Brown, pillar-like hills stack up against the blue afternoon sky as we drive towards Badami from Aihole. Badami gets its name from the "almond coloured" (badami) hills, our guide informs us. The comparison is apt- like the almond, the hills are brown and even have a texture resembling the almond- with furrowed vertical crevices lining the entire hill facade.
Vatapi and Agastya:
The ancient name of the city of Badami is Vatapi. Vatapi figures prominently in the mythological story involving the Sage Agastya. Amar Chitra Katha captures the details beautifully. Agastya migrates from North India to the South. He reaches Vatapi which is ruled by the Asura brothers- Vatapi and Ilvala. Ilvala has a devious plan to kill brahmanas by cooking his brother Vatapi and feeding the guests with his meat. Once inside the stomach, Ilvala would call "Vatapi"... and out came Vatapi, tearing the insides of the hapless brahmana. Many a brahmana met his end this way. But not Agastya- he was equal to the task. Once he had comsumed his food, he burped... and burped so audibly, that Vatapi was digested for good!
The guide informs us that the Greek astronomer Ptolemy actually visited this site and recorded it as "Badami" with a slight corruption. Ptolemy lived in the first century after Christ. The cave temples came up only in the seventh century. Badami appears to have had some standing even before it became the capital of the Chalukyas. The name "Badami" too appears to be an ancient one, given this anecdote about Ptolemy.
A flight of rock-cut stairs takes us to the Cave Temples. From this perch, the Agastya Lake is seen down below, shimmering in a deep shade of emerald-green. Hugging the lake at the farther end is the Bhutnath temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. As the wind blows, the limpid waters of the lake registers a ripple... and the inverted image of the temple...sways ever so gently. A closer scrutiny reveals that there are in fact two temples- one on the Northern side and another on the Eastern front. The hills in the distance reveal numerous sandstone structures- but time is limited, and we have just enough to explore the cave temples.
Badami was the capital of the Chalukyas who ruled in the 7th century. The hills tower above the caves and remnants of a fort can be seen. The Chalukyas found these hills to be a strategic location for their capital and constructed the fort. Tipu Sultan took possession of the fort in the 18th century. Some of the cannons that Tipu fitted stick out of the fort walls.
Essentially, there are 4 caves. The first one is dedicated to Lord Shiva, the second and the third are dedicated to Lord Vishnu and the fourth to Mahavira. These cave-temples were the first temples constructed by the Chalukyas, the free standing temples at Aihole came later and finally came the structures at Pattadakkal.
Cave 1:
The most endearing sculpture of Shiva as Nataraja greets us at the first cave. Unlike Nataraja's usual stance with 4 hands, this has 18, nine on either side! With each hand on the left-side, we have 9 combinations, with every other hand on the right- a total of 81 postures, all in a single image! Apparently, Sage Bharata talks about 81 postures in his Natya Shastra and all of the them are condensed in this sculpture. Another differentiator is that unlike Nataraja who has his right foot pinned to the goblin (Apasmara), in this sculpture, the foot is on a lotus. It is a dance of happiness, an "ananda taandava", the guide informs us. Ganesha also seems to join Shiva in this dance.
Kartikeya on a peacock graces another panel. Apparently, Kartikeya was one of the main deities of the Kadambas, who preceded the Chalukyas. His influence seems to have continued to Chalukyan times.
On one wall is the majestic figure of Ardha Naareeshwara-half Shiva and half Parvati . The story of the Sage Bhringi unfolds on this panel. Bhringi refused to circumambulate around Parvati. His reverence is only for Shiva. But then, Parvati is the one who blesses with health- and devoid of her grace, Bhingi is reduced to a grotesque, skeleton-like figure. It is at this point that Shiva and Shakti manifest as Ardha-naareeshwara symbolising that Shiva and Shakti are inseparable and form a composite whole at all times.
On the other side is the grand figure of "HariHara"- half Shiva and half Vishnu. Chalukyan art has a disproportionate number of "composite deities"- there's Ardha Naareeshwara, there's Harihara and a Narasimha (in the Vishnu cave). In cave 1 itself, there is an image of a bull and an elephant intertwined- cover one side and you see a bull, cover the other, and you see an elephant. The bull-elephant idiom has since been repeated at other places- at Hampi and even at Thanjavur. But, these caves seem to have started the trend, which caught the imagination of later sculptors.
