Temple Art and Architecture under the Chalukyas of Badami (6th-8th century CE) - Part I
“The temple is the concrete shape (murti) of the Essence; as such it is the residence and vesture of God. The masonry is the sheath (kosa) and body. The temple is the monument of manifestation. The devotee who comes to the temple, to look at it, does so as a seer, not as a spectator” – Stella Kramrisch The Early Chalukyan or the Badami, Western Chalukyan cave and temple architecture has been a subject of deep and long drawn research since the times of James Fergusson. Yet in the popular discourse and historical narratives the development in the South gets overshadowed by the study of either the glorious Gupta art in the North or the magnificent caves of Western India. The Early Chalukyan temple territory is small if we consider the core of their construction in the Malaprabha valley (Mahakuta, Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal set in a 25 kilometers long Malaprabha river valley) in the present day northern Karnataka, though their overall footprint was large, spread acros...