My Journeys In India: Pattadakal Historical Temples

April 29, 2016

Pattadakal Historical Temples

About Pattadakal and History

Pattadakal is an enchanting name in the history of Indian temple architecture. Located on the left banks of river Malaprabha surrounded by pinkish and red sandstone hills and close to Badami, a must visit for its beautiful stone temples. A small village in Badami taluk and Bagalkot district of North Karnataka. Earlier days, this was called Kisuvolal (kisu means red and volal means valley city) also called Rakthapura meaning Red city. This is the cradle of Indian temple architecture.

Do you know? From the scientific dating of the animal fossils along with the tools of Pattadakal types from Hunasgi-Isampur(about 100 kms from northeast) known to be about 10.5 Lakh years old.

About 4 or 5 Kms north and northeast of Pattadakal, In Siddhanakolla and Aihole are the upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Megalithic cave paintings and other cultural relics (circa 15000 to 300BCE).

In nearby places such as Akkaragal, Siddhanakal and Aihole are burial sites with many megalithic tombs, all in ruins. These builders were masters of Iron technology. The entire region is rich in Iron and Manganese ores.

At the western outskirts of this Pattadakal is Bachangudda, an isolated high hill and on top there is a temple of early Rashtrakuta dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara.

Temple Models

Rekha Nagara Model Temple (Indo Aryan) - Kasi Vishveswara Temple
Dravida Vimana Model (Dravidian) - Sangameswara Temple

Pleaces covered in this blog and in Pattadakal

Everything is in the same complex. See the panoramic view of all below. It takes about 1 to 1.5 hours to see all the places here.

1. Kasi Vishevesvara Temple
2. Sangameshvara Temple
3. Virupaksha Temple
4. Papanatha Temple
5. Mallikarjuna Temple
6. Jaina Temple
7. Kadasiddesvara Temple
8. Galaganatha Temple
9.Chandrasekhara Temple
10. Jambulinga Temple
11. Museum

Buy the ASI guide book on Pattadakal which has plenty of details. Also refer Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattadakal.

Tips to plan and visit the places in Aihole

Visit museum for local guide (they charge around 300/= or buy the booklet). This can be planned along with Hampi/Badami visit. Refer my respective blogs for all details. Check the nearby places section below.

Stay options and Food options

I suggest you buy and have the Tender coconut and Bananas here. They also sell the Bajra (Pearl millet) Buttermilk but they sell it on used bottles which is a concern. Carry snacks or food along with you. Water bottles you can buy here. For good food, visit Badami.

You can stay at Badami. Refer my other Badami blog for details.