Cave 2 and 3:
Both these caves are dedicated to Lord Vishnu. In the first, Lord Vishnu is seated on Adi Sesha, as opposed to the reclining posture that we are used to nowadays. The images are gigantic and larger than life.
Lord Vishnu as Trivikrama takes over an entire wall. The story of Vamana Avatara springs to life- a small image of Vamana, Bali Chakravarty and his teacher Shukracharya are clearly delineated. Finally, it is Trivikrama who takes centre-stage. One foot on the ground.. and the other raised....right up to the very heavens. Where is the room for the third step, he seems to question.
Trivikrama appears twice, in Cave 2 and Cave 3. So, does Varaha. The Chalukyan sculptors have a special fascination for Varaha. He was the emblem of the Chalukyas, no doubt. The stance is majestic, with Bhoomi Devi, held aloft on his snout, and watched by denizens of the different lokas.
A radiant, standing Narasimha idol jumps out at us. It is a massive work and remarkably different from the more famous "seated-Narasimha" that we see in current temples.
There are also exquisite figurines of couples on the upper walls. They seem to have served as the inspiration for the Hoysala figures at Belur and Halebeedu which were carved much later.
In one of the caves, curiously, Shukracharya (in the Trivikrama panel) bears a striking resemblance to Buddha. He has the same curly hair and wears robes which match the Buddha as well.
Cave 4:
This cave has the idol of Mahavira, the 24th tirthankara in the sanctum. The 23rd tirthankara- Parshvanath is seen on an entire wall- easily identified by the hooded snake which looms over his head. On the opposite wall is the figure of Bahubali or Gomateshwara, son of the second Tirthankara, Ajitanatha. Bahubali can be recognised by the host of creepers twirling over his body.
Almost 400 years later, the very same image, complete...with the creepers was carved at Sravanabelagola. Again, it was Chalukyan art which set the standard for later works.
All the caves are in exceptionally good shape- almost unmutilated and unaffected by the ravages of time. In some places, it is evident that the walls which appear vacant now, were filled with paintings, made with some kind of herbal paint. The colours are still visible in a few places- a dash of green here, a patch of red there and in some places, a faint hint of a human figure outline.
Monkeys rule these caves, ever on the lookout to snatch away food from the inattentive tourist. I was attentive, very attentive, as I walked down the steps with a bottle of mineral water. Surely, monkeys wouldn't need that. I was wrong. Accosted by a rather aggressive monkey, I had little choice but to hand him over the bottle. I didn't look back, just ran for cover! I was later told that the monkey took the bottle, smartly opened the lid and downed the contents in style!
Vatapi and Agastya:
The guide informs us that the Greek astronomer Ptolemy actually visited this site and recorded it as "Badami" with a slight corruption. Ptolemy lived in the first century after Christ. The cave temples came up only in the seventh century. Badami appears to have had some standing even before it became the capital of the Chalukyas. The name "Badami" too appears to be an ancient one, given this anecdote about Ptolemy.
A flight of rock-cut stairs takes us to the Cave Temples. From this perch, the Agastya Lake is seen down below, shimmering in a deep shade of emerald-green. Hugging the lake at the farther end is the Bhutnath temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. As the wind blows, the limpid waters of the lake registers a ripple... and the inverted image of the temple...sways ever so gently. A closer scrutiny reveals that there are in fact two temples- one on the Northern side and another on the Eastern front. The hills in the distance reveal numerous sandstone structures- but time is limited, and we have just enough to explore the cave temples.
Badami was the capital of the Chalukyas who ruled in the 7th century. The hills tower above the caves and remnants of a fort can be seen. The Chalukyas found these hills to be a strategic location for their capital and constructed the fort. Tipu Sultan took possession of the fort in the 18th century. Some of the cannons that Tipu fitted stick out of the fort walls.
Essentially, there are 4 caves. The first one is dedicated to Lord Shiva, the second and the third are dedicated to Lord Vishnu and the fourth to Mahavira. These cave-temples were the first temples constructed by the Chalukyas, the free standing temples at Aihole came later and finally came the structures at Pattadakkal.
Cave 1:
The most endearing sculpture of Shiva as Nataraja greets us at the first cave. Unlike Nataraja's usual stance with 4 hands, this has 18, nine on either side! With each hand on the left-side, we have 9 combinations, with every other hand on the right- a total of 81 postures, all in a single image! Apparently, Sage Bharata talks about 81 postures in his Natya Shastra and all of the them are condensed in this sculpture. Another differentiator is that unlike Nataraja who has his right foot pinned to the goblin (Apasmara), in this sculpture, the foot is on a lotus. It is a dance of happiness, an "ananda taandava", the guide informs us. Ganesha also seems to join Shiva in this dance.
