Pattadakal monuments 🇮🇳 India

Situated between the Malaprabha River to the north and a minuscule village to the south, Patadakal is a sort of holy city comprising an impressive series of eight Hindu temples dedicated to Shiva. Three sites in close proximity within the state of Karnataka provide a remarkable concentration of religious monuments from the great Chalukya dynasty. While Aral Hall is traditionally considered the laboratory of Chalukya architecture, with such monuments as the Temple of Ladkhan antedating the dynasty's political successes during the reign of King Pulaskin I, the city of Patadakal illustrates the apogee of an eclectic art which in the 7th and 8th centuries achieved a harmonious blend of northern and southern Indian architectural form. The structures in the monumental complex of the central zone are strongly influenced by the architecture of northern India. Several of the temples are noteworthy for their square-shaped shikharas with curved edges. They stand together with other temples of a pure Dravidian style. Cornices decorate the walls of these temples and the roofs are complex and tiered in keeping with the southern style architecture. The group of temples at Patadakal comprises 10 temples. Eight can be found together in a cluster. The ninth temple is located about half a kilometre north of the main cluster and the last temple is situated about one and a half kilometres northwest of the main group. These temples fall into two distinct stylistic categories the Dravida Vimana style and the Rekhanagara Prasada style. The Malik Arjuna temple was built around 740 AD by Queen Treyalokiyamahadevi of Vikramadhita II. This was built to commemorate her husband's victory over the Pallavas of Kanchipuram. In general appearance and style it resembles the Virupashka temple built for the same purpose at the same time and most probably by the same guild of architects. The Shakyan cities of Badami and Aihole possess a lot of early medieval architectural works while the temples found at Patadakal are representative of a more mature period of the Shakya dynasty and would go on to strongly influence temple architecture in the east and middle India. Facing the east the Jambulingheswara temple comprises a square sanctum housing a linga on a pitta with pranala on the north side as well as a mandapa. The Kadhasidheswara temple was most probably built in the middle of the 7th century AD. It demonstrates an experimental stage in the development of temple architecture particularly in the axial expansion of the plan and superstructure. The doorway of the sanctum has pilasters set among bands decorated with Shiva and Parvati seated at the center of the lintel and Brahma and Vishnu on either side. Separated from the group of Brahmanical temples both in terms of time and space this Jaina temple was built in the 9th century AD probably during the reign of Rastakuta King Krishna II. This three-storied temple with the two lower stories being functional is the last in the temple series at Patadakal. The open porch has peripheral rows of pillars connected by balcony seating. All these sandstone pillars with the exception of the two abutting the hall and the four in the center are partially lathe turned. On the wall of the hall inside the porch to either side of the doorway are large elephant figures mounted by a rider. In 745 Malikarjuna temple was built by Triloka Mahadevi the second queen of Vikramadita II. The temple was erected to commemorate the victory of the Chalukyas over the Pallavas. Malikarjuna temple was modeled on the lines of Virupaksha temple. The temple is celebrated for its artistic sculptures. These two temples standing side by side to one another closely resemble each other in their plan elevations, decoration and even the arrangements of their sculptural art. A monolithic pillar with inscriptions from the 8th century AD stands in front of Malikarjuna temple. Hindu temples in Patadakal were all dedicated to Shiva. The three great temples Virupaksha, Malikarjuna and Sangameshvara were clearly designed in keeping with the southern Indian style. A beautiful Nandi Mandapa or square pavilion open on all four sides sits to the east of Virupaksha temple. When entering the temple precinct one initially sees a Nandi shrine facing the Vimana. It is an open Mandapa made of greenish stone by royal craftsmen well balanced in scale with the colossal Vimana. The black cow houses a large image of Nandi on a raised floor. Its flat roof is supported by four pillars and short spans of the outer walls are carved with attendant figures and couples. The magnificent black stone figure of Nandi, the sacred bull faithfully attending upon Shiva, is enshrined inside the edifice. Every morning worshippers