Pattadakal

History glossary

Also called: Pattadakal group of monuments, Pattadakal temples · Topic: Early Indian Art and Architecture: Stupas, Rock-cut Caves, Temples · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Pattadakal is a group of Hindu temples (and one Jain temple) on the bank of the Malaprabha river in Karnataka. Most were built by the Early (Badami) Chalukyas in the 7th–8th centuries CE, and they mix the Nagara style (the north Indian style) and the Dravida style (the south Indian style) at one site.

It matters because few other places in India show both main temple styles side by side. Its biggest temple, the Virupaksha, also shows how temple ideas moved from the Pallava south into the Deccan.

Explanation

Background: why temples were built here

  • The Early Chalukyas ruled the western Deccan from their capital Vatapi (Badami).
  • They tried out temple building at three nearby sites, step by step:
  • Badami: rock-cut cave temples, cut straight into the cliff.
  • Aihole: early structural temples (built stone by stone), still at the trial stage.

  • Pattadakal: the mature stage, with large and confident temples.

  • Pattadakal was a royal and ceremonial centre. It is often described as the place where Chalukya kings were crowned. The name is linked to pattada (coronation).

  • The site sits between the north and the south. So builders here knew both northern and southern temple forms.

Main features: two styles at one site

  • Material: local sandstone, cut into blocks and fitted together. These are structural temples, not caves.
  • Basic plan: a garbhagriha (the "womb house", where the main image sits), a mandapa (a pillared hall), and a tower above the shrine. This plan grew from early Gupta shrines like Temple 17 at Sanchi, which had a square shrine room and a porch.
  • Nagara-style temples: the tower is a curved shikhara (a tower that bends inward as it rises, like a beehive). Examples:
  • Galaganatha temple

  • Papanatha temple (it also has some southern features, so it is often called a mixed temple)

  • Dravida-style temples: the tower is a vimana (a pyramid-shaped tower that rises in clear, stepped storeys). Examples:

  • Virupaksha temple
  • Mallikarjuna temple

  • Sangameshvara temple

  • Jain temple: a later Jain temple (often called the Jain Narayana temple) shows that patronage at the site was not limited to one faith.

  • Walls carry rich sculptures of gods and scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. This continues the Gupta habit of carving stories from the epics.

The Virupaksha temple: the star monument

  • Patron: Queen Lokamahadevi, chief queen of Vikramaditya II (Early Chalukya).
  • Why it was built: to mark her husband's victory over the Pallavas, during which the Chalukyas entered Kanchipuram. It was built c. 740s CE.
  • Style: pure Dravida. It has a storeyed vimana, a large pillared hall, a Nandi pavilion in front, and an enclosure wall with a gateway.
  • Southern model: the Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal was influenced by the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram. [1]
  • The Chalukyas defeated the Pallavas in war.
  • But they copied the Pallava temple design they found at Kanchipuram.

  • So art moved from the defeated kingdom to the winning one.

  • Twin temple: the Mallikarjuna temple next to it was built by another queen, Trailokyamahadevi, in the same style and for the same victory.

Results and later influence

  • Pattadakal showed that the Nagara and Dravida styles could stand together, and it shaped later Deccan temples. These later mixed forms are often grouped as the Vesara style.
  • The Virupaksha design is widely believed to have influenced the Kailasa temple at Ellora, cut out of rock later by the Rashtrakutas, who replaced the Chalukyas in the Deccan.
  • Temple building became a way for rulers to show power and celebrate wins, as well as to worship.

Time, place and evidence

  • Period: mainly the 7th–8th centuries CE. The Jain temple came later, in the Rashtrakuta period.
  • Dynasty: Early (Badami) Chalukyas. Key patrons are Queen Lokamahadevi and Queen Trailokyamahadevi, both queens of Vikramaditya II.
  • Place: on the Malaprabha river, near Badami and Aihole, in Bagalkot district, Karnataka.
  • Southern link: the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram, the Pallava capital, influenced the Virupaksha temple. [1]
  • Evidence:
  • Inscriptions on the temples, especially on the Virupaksha, name the queen as patron and refer to the victory over Kanchi.
  • The buildings themselves are the main evidence: their plans, towers and sculptures.

  • The site is looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India.

  • Heritage status: the "Group of Monuments at Pattadakal" has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.

Don't confuse with

  • Virupaksha temple, Hampi: this one is in the Vijayanagara capital and is much later (medieval). The Pattadakal Virupaksha is Early Chalukya and was built by Queen Lokamahadevi.
  • Kailasanatha temple, Kanchipuram vs Kailasa temple, Ellora: the Kanchipuram temple is a Pallava structural temple that influenced Pattadakal. [1] The Ellora temple is a Rashtrakuta temple cut out of a single rock and came later.
  • Aihole and Badami: all three are Chalukya sites. Badami has rock-cut caves, Aihole has early, trial-stage structural temples, and Pattadakal has mature temples in both Nagara and Dravida styles.
  • Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram): this is a Pallava site in Tamil Nadu, famous for rock-cut monuments. [1] Pattadakal is a Chalukya site in Karnataka with structural temples.

Prelims Hooks

  • Pattadakal: Karnataka, on the Malaprabha river, built by the Early (Badami) Chalukyas. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
  • The Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal was built by Queen Lokamahadevi to mark Vikramaditya II's victory over the Pallavas.
  • The Virupaksha at Pattadakal was influenced by the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram. [1]
  • Dravida temples at Pattadakal include Virupaksha, Mallikarjuna and Sangameshvara. Galaganatha is Nagara, and Papanatha is mainly Nagara with mixed features.
  • Order of Chalukya sites by stage of temple building: Badami (caves) → Aihole (early structural) → Pattadakal (mature structural).
  • Trap: the Virupaksha at Hampi is a Vijayanagara temple, not the Chalukya one.

Mains Points

  • One site, two styles. Pattadakal is the best single example of the Nagara and Dravida styles standing side by side. This shows the Deccan was a meeting zone of north and south, not a border between them. It helps answer questions on regional temple styles and the later Vesara style.
  • Art moved through war, not only through trade. After defeating the Pallavas, the Chalukyas copied the Kailasanatha of Kanchipuram in their own Virupaksha. [1] This fits a longer chain:
  • Gupta shrine plan (Sanchi Temple 17)
  • Pallava temples at Mamallapuram and Kanchipuram
  • Chalukya temples at Pattadakal
  • Rashtrakuta temple at Ellora

This chain is good evidence that Indian temple architecture is best studied as one connected story.

  • Royal women as patrons. Queens Lokamahadevi and Trailokyamahadevi paid for the site's two greatest temples. Like Prabhavati Gupta's Vishnu temples at Ramtek, this shows royal women using patronage to build public memory and political prestige. The temples were statements of victory as much as places of worship.

Related concepts

Read more

Sources

  1. 1Pallava dynasty — South Asian arts: Medieval temple architecture, South Indian style of Tamil Nadu — Cave temples, Archaeological Survey of India — Group of Monuments at Pattadakalbritannica.com · tier 3