Kartikeya on a peacock graces another panel. Apparently, Kartikeya was one of the main deities of the Kadambas, who preceded the Chalukyas. His influence seems to have continued to Chalukyan times.
 |
| What lathe machine did they have then!? |
On one wall is the majestic figure of Ardha Naareeshwara-half Shiva and half Parvati . The story of the Sage Bhringi unfolds on this panel. Bhringi refused to circumambulate around Parvati. His reverence is only for Shiva. But then, Parvati is the one who blesses with health- and devoid of her grace, Bhingi is reduced to a grotesque, skeleton-like figure. It is at this point that Shiva and Shakti manifest as Ardha-naareeshwara symbolising that Shiva and Shakti are inseparable and form a composite whole at all times.
 |
| Ardhanaareeshwara |
On the other side is the grand figure of "HariHara"- half Shiva and half Vishnu. Chalukyan art has a disproportionate number of "composite deities"- there's Ardha Naareeshwara, there's Harihara and a Narasimha (in the Vishnu cave). In cave 1 itself, there is an image of a bull and an elephant intertwined- cover one side and you see a bull, cover the other, and you see an elephant. The bull-elephant idiom has since been repeated at other places- at Hampi and even at Thanjavur. But, these caves seem to have started the trend, which caught the imagination of later sculptors.
 |
| Harihara |
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| Harihara |
Cave 2 and 3:
Both these caves are dedicated to Lord Vishnu. In the first, Lord Vishnu is seated on Adi Sesha, as opposed to the reclining posture that we are used to nowadays. The images are gigantic and larger than life.
 |
| Vishnu seated on Adisesha |
Trivikrama appears twice, in Cave 2 and Cave 3. So, does Varaha. The Chalukyan sculptors have a special fascination for Varaha. He was the emblem of the Chalukyas, no doubt. The stance is majestic, with Bhoomi Devi, held aloft on his snout, and watched by denizens of the different lokas.
A radiant, standing Narasimha idol jumps out at us. It is a massive work and remarkably different from the more famous "seated-Narasimha" that we see in current temples.
 |
| Narasimha |
There are also exquisite figurines of couples on the upper walls. They seem to have served as the inspiration for the Hoysala figures at Belur and Halebeedu which were carved much later.
In one of the caves, curiously, Shukracharya (in the Trivikrama panel) bears a striking resemblance to Buddha. He has the same curly hair and wears robes which match the Buddha as well.
Cave 4:
This cave has the idol of Mahavira, the 24th tirthankara in the sanctum. The 23rd tirthankara- Parshvanath is seen on an entire wall- easily identified by the hooded snake which looms over his head. On the opposite wall is the figure of Bahubali or Gomateshwara, son of the second Tirthankara, Ajitanatha. Bahubali can be recognised by the host of creepers twirling over his body.
Almost 400 years later, the very same image, complete...with the creepers was carved at Sravanabelagola. Again, it was Chalukyan art which set the standard for later works.
All the caves are in exceptionally good shape- almost unmutilated and unaffected by the ravages of time. In some places, it is evident that the walls which appear vacant now, were filled with paintings, made with some kind of herbal paint. The colours are still visible in a few places- a dash of green here, a patch of red there and in some places, a faint hint of a human figure outline.
Monkeys rule these caves, ever on the lookout to snatch away food from the inattentive tourist. I was attentive, very attentive, as I walked down the steps with a bottle of mineral water. Surely, monkeys wouldn't need that. I was wrong. Accosted by a rather aggressive monkey, I had little choice but to hand him over the bottle. I didn't look back, just ran for cover! I was later told that the monkey took the bottle, smartly opened the lid and downed the contents in style!
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| View from the caves |
P.S: It is interesting to note that the Elephanta Caves, close to Mumbai haven't been exactly dated. There are numerous theories, amongst which, is the suggestion that those caves may have been carved by the Chalukyas. This is an angle worth exploring. The style and content at Elephanta Caves bear a resemblance to these caves at Badami.
The 1st pic is really tempting !! How far is it from Bangalore ?
ReplyDeleteIt's about 7 hours by road...but we went to Hampi and then onto Badami.
ReplyDelete