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Mulk Raj Anand, the wonderful author of several internationally acclaimed books in English had to say these words after visiting the Caves of Badami and the Shrines of Aihole, Pattadakal & Mahakuta.
“One is lifted from the ordinary self to the euphoria of happiness and one exclaims: What beauties!, What splendours! What marvels!”
It had been my long standing desire to visit these places and I finally got the opportunity in 2017 when I & my wife boarded the weekly LTT- Hubli Express at 9.15 pm on 17th September at Mumbai and reached Badami the next day at 1.15 pm. The AC 2 tier coach was a brand new one and there were hardly 8 to 10 passengers in the coach. I love the train journey as it gives you the perfect opportunity to experience life in the slow lane. The Badami station was some 4 kms away from the town so we hired an auto-rickshaw and reached our hotel Grand Clarks Inn which was located on the Main Road where we were booked for 3 nights. The town of some 36,000 population looked crowded & dusty and the first impression was not very impressive. The room turned out to be comfortable. After a shower & light refreshment, I decided to take a round of the place on foot while my wife chose to relax in the room.
Badami situated at an average altitude of 1923 feet in the Indian State of Karnataka is endowed with natural beauty. Low rising red sandstone cliffs & hills known as northern hill & southern hill dominate the landscape. In between these cliffs is the valley with a beautiful lake known as Agastya lake. Agastya Muni is believed to have done penance on its banks. Badami offers the visitor an opportunity to enjoy spectacular vistas, beautiful trails and architectural treasures. You do not get tired of feasting your eyes on the architectural marvels!! Badami means almond and as the hills & rocks have the colour of Badam the place acquired the name Badami over time.
You just can’t rush through this place. Please allow sufficient time to soak in the beauty of the landscapes. Many tourists make the mistake of covering all the three locations in a single day.
Historical perspective:
Some
1400 to 1500 years ago it was known as ‘Vatapi’ and was the capital of
the mighty Western Chalukya dynasty (also known as Badami Chalukyas)
that ruled for more than two hundred years from the 6th to 8th century
AD. That was the time when Pallavas were ruling in extreme South and
Harshavardhana was ruling in the North and the Chalukyas had engaged in
battles with both of them at different times. The mighty Chalukyas were
great builders and some of the magnificent masterpieces of Indian art
& architecture were built by them at Badami (capital city)
Pattadakal (place where the coronation ceremony took place) & Aihole
(commercial capital) that have survived the ravages of time. While
Badami was established as the Capital by Pulakeshin I (543 to 566 AD)
the Caves & the temples were built during the reign of Kirtivarman I
(566 to 597 AD) & Pulakeshin II (610 to 642).
Mythological connection : There is a mythological connection with Badami too. Two demons Vatapi and Livala used to live on the two hills and the two hills are said to represent them. People were suffering due to their oppression and finally Agastya Muni with his spiritual power killed them.
The moment I saw the hill with the caves and the lake, I knew that I was going to love this place. I visited the Archaeological museum. It is a small but well maintained museum that has a wonderful collection though photography was not allowed inside.
Trekking in the Northern Hill Fort
I hired a guide Raju and decided to climb the Northern Cliff. The caves are housed in the Southern Cliff.
What an exhilarating feeling it was – going on a trek in the cliffs, through crevices in between two cliffs, climbing up the fort and exploring & admiring the several Shiva temples & Mandaps perched high up on the cliff tops at Badami !!! On an overcast afternoon with cool breeze blowing, the view of the lake and the town was magnificent. It was an interesting & satisfying two hours trek!! You climb up through one end of the hill and get down on the other end. Though not much survives of the fort today except for few parapet walls, one comes across two conical structures that were used as granaries. On the way down you come across an old Hanuman temple inside a cave with an unusual sculpture of Hanuman. Except for we two, the only person I encountered on the track was a lady backpaper – a Japanese lady from USA who was visiting India alone for a month ! I tried to strike up a conversation with her but Japanese by nature are a bit reserved. As I came down the other end of the cliff, I was fascinated on seeing the Bhutanatha temple on the edge of the lake. Located in a valley between the crescent hills on both sides and surrounded by water of the lake on three sides (after monsoon) the temple presents a magnificent view. Unfortunately the monsoon had been below average that year so the water had not surrounded the temple. I made a quick round of the temple premises as the guard was blowing his whistle to drive away the tourists at closing time ! I decided to come back again the next day to explore the place at length in detail !
Badami Caves
Next morning we climbed up to the caves at 6.30 am and except for the security guards were the only visitors. We spent more than 2 hrs around the caves admiring the art & craftsmanship. The naturally formed rock boulders were equally fascinating. Monkeys move freely around in Badami and plenty of them could be seen around the caves.
