Page 545 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

K ARNA T AK A  543

the Nandi pavilion in front of VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
it, are incomplete.
A path from the Virupaksha Practical Information
Temple gateway along the river Bagalkot district. 22 km (14 miles)
leads to the Papanatha Temple. NE of Badami. & _ Pattadakal
This early 8th-century temple Dance Festival (Jan).
was extended several times, Transport
as can be seen in the unusual £ Badami, 24 km (15 miles)
arrangement of double halls SW of town. @
leading to the sanctuary, and
in the later addition of
Nataraja, ceiling panel from the passageway walls with porches and a Dancing Shiva (Nataraja),
Papanatha Temple on three sides. The exterior in the inner hall.
combines South Indian-style
itself consists of a spacious, pilastered wall niches with Jain Temple
columned hall with triple North Indian-style mesh To the west of the village,
porches leading to the linga patterns and curvi linear is a 9th-century Jain Temple
sanctum, surrounded towers. Battle scenes from built by the Rashtrakuta
by a passageway. The ornately the Ramayana (see p31), carved rulers, who succeeded the
carved pillars and ceilings on the east wall, conclude with Chalukyas in the middle of
portray mythological and Rama’s coronation, shown the 8th century. A
religious stories. The finest on the column of the spacious open porch
reliefs are on either side of the main porch. Both the with peripheral lathe-
east porch and include one halls have central turned columns
of Shiva as lingodbhavamurti, aisles, with pot is overhung
appearing out of a fiery linga, and foliage with angled
and a depiction of Vishnu as motifs carved eaves. Some
Trivikrama, traversing the on the capitals. remarkable
Universe in three steps. Ornate brackets carvings of life-
The Mallikarjuna Temple, and beams size elephant
though identical, is smaller support ceiling torsos are placed
and more compact. The panels, the finest beside the
interior hall has a number of of which show doorway that
Shaivite sculptures. The walls a coiled naga Battle between Arjuna and Shiva, leads into the
surrounding the temple, and (snake) deity Virupaksha Temple inner hall.
Aihole
Malprabha

9

8
11
3 4
10
2 7
5
6

1
Plan of Pattadakal
1 Entrance 7 Virupaksha
2 Jambulinga 8 Nandi Pavilion
3 Galaganatha 9 Museum
4 Sangameshvara 10 Village
5 Kashi Vishvanatha 11 Papanatha 0 metres 100
6 Mallikarjuna 0 yards 100
Badami

For keys to symbols see back flap

542-543_EW_India.indd 543 26/04/17 11:48 am