While the Gupta temples were being built in central and north India, a brisk building activity was being pursued in a part of the Deccan with principal centres at the early Chalukyan sites of Aihole, Badami, Mahakuteshwara and LPattadakal, in district Bijapur of Karnataka State. (Situated only a few miles apart from one another, these are usually overlooked byh an ordinary visitor because of their location in an unfrequented interior part of the State. But those who seek to know will find a visit to these places highly rewarding). This move,ment started about the 5th century and laster till the 8th and initiated several significant temple-forms which later developed into the highly ornate temples of Belur and Halehid. The earliest temple of this region is the Ladh Khan at Aihole, distance of 13km from Pattadakal,. Here we notice that a Gupta form had already been conceived. Of the scores of temples which adorn Aihole, 4 are of outstanding importance for the development of northern temple style, viz., the Durga, Huchchimalligudi, Huchchappayyagudi (Temple No.9) and Temple No.24, all dating from 6th-7th centuries. The shikhara appearing over these temples is of the early experimental variety, representing a prototype of the characteristic north Indian type. The Durga Temple is a peripteral structure with an apsidal sanctum and mandapa, comprising nave and aisles, enclosed by a pillared verandah, with a portico approached by 2 lateral flights of steps, the whole raised on a high mioulded socle. The mandapa is lighted by elegantly carved, perforated trellises which alternate with niches containing images of deities. The mandapa has a flat roof of 2 tiers, that over the nave being higher. The apsidal sanctum is surmounted by a heavy shikhara, lately placed, of 3 rathas and more than 2 storeys indicated by bhumi-amalakas. The Huchchimalligudi Temple is a rectangular structure consisting of a square sanctum, enclosed by a covered processional passage, a vestibule, a pillared hall and a projecting porch. The sanctum is roofed by a curvilinear shikhara. The facade is plain but for a frieze of vase pattern on the parapet of the porch. This is the earliest temple to introduce a vestibule between the sanctum and the mandapa. The Huchgchappayyagudi Temple at the same site is a version without ambulatory of the foregoing and shows a more ornate door-frame and superior sculptures found on the cardinal niches of the sanctum. The only temple at Aihole to show a well-presented shikhara, complete with neck, amalasaraka and pitcher finial, is Temple No.24 which closely resembles the Huchchappayyagudi, with a similar but heavier shikhara.
Mahakuteshwara, situated near Badami, has a group of temples of which one known as Sangameshwara, comprising a sanctum and a portico, is of some importance. The sanctum displays a sculptured niche in each cardinal offset and carries a stumpy and massive shikhara, partially resembling the early temples of Aihole.
The temple art blossomed further at the last and latest, Chalukyan centre of Pattadakal, 29km from Badami, which shows temples of both northern and southern styles. As temples of northern style incorporate some features of the southern and vice-versa, it appears that the architectural conventions had not yet crystallised. Among the temples of the northern style, those of the Kadasiddheshwar and Jambulinga are the simplest, comprising only a sanctum and a mandapa. The sanctum of each has a sculptures niche on the bhadra-projections and is crowned by a squat and ponderous shikhara. Each carries a prominent sukamasa-antifix over the constr5icted vestibule and has a latticed window on the lateral sides of the mandapa.
The Kashivishwanath Temple is similar on plan to the foregoing, with the difference that its shikhara shows an advance and is of the pancha-ratha variety, divided into 5 storeys, and its mandapa carries a flat roof of 2 tiers, the higher one raised over the nave-pillars.
The Galaganath is a temple with a conspicuous projectioin on the 3 sides of the sanctum ambulatory. The vestibule has survived, but the mandapa has disappeared. This is the only temple at Pattadakal which stands on a moulded platform, decorated with a short parapet design. The shikhara storey is slightly taller and more proportionate and it is complete with a globular amalasaraka and a short finial. It bears a marked resemblance to the Alampur group of temples in the outline and proportion of the shikhara and in the design of the ambulatory.
