions, Aihole is historically famous as the cradle of
Hindu temple architecture. There are about 125 temples divided into 22 groups
scattered all over the villages and nearby fields. More temples are being excavated every day
bearing witness to the vigorous experimentation on temple architecture which
went on at Aihole more than 14 centuries ago.
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| Ravanaphadi Caves |
We first visited the Ravanaphadi Cave, located south-east of
the Hucchimalli Temple, is a rock-cut temple. Despite the variety of images
found here, the Mahishasuramardhini, the great Dancing Shiva linga with Ganesha
and sapta-matrikas and the linga inside the sanctum an overall Shiva
application.
We were about to miss the Ladhkhan Complex, when I saw the
Structure of Durga Temple, whose image I had seen prior to visiting this place.
Instantly told the friend to reverse the car, and went inside, it was a big
area. This complex accommodated the Durga(Fort) Temple dedicated to Vishnu,
Standing on a high platform with a 'Rekhanagara' type of Shikhara, it is the
most elaborately decorated monument in Aihole and LadhKhan Temple. The
experimental nature of Temple building by the Chalukyas is best elaborated in
the Ladh Khan Temple, located south of the Durga Temple.
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| Durga Temple (Ladkhan Complex) |
We took more than an hour at this place, rested our achy
feet on the green grasses. Since, the dusk was approaching faster, we thought
of leaving soon.
To tour Aihole, it is advisable to go on foot, to get a better view & understanding of
its architectural grandeur.
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| Ladkhan Complex |
One hour is nothing compared to the magnificence of
this place. It would require a day to sink in the historical importance of
Aihole. There were many more temples spread throughout the village.
We left by 5.30 pm to go back over to Badami. While
travelling to Pattadakal and Aihole there were many Sunflower fields, with
some already matured and dried up some still fresh. I desperately wanted to get
down and get myself clicked among my favorite flower – Sunshines - Sunflower.
Finally, while going back, we halted at one
place, where the flowers were still basking under the sun and yes I imagined
them smiling. We took the opportunity to hop around and get as many photograph
as possible with them. After the extra bout of happiness, we halted at a bridge
with Malaprabha river flowing under it. We got down on the rocks, sat there for
some time to watch the sun go down and reverted back to Badami, where we had
our night stay booked.
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| Malaprabha River |
Next day was check-out from hotel and travel to Hampi
via Hospet. As per the original plan, we would have boarded a bus from Badami
to Hospet, which are available every half to one hour, and take an Auto to
Hampi from Hospet which is like 15-20 minute distance. But then, Car was
available to drop till Hampi.
Finally, with a promise to come back again, I left!
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