Description : Pattadakal is situated in Bijapur district of Karnataka. This heritage site is home to an impressive series of monuments including nine Hindu temples as well as a Jain Sanctuary. The group of monuments showcases the splendid art forms of the 7th and 8th centuries under the Chalukya dynasty. Pattadakal is a town famous for its group of monuments that are the culmination of earliest experiments in vesara style of Hindu temple architecture. The temples were built in the 8th century CE. The uniqueness of this place derives from the presence of both the Dravidian or the Southern and the Nagara or the Northern (Indo-Aryan) styles of temple architecture.
Pattadakal was not only popular for Chalukyan architectural activities but also a holy place for royal coronation, 'Pattadakisuvolal'. Temples constructed here mark the blending of the Rekha Nagara Prasada and the Dravida Vimana styles of temple building.
The oldest temple at Pattadakal is Sangamesvara built by Vijayaditya Satyasraya (AD 697-733). It is a simple but massive structure.
Virupaksha temple of the Chalukyan period served as a model for the Rashtrakuta ruler to carve out the great Kailasa at Ellora. the Virupaksha temple built in 740 A.D by Queen Lokamahadevi is considered the best. Virupaksha temple was constructed by the Queen to commemorate her husband’s victory over the kings from the South. The sculptural art of the early Chalukyas is characterised by grace and delicate details. The ceilinig panels of the navagrahas, dikpalas, the dancing Nataraja, the wall niches containing Lingodbhava, Ardhanarisvara, Tripurari, Varahavishnu, Trivikrama bear ample testimony to the sculptor's skill as well as the cult worship in vogue. The narrative reliefs illustrating certain episodes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata and Panchatantra fitted well with these grand religious edifices.
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