Hindu Temples of India: Pattadakal Group of Monuments

Pattadakal Group of Monuments – Temple Complex

There are ten major temples at Pattadakal, nine Hindu and one Jain, along with numerous small shrines and plinths. Eight of the major temples are clustered together, a ninth one about half a kilometer south of this cluster, and the tenth, a Jain temple, located about a kilometer to the west of the main cluster. The Hindu temples are all connected by a walkway, while the Jain temple has road access.

The Pattadakal monuments reflect a fusion of two major Indian architectural styles, one from north India (Rekha-Nagara-Prasada) and the other from south India (Dravida-Vimana). Four temples were built in the Chalukya Dravida style, four in the Nagara style of Northern India, while the Papanatha temple is a fusion of the two. The nine Hindu temples are all dedicated to Shiva, faces east and are on the banks of Malaprabha river.

The oldest of these temples is Sangameshwara, which was built during the reign of Vijayaditya Satyashraya, between 697 and 733 CE. The largest of these temples in Pattadakal is the Virupaksha Temple, which was built between 740 and 745 CE. The last temple built in the Group of Monuments is the Jain temple, known locally as the Jain Narayana temple, which was likely built in the 9^th century during the reign of Krishna II of Rashtrakutas. Its style is patterned on the lines of the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram.

The basic plan of the temples runs thus: the garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum) opens to an antarala (vestibule) and houses the Lingam (anionic form of Lord Shiva) on a pitha (pedestal). An expansive pillared mandapa (hall) adjoins the antarala. A shikhara (superstructure) rises on top of the garbha griha and contains an amalaka (a ribbed stone) with a kalash (pot with mango leaves and a coconut) at its finial. The vimana then comprises both the garbha griha and shikhara. However, depiction of religious motifs through free-standing sculptures and reliefs is not limited to Shaivism but recruits images generously from the Hindu pantheon.