Badami Chapter

Karnataka has been called the laboratory of Hindu temple architecture. And Badami is one of its greatest centers where the origin and evolution of temple architecture can be traced. Located in Bagalkot district of northern Karnataka, in the famed Deccan it is a great Hindu cultural center. Badami, along with Pattadakallu, Aihole and Mahakoota creates an ensemble which displays a wide variety of temples. The seat of the great Badami Chalukyas, Badami has one of the earliest cave temples of India, in which Hindu iconography touches some of its greatest heights. But it does not stop at cave temples and the evolution can be seen in the later temples around the lake.

Hindu temple architecture in its classical form reaches its zenith in Pattadakallu, where on one platform lie many different kinds of architectural styles and where Nagara and Dravida temples stand on one platform and the beginnings of the Vesara style can be seen. Aihole on the other hand displays the various stages of temple architecture evolution at one site. Mahakoota shows how ancient temples remain living and Banashankari temple shows how shakti pooja in this great land touches all walks of life. Bodha Anveshi Badami chapter offers a deep study of Hindu temple architecture, sculpture and iconography in its various dimensions. It also aims to explore the dynamic of the living temple eco-systems which remain so vibrant in this part of Bharatavarsha.