UPSC Prelims 2026 Q4: Nagara Shikhara Temples of Aihole & Deogarh
Which of the following temples has/have a Nagara-style shikhara?
1. Malegitti Shivalaya, Badami
2. Huchimalligudi Temple, Aihole
3. Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh
4. Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal
- 1 and 2
- 2 and 3
- 3 only
- 3 and 4
Answer: (b) 2 and 3
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: incorrect — Malegitti Shivalaya stands on a boulder north of Badami. It was built by the Early Chalukyas in c. 625–675 CE. Its tower is a two-tiered Dravida vimana topped by an octagonal crown, with small kuta and shala pavilions on each tier. Scholars treat it as the earliest well-preserved Dravida-style temple at Badami. It does not have a curved Nagara shikhara.
- 2: correct — Huchimalligudi is an early Chalukyan Shiva temple at Aihole. It is usually dated to the late 6th or 7th century CE. Above its sanctum is a curved rekha-nagara (latina) shikhara, the single-spire north Indian type. It is also among the earliest temples with an antarala, a vestibule between the sanctum and the hall.
- 3: correct — The Dashavatara (Vishnu) temple at Deogarh in Lalitpur district, Uttar Pradesh, was built in the Gupta period, c. 500 CE. Unlike the flat-roofed early Gupta shrines, its sanctum carried a stone shikhara. The shikhara is now partly broken. This makes Deogarh one of the earliest surviving Nagara temples with a tower. It stands on a raised terrace with four corner shrines, an early form of the panchayatana layout.
- 4: incorrect — Queen Lokamahadevi built the Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal in c. 740 CE. It marked the victory of her husband, Vikramaditya II, over the Pallavas. It was modelled on the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram. Its tall, many-storeyed vimana and the gopura entrances in its enclosure wall are Dravida. At Pattadakal the Nagara examples are temples like Galaganatha, not Virupaksha.
How to eliminate
Two facts solve this. Deogarh is a Gupta temple in Uttar Pradesh, so it is north Indian and Nagara. Virupaksha at Pattadakal is the well-known copy of the Pallava Kailasanatha temple, so it is Dravida. Knowing these two rules out the option without 3 and the option with 4. That leaves '2 and 3' or '3 only', so the question comes down to Huchimalligudi. Chalukyan sites built both styles side by side, so a temple's location in Karnataka tells you nothing; you have to know the temple. Remember: Huchimalligudi (Aihole) has a rekha-nagara shikhara, while Malegitti (Badami) has a Dravida vimana.
Know more
Nagara vs Dravida: reading the tower
The quickest way to tell a temple's style is to look at the tower above the sanctum (garbhagriha).
| Feature | Nagara (north) | Dravida (south) |
|---|---|---|
| Tower name | Shikhara | Vimana |
| Profile | Curves inward, rises like a single spire | Stepped, storeyed pyramid (talas) |
| Top | Amalaka (ribbed disc) and kalasha | Octagonal/domed shikhara crown with stupika |
| Enclosure | Usually no high boundary wall | Walled courtyard with gopuram gateways |
| Sub-types | Latina/rekha-prasada, phamsana, valabhi | Square, octagonal, elliptical plans |
Early milestones
- Gupta period (c. 5th–6th century): flat-roofed shrines (Sanchi Temple 17, Tigawa) gave way to shikhara temples such as Deogarh (c. 500 CE) and the brick temple at Bhitargaon.
- Early Chalukyas of Badami (6th–8th century): built both styles at Aihole, Badami, Mahakuta and Pattadakal, which made the region a laboratory of temple design. Durga temple and Huchimalligudi at Aihole use rekha-nagara towers. Malegitti Shivalaya (Badami), and the Sangameshvara, Virupaksha and Mallikarjuna temples (Pattadakal), are Dravida. Galaganatha and Papanatha at Pattadakal use Nagara forms.
- Vesara is the later mixed Deccan idiom of the Later Chalukyas and Hoysalas, combining features of both.
Pattadakal was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. UNESCO describes it as a harmonious blend of northern and southern architectural forms. Virupaksha (c. 740 CE) later influenced the Rashtrakuta Kailasa temple at Ellora.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Nagara style: Every option turns on spotting the Nagara form: a curvilinear, single-spire shikhara over the sanctum, typical of north Indian temples like Deogarh's.
- Latina shikhara: Huchimalligudi's tower is described as a rekha-nagara or latina shikhara, the curved single-spire type that defines Nagara temples.
- Dravida style: Malegitti Shivalaya and Virupaksha both show Dravida features, a stepped vimana, kuta and shala pavilions and gopuras, which set them apart from Nagara.
- Vimana: Knowing that a tiered, pyramidal vimana marks Dravida temples helps tell Malegitti's two-tiered tower and Virupaksha's many-storeyed tower apart from curved shikharas.
- Pattadakal: Pattadakal has both Nagara and Dravida temples side by side, so you can't tell Virupaksha's style from its location alone.
- Chalukyas of Badami: Three of the four temples are Early Chalukyan works at Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal, where the dynasty built in both northern and southern styles.