The temple of Papanath at the same site is a long low structure with porch, hall, vestibule and sanctum, the last surmounted by a stunted northern type of shikhara, too small in proportion to the total dimensions of the building, while the vestibule is proportionately larger, almost assuming the dimensions of a court. The main decoratioin on the wall is a central band of proje cting niches, representing a repeated shrine-motif, which though quite pleasing in itself, shows a poverty of idea. The unbalanced and inorganic plan and design of the temple indicate that it still belongs to a formative and experimental stage.
More significant than the above is the group of temples at Alampur in District Mahabubnagar, adjoining Hyderabad and situated on the bank of the river Tungabhadra. This place has 9 temples, popularly known as the Nava-Brahma temples, of which 8 belong to the northern style and one (of Tarka-Brahma) to the southern style. The temples of the northern style, locally called the Vishva-Brahma, Vira-Brahma, Arka-Brahma, Kumara-Brahma, Bala-Brahma, Padma-Brahma, Garuda-Brahma and Svarga-Brahma, mark the culmination of the Chalikyan architecture and are comparable to the early Pratihara temples of north India in essential features of plan, compositioin and embellishment. Their layout is more logical and organic than that of the Papanath Temple at Pattadakal over which they mark a distinct improvement. The incongruities of the Papanath Temple, illustrated by the strings of shrine-models of the southern order (adorning its first floor parapet), are not found at Alampur. The principle decoration of the wall, composed of niches and latticed windows, attains here a lyrical elegance and the modelling of sculptures is more sensitive and less weighty. The heavy mouldings of the podium and the ponderous cornice mouldings, separating the wall from the shikhara noticed at Papanath, are here subdued and become more architectonic. The shikhara is more balanced and shows a better curvature, though it is still tri-ratha in design. The vestibule forms an integral adjunct of the sanctum. In front of the vestibule stretches the central pillared nave of the mandapa with a higher roof, resembling a clerestory, resting on 4 to 8 pillars and a pair of pilasters. The nave is surrounded by aisles with a sloping roof. A pillared portico is added in front of the mandapa only in two cases. Two doorways are usually provided in the interior. In most cases the door-frame shows an extended overdoor design and the tutelary image depicts Garuda, holding the tail ends of adoring nagas who form a canopy over the heads of Ganga and Yamuna, appearing on the lower parts of the jambs. The mandapa pillars carry ornate brackets, usually ornamented with the typical foliage of the Pratihara age. The pillars, however, differ in details; the central nave pillars of the Vishva-Brahma Temple show the Pallava type of sejant lion motif at the base. The sanctum proper is tri-ratha corresponding to the similar design of the shikhara and exhibits a sculptured niche on each bhadra projection.
Thus in respect of general plan and design and many typical architectural and decorative motifs such as ornamental, square rafter ends, composition of niches and the niche-shrines of the sanctum transepts and the garland loop pattern surmounting the jangha (wall), these temples come close to the temples of early Pratihara age.
The Svarge_Brahma Temple has an inscription of Chalukya Vijayaditya (696-733) of the Badami family and the Kumara-Brahma mentions a Vallabha, the well-known viruda of the early Chalukya kings, in characters of the 7th-8th centuries. These temples, therefore, appear to have been erected under the patron-age of the early Chalukya rulers of Badami during the 7th-8th centuries.
Mahakuteshwara, situated near Badami, has a group of temples of which one known as Sangameshwara, comprising a sanctum and a portico, is of some importance. The sanctum displays a sculptured niche in each cardinal offset and carries a stumpy and massive shikhara, partially resembling the early temples of Aihole.
The temple art blossomed further at the last and latest, Chalukyan centre of Pattadakal, 29km from Badami, which shows temples of both northern and southern styles. As temples of northern style incorporate some features of the southern and vice-versa, it appears that the architectural conventions had not yet crystallised. Among the temples of the northern style, those of the Kadasiddheshwar and Jambulinga are the simplest, comprising only a sanctum and a mandapa. The sanctum of each has a sculptures niche on the bhadra-projections and is crowned by a squat and ponderous shikhara. Each carries a prominent sukamasa-antifix over the constr5icted vestibule and has a latticed window on the lateral sides of the mandapa.
