Badami Cave Temples, Karnataka
Constructed in 6th century by the remarkable people of Chalukya dynasty, Badami temples of Karnataka present a mixed culture belonging to Hindu, Jain & even Both philosophies. There are four cave temples which are numbered in the sequence of their date of creation. These unique cave temples are directly carved out of giant rocks of red sandstone. Originally the place was called Vatapi, after the name of notorious Asura, who was killed in a war against saint Agastya as per the legend. There are inscriptions on the walls of caves dated back to 6th century Chalukya days.
Cave 1 is the oldest cave with a square sanctum and, has beautiful painting on its walls depicting couples engaged in love making. There are also paintings of Shiva Parvati and 18 armed Nataraja performing various dance forms. Cave 2 has dwarpalas holding lotus temple in their hands and has many wall paintings of hindu gods inside the cave. Cave 3 is the biggest and widest among the four and is dedicated to lord Vishnu. It has giant figures of various gods including Paravasudeva, Bhuvaraha, Harihara and Narasimha. All these statues are carved out of stone with amazing precision. The Cave-4 is dedicated to Jain dharma, with the large image of Mahavir Swami. This cave seems to belong to 8th century based on the inscriptions on its walls. These caves have historical and geological importance as well as religious flavor.
Badami caves are located in Bagalkot, 130kms from Bijapur and 600 kms from Banglore. The nearest airport is Belgam, which is 150kms from it. While Hubli railway station is 5kms from here and Bus from Banglore may take up to 12 hours.
Darhan Timings: Badami Cave Temples opens for visitors at 9am and closes at 5.30pm on all weekdays.
Badami Cave Temples, Karnataka on Google Map
How To Reach
The nearest airport is Hubli, which is 80 kms from Badami Caves. Visitors can reach Badami by either road or rail route too. The railway station is called Badami Station (BDM).
0 comments :
Post a Comment