Badami cave temples

The Badami cave temples are a complex of temples located at Badami, a town in the Bagalkot District in the north part of Karnataka, India. They are considered an example of Indian rock-cut architecture, especially Badami Chalukya Architecture. Badami, the capital of the Early Chalukyas, who ruled much of Karnataka in the 6th to 8th centuries, lies at the mouth of a ravine with rocky hills on either side and a town tank in which water from the ravine flows. The town is known for its ancient cave temples carved out of the sandstone hills above.

Badami History

The place is also known as Vatapi and Badavi and was also the capital of the Early Chalukyas, called as Vatapiadhishthana. Chalukya king Pulikeshi I strengthened Badami fort and perhaps made it capital and this is indicated by the earliest Badami cliff inscription of 543 and the place continued as the royal seat up to 753, barring a brief spell when Pallavas occupied it from 642 to 655. An inscription here informs us that Badami had 2000 mahajanas. Badami was also in the possession of the Vijayanagara kings, the Adilshahs, the Savnur Nawabs, the Marathas, Haider Ali, and lastly it was annexed by the British who made it part of the Bombay presidency. The place has four rock-cut shrines (caves). (Source: Karnataka State Gazetteer 1983)

Temple caves

The Badami cave temples are composed of four caves, all carved out of the soft Badami sandstone on a hill cliff in the late 6th to 7th...
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