The Kashivishwanath Temple is similar on plan to the foregoing, with the difference that its shikhara shows an advance and is of the pancha-ratha variety, divided into 5 storeys, and its mandapa carries a flat roof of 2 tiers, the higher one raised over the nave-pillars.
The Galaganath is a temple with a conspicuous projectioin on the 3 sides of the sanctum ambulatory. The vestibule has survived, but the mandapa has disappeared. This is the only temple at Pattadakal which stands on a moulded platform, decorated with a short parapet design. The shikhara storey is slightly taller and more proportionate and it is complete with a globular amalasaraka and a short finial. It bears a marked resemblance to the Alampur group of temples in the outline and proportion of the shikhara and in the design of the ambulatory.
The temple of Papanath at the same site is a long low structure with porch, hall, vestibule and sanctum, the last surmounted by a stunted northern type of shikhara, too small in proportion to the total dimensions of the building, while the vestibule is proportionately larger, almost assuming the dimensions of a court. The main decoratioin on the wall is a central band of proje cting niches, representing a repeated shrine-motif, which though quite pleasing in itself, shows a poverty of idea. The unbalanced and inorganic plan and design of the temple indicate that it still belongs to a formative and experimental stage.
More significant than the above is the group of temples at Alampur in District Mahabubnagar, adjoining Hyderabad and situated on the bank of the river Tungabhadra. This place has 9 temples, popularly known as the Nava-Brahma temples, of which 8 belong to the northern style and one (of Tarka-Brahma) to the southern style. The temples of the northern style, locally called the Vishva-Brahma, Vira-Brahma, Arka-Brahma, Kumara-Brahma, Bala-Brahma, Padma-Brahma, Garuda-Brahma and Svarga-Brahma, mark the culmination of the Chalikyan architecture and are comparable to the early Pratihara temples of north India in essential features of plan, compositioin and embellishment. Their layout is more logical and organic than that of the Papanath Temple at Pattadakal over which they mark a distinct improvement. The incongruities of the Papanath Temple, illustrated by the strings of shrine-models of the southern order (adorning its first floor parapet), are not found at Alampur. The principle decoration of the wall, composed of niches and latticed windows, attains here a lyrical elegance and the modelling of sculptures is more sensitive and less weighty. The heavy mouldings of the podium and the ponderous cornice mouldings, separating the wall from the shikhara noticed at Papanath, are here subdued and become more architectonic. The shikhara is more balanced and shows a better curvature, though it is still tri-ratha in design. The vestibule forms an integral adjunct of the sanctum. In front of the vestibule stretches the central pillared nave of the mandapa with a higher roof, resembling a clerestory, resting on 4 to 8 pillars and a pair of pilasters. The nave is surrounded by aisles with a sloping roof. A pillared portico is added in front of the mandapa only in two cases. Two doorways are usually provided in the interior. In most cases the door-frame shows an extended overdoor design and the tutelary image depicts Garuda, holding the tail ends of adoring nagas who form a canopy over the heads of Ganga and Yamuna, appearing on the lower parts of the jambs. The mandapa pillars carry ornate brackets, usually ornamented with the typical foliage of the Pratihara age. The pillars, however, differ in details; the central nave pillars of the Vishva-Brahma Temple show the Pallava type of sejant lion motif at the base. The sanctum proper is tri-ratha corresponding to the similar design of the shikhara and exhibits a sculptured niche on each bhadra projection.
Thus in respect of general plan and design and many typical architectural and decorative motifs such as ornamental, square rafter ends, composition of niches and the niche-shrines of the sanctum transepts and the garland loop pattern surmounting the jangha (wall), these temples come close to the temples of early Pratihara age.
The Svarge_Brahma Temple has an inscription of Chalukya Vijayaditya (696-733) of the Badami family and the Kumara-Brahma mentions a Vallabha, the well-known viruda of the early Chalukya kings, in characters of the 7th-8th centuries. These temples, therefore, appear to have been erected under the patron-age of the early Chalukya rulers of Badami during the 7th-8th centuries.
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