Badami cave temples

Also called: Vatapi caves · Topic: Early Indian Art and Architecture: Stupas, Rock-cut Caves, Temples · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Badami cave temples (also called the Vatapi caves) are four rock-cut cave temples at Badami in Karnataka. Badami (old name Vatapi) was the capital of the early Chalukyas. The caves were cut into a sandstone cliff, mostly in the 6th century CE. Caves 1 to 3 are Brahmanical: one is for Shiva and two are for Vishnu. Cave 4 is Jain and was probably cut a little later.

They matter for two reasons. They are among the earliest Hindu rock-cut temples in the Deccan. One of them, Cave 3, carries a dated inscription. They show the rock-cut tradition moving from Buddhist and Jain monks to Brahmanical temple worship. That shift is complete at Ellora by the 8th century.

Explanation

Background: from monks' caves to Hindu shrines

• The rock-cut idea was very old. A rock-cut building is not built up from blocks. Workers cut into a hill and remove stone until a hall is left behind.
• In India this began at Barabar in Bihar in the 3rd century BCE, under Asoka.

• Buddhists and Jainas carried it on, at Karla, Ajanta and Udayagiri-Khandagiri.

• The Deccan had a strong tradition of cave-cutting. The Satavahanas and later the Vakatakas paid for many caves there. Ajanta's second phase belongs to the Vakataka period, 5th–6th centuries CE [2].

• The early Chalukyas of Badami rose in northern Karnataka in the 6th century. They made Vatapi (Badami) their capital. They used the old skill of cave-cutting for a new purpose: shrines for Shiva and Vishnu, and later one for the Jain tirthankaras (the 24 great teachers of Jainism).

Main features: style, material and plan

• Material: soft red sandstone cliffs above a lake. Sandstone is easy to carve, so the figures could be large and deep.
• Plan of each cave. It is the same simple pattern every time:
• an open verandah (front porch) on pillars
• a mandapa (a pillared hall)

• a small square garbhagriha (sanctum, the "womb-house" that holds the main deity) cut deep into the back wall

• Method: the caves are cut horizontally into the cliff face, like Ajanta. They are not cut from the top down like Kailasa at Ellora.

• Sculpture is the main glory. Huge panels of gods are carved on the walls of the verandahs and halls.

The four caves one by one

• Cave 1, for Shiva. It has the famous many-armed Nataraja (Shiva as the "Lord of Dance"), usually counted as 18-armed. It also shows Ardhanarishvara (Shiva as half-male, half-female) and Harihara (Shiva and Vishnu joined in one body).
• Cave 2, for Vishnu. It has panels of Varaha (the boar form, lifting the earth) and Trivikrama (the dwarf who grows huge and measures the worlds in three steps).
• Cave 3, for Vishnu. This is the largest and finest cave.
• It shows Vishnu seated on the serpent Shesha, along with Narasimha (the man-lion), Trivikrama, Varaha and Harihara.
• It carries an inscription of Mangalesha, an early Chalukya king, dated 578 CE.

• It also has traces of wall paintings. These are among the earliest surviving paintings of Brahmanical themes.

• Cave 4, Jain. It has figures of Mahavira, Parshvanatha and Bahubali. It is smaller and was probably cut a little after the other three, around the late 6th or 7th century.

Results and legacy

• Royal support for more than one religion. The same royal centre paid for both Hindu and Jain shrines. This continues an old pattern: Asoka gave caves to the Ajivikas, and Kharavela called himself a "respector of every sect" [1].
• A bridge to built temples. The Chalukyas soon began building free-standing stone temples nearby, at Aihole and Pattadakal. So the Badami caves sit at the point where Indian temple-making moved from cutting rock to building with blocks.
• A link to Ellora. In the 8th century the Rashtrakutas, who replaced the Chalukyas in the Deccan, took Brahmanical rock-cutting to its peak with Kailasa (Cave 16) at Ellora [3].

Time, place and evidence

• Period: mostly the 6th century CE. Cave 4 is probably a little later.
• Dynasty: the early Chalukyas of Badami, also called the Chalukyas of Vatapi.
• Key ruler: Mangalesha, whose inscription in Cave 3 is dated 578 CE.
• Place: Badami (ancient Vatapi), in the Bagalkot district of northern Karnataka. The caves are cut into a sandstone hill above a lake.
• Nearby Chalukya sites: Aihole and Pattadakal. Pattadakal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Later history: the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I captured Vatapi in the 7th century and took the title "Vatapikonda" (conqueror of Vatapi).
• How we know:
• the Cave 3 inscription, which gives a firm date and names the royal patron
• the sculptures themselves, which show which god each cave belongs to
• the faded paintings in Cave 3

Don't confuse with

• Ellora Kailasa (Cave 16): it was cut from the top of the slope downward as one free-standing temple, under the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I in the 8th century [3][4]. The Badami caves are Chalukya caves of the 6th century, cut horizontally into a cliff.
• Ajanta: its caves are mainly Buddhist chaityas and viharas, with Vakataka support and paintings in tempera [2]. Badami's caves are Brahmanical (plus one Jain) and are famous for sculpture more than painting.
• Aihole and Pattadakal: these are also Chalukya sites, but they have mainly structural (built) temples made from stone blocks. Badami is famous for rock-cut caves.
• Udayagiri-Khandagiri (Odisha): these are Jain dwelling caves of the Chedi king Kharavela [1]. Badami's Jain cave is only one of four, and it is a shrine, not a monks' living cell.

Prelims Hooks

• Badami (Vatapi), Karnataka: capital of the early Chalukyas. It has four rock-cut cave temples: three Brahmanical (one for Shiva, two for Vishnu) and one Jain.
• Badami Cave 3: the largest. It is dedicated to Vishnu and has an inscription of Mangalesha dated 578 CE.
• 18-armed Nataraja is in Badami Cave 1, the Shiva cave.
• Badami Cave 4 is Jain, with figures of Mahavira, Parshvanatha and Bahubali.
• "Vatapikonda" was the title of the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I, who captured the Chalukya capital.
• Order of rock-cut sites (early to late): Barabar (3rd century BCE, Asoka) → Ajanta (second phase 5th–6th century CE) [2] → Badami (6th century CE) → Ellora Kailasa (8th century CE) [3].

Mains Points

• The caves show rock-cut architecture changing hands from monks to temple gods.
• For centuries, rock-cut halls in India served Ajivikas, Buddhists and Jainas.
• At Badami, a royal dynasty used the same skill to make shrines for Shiva and Vishnu, with large carved images for worship.

• This leads straight to Ellora's Kailasa, where Brahmanical rock-cutting reaches its peak [3].

• They are evidence of royal support for many sects. The early Chalukyas paid for Shaiva, Vaishnava and Jain shrines at the same capital. This fits the long Indian pattern seen with Asoka at Barabar, the Satavahana land grants, and Kharavela's "respector of every sect" claim [1]. It is useful against any claim that early Indian states served only one faith.

• Badami stands at a turning point in temple architecture. The Chalukyas cut caves at Badami and also built free-standing temples at Aihole and Pattadakal. So one dynasty practised both methods, and Indian temples slowly moved from carving rock to building with stone blocks. The dated inscription of 578 CE in Cave 3 gives historians a firm date for this early stage.

Related concepts

• Rock-cut architecture
• Barabar caves
• Lomas Rishi cave
• Nagarjuni caves
• Rock-cut monasteries
• Chaitya and vihara
• Bhaja caves
• Karla caves
• Kanheri caves
• Nasik caves

Read more

• The rock-cut tradition