come together to perform a religious ceremony, spraying water onto the Nandi. The Virupaksha temple has a hippo-style Mandapa in front of the Vimana, adding an entrance porch to each doorway on the three sides of the Mandapa. Its outer walls partitioned by pilasters alternate between niches and windows. Each niche, surmounted with a gable of intertwined chaitra windows, houses a well-carved statue. This wall system harmonizes with the upper tower of the three-story Vimana. The unexpected and yet harmonious mixture of the temple styles provided the inspiration for the masterpiece of Chalukya art, the temple of Virupaksha. This of her husband, King Vikramaditya II, over the Pallava and other sovereigns of southern India. The sculptures are characterized by grace, rich imagination and delicate anatomical and ornamental details, bearing ample testimony to the mastery of the Chalukyan sculptors in depicting rhythm, beauty, vigour, romance and various other moods in stone. Visitors to these temples can see narrative panels illustrating various episodes from the great epics, such as the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata, Kirtanjaneya and Pachatantra. This temple is an example in which all canonical elements pertaining to the plan, elevation and style are crystallized. The entire interior of this temple is embellished with elegant carvings and sculptures. Flora, fauna and geometrical patterns adorn various parts of the temple. Some of the distinguishing elements of the structure include delicately carved door jambs, pillars and pilasters capped with a variety of capitals and carvings, lintels relieved with animals, birds and architectural motifs and ceilings depicting divine beings. Scenes depicted on the pillars include episodes from the abduction of Sita, Bhishma lying in a bed of arrows, Krishna lifting the Govardhan mountain and Arjuna receiving the Pasupatastra from Shiva. Patadakal, whose name may mean the town of the ruby red crown, was used by the Shakrans as a location for coronation ceremonies prior to the construction of Virupashka temple. Nowadays it is a small village containing a few, somewhat dilapidated, medieval stone temples, eight large and a few smaller Hindu temples and various shrines built in the 7th and 8th centuries. Enhanced by its relative isolation south of the principal zone, the temple of Papanatha illustrates once again the aesthetic achievement resulting from the incorporation of two different architectural styles. Papanatha has two rooms where the faithful can worship. Experts have found, in the detail of the niches, pediments and architecture, many contradictory architectural references. On the west side is the principal sanctuary, which is covered by a powerful tower in the northern style. Though the Amalaka, a crown stone with vertical grooves, has been lost, the entire shape of the tower is a shikara, emphasising vertical lines and following in the northern Indian style. In contrast, a row of miniature shrines in the southern Indian style is set on the circumferential parapets, showing the undifferentiated coexistence of the two styles. The temple is built on a plinth of five mouldings, embellished with animal motifs, floral designs and kudos. The wall surfaces are relieved with niches housing Saiva and Vaishnava deities, depicting episodes from the Ramayana. These niches are topped by various Chaitra arch motifs and are interspersed with perforated windows. Each niche contains a scene from the Ramayana or Mahabharata, delicately carved in relief. The stylistic development of the Hindu temple is often defined with the aid of terms such as classical and medieval, which help to give a sense of chronology to Indian architectural evolution. Early Hindu temples are characterised by an imaginative variation in the treatment of basic architectural formula and decorative themes. Up until the 17th and 18th centuries, a certain simplicity of form was coupled with considerable technical virtuosity, particularly in the area of stonework. Temples were often the product of the religious fervour of the ruling monarch and generally it did not matter to which cult of Hinduism the rulers' beliefs were affiliated, as differences in Hindu temple styles never coincided with variations of cult. Another significant factor in regional traditions was that of upsurges of religious revivalism that brought entire communities together in a collective effort to raise temples. These movements were often linked with political events and were led by dynastic rulers. Patadakal, which miraculously survived destruction, is an example of the temple cities of medieval India. It is also known as the place that well demonstrates the coexistence of northern and southern temple styles.