District: Bagalkot
Town: Badami
Temple: Badami cave temples
Badami, located in the Bagalkot district of North Karnataka, was the capital of the Chalukya Dynasty.
The Badami caves are set in a hill called a Vatapi hill, the town gets its name becoz of the colour of the mountains which is in the colour of badam (Almond).
The caves are famous for its sculptures, The cave-temples at Badami were carved in the late 6th century, and are related to similar constructions at Ellora. The Badami caves open to the north. They are numbered 1-4 from west to east, which is also lowest to highest. The numbering also corresponds to their likely order of construction, so that Cave 1 was probably carved first. Of the four caves, three are dedicated to Hindu Gods, and the fourth is a Jain Temple.
The 1st Cave
The first temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Built around 578 AD, this is believed to be the earliest of the four temples. This cave depicts Shiva in his dancing form – as Nataraja depicted with eighteen arms. There are no less than 81 different dancing poses of Nataraja depicted in this cave. It has gigantic carvings of Ardhanareeswara and Harira manifestations of Shiva & Vishnu.
There are also has depecitions of Ganapati, Shanmukha and Mahishasuramardhini It is made of red sandstone and has a hall with numerous pillars and a square shaped sanctum hollowed in the control back wall.
The 2nd Cave
This cave temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Here he is depicted in the magnificent Trivikrama form, where he is measuring the earth with one foot, and the sky with the other, with a third food resting on the head of Mahabali.
The 3rd Cave
The third cave is dedicated to Vishnu, and is the best and the biggest, and it has splendid giant figures of Paravasudeva, Bhuvaraha, Harihara and Narasimha. All these statues are engraved in a vigorous style.
The 4th Cave
The only natural cave around the area is also the only Jain temple at Badami. A statue of the 24th Tirthankara, Lord Mahavira can be seen here, seated in a comfortable pose against a cushion in the inner sanctum.
Agasthya-Tirtha Lake.
The 5th century Agastya-Tirtha Lake located beneath the cave temples is considered holy due to the healing powers of its water. The eastern banks of the Agasthya-Tirtha Tank are dotted with a cluster of Bhoothanatha temples
Bhutanatha temple
The Bhutanatha group is a cluster of sandstone temples dedicated to the deity Bhutanatha, in Badami town of Karnataka state, India. There are two major temples here. Temple No.1, on the east side of the lake, called the Bhutanatha temple has a superstructure that resembles early South Indian style or North Indian style with its open mantapa (hall or Veranda) extending into the lake, while the smaller Temple No.2 on the north-east side of the lake, sometimes called Mallikarjuna group of temples, has a stepped superstructure
some more pics
Town: Badami
Temple: Badami cave temples
Badami, located in the Bagalkot district of North Karnataka, was the capital of the Chalukya Dynasty.
The Badami caves are set in a hill called a Vatapi hill, the town gets its name becoz of the colour of the mountains which is in the colour of badam (Almond).
The caves are famous for its sculptures, The cave-temples at Badami were carved in the late 6th century, and are related to similar constructions at Ellora. The Badami caves open to the north. They are numbered 1-4 from west to east, which is also lowest to highest. The numbering also corresponds to their likely order of construction, so that Cave 1 was probably carved first. Of the four caves, three are dedicated to Hindu Gods, and the fourth is a Jain Temple.
The 1st Cave
The first temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Built around 578 AD, this is believed to be the earliest of the four temples. This cave depicts Shiva in his dancing form – as Nataraja depicted with eighteen arms. There are no less than 81 different dancing poses of Nataraja depicted in this cave. It has gigantic carvings of Ardhanareeswara and Harira manifestations of Shiva & Vishnu.
The 2nd Cave
This cave temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Here he is depicted in the magnificent Trivikrama form, where he is measuring the earth with one foot, and the sky with the other, with a third food resting on the head of Mahabali.
The 3rd Cave
The third cave is dedicated to Vishnu, and is the best and the biggest, and it has splendid giant figures of Paravasudeva, Bhuvaraha, Harihara and Narasimha. All these statues are engraved in a vigorous style.
The 4th Cave
The only natural cave around the area is also the only Jain temple at Badami. A statue of the 24th Tirthankara, Lord Mahavira can be seen here, seated in a comfortable pose against a cushion in the inner sanctum.
Agasthya-Tirtha Lake.
The 5th century Agastya-Tirtha Lake located beneath the cave temples is considered holy due to the healing powers of its water. The eastern banks of the Agasthya-Tirtha Tank are dotted with a cluster of Bhoothanatha temples
Bhutanatha temple
The Bhutanatha group is a cluster of sandstone temples dedicated to the deity Bhutanatha, in Badami town of Karnataka state, India. There are two major temples here. Temple No.1, on the east side of the lake, called the Bhutanatha temple has a superstructure that resembles early South Indian style or North Indian style with its open mantapa (hall or Veranda) extending into the lake, while the smaller Temple No.2 on the north-east side of the lake, sometimes called Mallikarjuna group of temples, has a stepped superstructure
some more pics
Indian history is so amazing....we just cant stop reading it & keep ourself amazed...thanks for the post..really nice one.
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