Pattadakal Temples: Uncover India’s 1000 Years Old Secrets

Good morning from Pattadakal. Pattadakal is actually a collection of numerous Hindu temples which were built during the Chalukyas, the early Chalukyas as they are called. Research says that a temple art that developed in Aihole then was used to build these tremendous architectural marvels here. Pattadakal literally translates into the place of coronation, where you make the king sit on a throne and make him wear a crown. So this place is even more significant within an empire. It was raining so heavily last night, I thought I wouldn't be able to come here and I'm really happy I made it here. It was raining in the morning and in the autumn when we were coming here and finally the rain has actually stopped. It's still drizzling a little bit but it's quite calm and peaceful over here, as has been the case in most of the places that I've been going to in recent days. So the place is to myself. So let's just walk around and see what this place looks like and I'll tell you more about it as we explore this. I know my hair is in a bad shape and that's basically because of the auto ride. The road was quite good but we were driving quite fast. I forgot to tie my hair and now I'm a junglee. So this big beautiful temple behind me is the Sangameshwara temple. It's believed that this was actually the first temple built by the Chalukyas at Pattadakal. It's a very beautiful temple, it's the earliest example of Chalukya temple architecture. So it is very very special. The Chalukyas basically used to be Shiva devotees. That's why most of the temples you see here are dedicated to Shiva. This doesn't mean that there were no temples built for other gods. In fact, all the small temples in the Sangameshwara temple are dedicated to Lord Ganesha. So though the main deity is almost always Shiva, there are other Hindu deities also in all the temples. And this is pretty common across the country where you'll see a temple dedicated to one main deity but all the other deities or many other deities are also around in other temples, just a little bit smaller in scale. The temple that you see right behind me is Galagnath temple. It's specialty is that it's built in North Indian style, Nagra style as it's known. What's really interesting about this place is how there's a mix of different architectural styles. There are predominantly South Indian, Dravidian style temples here but there are also many North Indian, Nagra style temples here. And this is something very similar to Aihole, which is known as the cradle for development of temple architecture where both the North and the South India came together. So it was like the experimentation ground. There are 10 major temples in this compound. It's one of the reasons why this is also a UNESCO world heritage site. Right now, I'm taking a small break. Breakfast time, I mean. Some energy bar. This one is yoga bar. I should add it for free for them. Because I keep eating yoga bar everywhere. But yeah, I've been here for a few hours now. And I'm going to spend a few more hours here. Seriously, I'm not even shooting so much. I'm mostly just looking around in awe of so much beauty. This place is magical. Chalukya Kings have done a great job. There's no doubt about that. I feel a little disappointed that this is not on everybody's tourist maps. All the travellers, all the photographers. Of course, it's a well-known place. It's not like it's a hidden gem or anything. Sadly, it's not as popular as some of the other places. So it's so amazing. That's my rant for today. But for now, let me just eat yoga bar. And then we'll walk around and see more temples. One of the most prominent temples here is Virupaksha Temple. Which is dedicated to Lord Shiva. This temple is also named after Lord Mahadev. This temple is still a functional temple. People still pray here. It's very busy in the morning. You can hear the kids screaming Om Namah Shivaya as they go around putting water on all the shivlings. There's a very famous Nandi in this temple. Which is also intact. And the temple itself is also quite intact, I would say. So you can see the complete structure of the temple. You can understand how the architecture of Chalu used to be in those days. I'm inside the Virupaksha Temple. And it's one of the most quietest, calmest experiences ever. It's a beautiful place. But also so soulful. Wow! This was an unexpected surprise. There's another Dravidian style temple next to the Virupaksha Temple. It's called Malukarjun Temple. This temple is smaller in size than Virupaksha. But it's very beautiful. There's a huge Nandi in front of it. Which is damaged now. So you don't have the same Nandi that you see in front of Virupaksha. But it's still a very beautiful place. I think I can spend some time here. Drink some water and relax. And there are a lot of monkeys all around me. No eating food here. Maybe not even drinking water. Because there are no monkeys. Anyway, let me show you around in the place. And we are finally done with Patatakal. It was a very good day. It was a very beautiful morning. I was roaming here alone. There was nobody else around me. It doesn't usually happen that you come to a UNESCO World Heritage Site and get to see a place so up close and personal. It was magical. Coming here from Aihole is very easy. It's about 30 minutes or so if you come in an autorickshaw or a tuk-tuk as they call it here. If you have your own vehicle, it's even faster. Buses also run but there are very few buses. So you have to really plan your day early. I wanted to come here in the morning when these temples open. Which is 6 am in the morning. And so I took an auto. Journey was smooth. The roads are awesome.