Badami Caves built during the 6th to 8th century AD can be considered as epitome of Hindu Cave temple architecture. These cave temples carved out of red sandstone cliffs during the reign of the Chalukyas predate the Hindu Caves at Ellora which were built by the Rashtrakuta Kings. There are 4 main caves at different levels, reached by an ascending staircase- the first three are Hindu temples – 1st one dedicated to Shiva while 2nd & 3rd being Vishnu temples while the 4th one is a Jain cave. Larger than life-size sculptures of Hindu divinities, intricately carved pillars & columns, ceiling panels incorporating swastika and fish-wheel motifs inspire a feeling of awe & amazement.
Cave No. 1 has an imposing sculpture of Shiva on the wall at the entrance. It is one of the finest evocations of the Lords of Dancers. The intensity of the movement and rhythmic splendour makes a stunning impact on the visitor. It is interesting to note that many of the ancient dancing Shiva sculptures in Hindu temples are same as the Bharata Natyam dance poses. This sculpture dated to 7th-century portrays Shiva as Nataraja. The image, 5 feet (1.5 m) tall, has 18 arms in a form that expresses the dance positions arranged in a geometric pattern. The arms of Shiva express mudras (symbolic hand gestures) that are found in Bharatanatyam.
Malegitti Shivalaya, Badami, Karnataka.
The Malegitti Shivalaya at Badami is perched on the edge of a cliff, a little below the walls of the North Fort and is surrounded by boulders. As it is of the same colour as the red sandstone cliff, from a distance it gives the appearance of the peak of the cliff !!
It was built in the later half of the 7th century and many historians believe that it was originally a Surya Mandir.
There are sculptures of the temple guardians on both sides of the temple entrance. The sculpture of Vishnu has Kaumodaki in the feminine form of Gadadevi and Garuda in human form as attendants. The sculpture of Shiva has Nandi in human form. Both Vishnu & Shiva are depicted as having well built figures. This temple is the earliest surviving example of the Dravida style in Early Chalukya architecture. It consists of a sanctuary, without passageway, opening into a triple aisled mandapa. Walls of sanctuary and mandapa have a curved course and a central recessed portion, divided into panels, some filled with gana musicians, dancers and warriors.
Banashankari temple
Some 6 kms from Badami is the temple of Banashankari Devi also known
as Shakambhari Devi which is a form of goddess Parvati. This is a live
temple with big festival held during Navaratri. The black stone
attractive sculpture depicts the goddess seated on a lioness trampling a
demon under her foot. The goddess has eight arms and holds a
trishul(trident), damaru (hand drum), kapaalpatra (skull cup), ghanta
(war bell), Vedic scriptures and khadga-kheta (sword and shield). The
goddess was the Kuladevi of the Chalukyas. Taking a photo of the
goddess was not allowed.
The original temple was built in 603 AD by
the Chalukyas and the present refurbished temple was built in 1750 by a
Maratha Chieftain. Devi has lot of following in Karnataka and Southern
Maharasthra.
There is a 360 ft square water tank in the forefront of
the temple enclosed by stone mantapas (halls) on three sides.The deep
(lamp) tower on the bank of the tank is also an uncommon guard tower. It
is called the Victory Tower.
Bhuthanatha temple
At one end of the Agastya lake in Badami stands the Bhootnath temple complex. With the red sandstone cliff forming a backdrop, the place looks shrouded in mystery. During monsoon when the water in the lake rises, the temple gets surrounded by water on three sides. Behind the temple complex is a large boulder on which the figures of Hindu Gods are carved. Behind this rock hidden from view stands a small temple that houses Vishnu in the reclining pose. I have not seen a more picturesque setting for a temple complex. On some of the large boulders behind the Bhutanatha temple are carvings of Hindu divinities. With not many people visiting it, it’s a perfect place to sit, relax and meditate !!!
As we came face to face with the ochre-coloured cliffs & hills of Badami along the beautiful Agastya lake, we found our spirits lifted by the euphoria of happiness. On an overcast evening with a pleasant breeze caressing us, we spent a couple of hours in blissful silence on the banks of the lake marvelling at the splendour of nature!!
We returned to our hotel by 7.00 pm and had an early supper. As there were not many guests in the restaurant the chef on our request cooked us fresh vegetables stew in butter, yellow daal served with crispy tandoori rotis followed by peas pulao. It was a bit tiring but satisfying day. We retired early for the day as we had a long day ahead.
We had booked a cab for next day to take us to Pattadakal, Aihole & Mahakuta group of temples. We left for Aihole at 8.30 am after a quick breakfast.
Badami is a travellers’s delight specially for those who love history, ancient Indian architecture and trekking.
I hope you enjoyed my travelogue on Badami along with the pics which I find are a form of self expression. This is my humble attempt to bring before you the rich heritage of ancient India and admire the craftsmanship of the artisans who got full patronage from the kings of those times.
Badami is connected by train with Mumbai & Bangalore. There are buses too from Bangalore to Badami which take 11 hours. The nearest airport is at Hubli some 105 kms away.
There are number of hotels in the town to cater to travellers of all categories.
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