Badami, Karnataka, India (info)
Badami lies at the foot of a rugged, red sandstone outcrop that surrounds Agastya Tirtha tank (an artificial lake) on three sides. It was founded by Pulakesin I of the Chalukya dynasty. Once the capital of the Chalukyas, Badami, called Vatapi back then, is best known today for its rock-cut cave temples. The caves, sculpted in the 6th and 7th centuries CE, depict Hindu, Buddhist and Jain iconography. Cave 1 is devoted to Shiva, caves 2 and 3 are dedicated to Vishnu, and cave 4 displays reliefs of Jain Tirthankaras. A natural cave nearby is dedicated to the Buddha. Carvings of Hindu Gods are strewn across the area in other caverns and on boulders. Two Bhutanatha temples stand facing the lake. Together, these monuments represent the early styles and stages of south Indian temple architecture.
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The Cave Temples of Badami |
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Nataraja with 18 arms  |
Harihara (Ardhanarishvara)  |
Left side of porch (right)  |
Cave Two exterior  |
Cave interior  |
Varaha (avatar of Vishnu)  |
Trivikrama (avatar of Vishnu)  |
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Cave Three exterior (interior)  |
Left corner of porch (1, 2, 3)  |
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Porch, looking left (right)  |
Cave Four exterior  |
Left side of porch  |
Right side of porch  |
Adinath, inner sanctum  |
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Badami Village and Fort |
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View from the caves (more)  |
Agastya Tirtha tank (more)  |
Woman washing her buffalo  |
Lots of these around  |
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Badami village street (more)  |
Badami village street  |
Badami from the fort (more)  |
Tonga  |
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Bhutanatha temple 1  |
Inside Bhutanath temple 1  |
Bhutanatha temple 2 (more)  |
Bhutanatha temple 2  |
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Picnicking girls  |
Albino kid with cousin  |
Siblings  |
Natural Buddhist cave (outside)  |
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Ghat by Agastya Tirtha tank  |
Laundry time (more)  |
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Surveying the visitor  |
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Path to Badami fort (more)  |
One of many fort temples  |
Caves & village from the fort  |
Path down Badami fort  |
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ASI museum, Badami  |
Lajja Gauri fertility goddess  |
Yellama temple  |
Inscription of Kappe Arabhattan  |
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Mahakuta Temple |
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Complex with tank (more)  |
Courtyard scene  |
Subsidiary shrines (more)  |
Nandi statue  |
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