Badami rock-cut temples, Cave-1

Badami is one of the most visited historic sites of Karnataka. Badami is amazing because of its long history which goes back to Neolithic times. Among the massive sandstone formations of Badami are naturally formed shelters which were inhabited during Stone Ages and then in the recent times i,e, probably 3rd Century CE onwards, manmade shelters or cave temples were made over a period of time. Its my thought that man made shrines in natural shelters first, then progressed to rock-cut temples, and lastly started constructing structural temples.

In the first case i.e. shrines in natural shelters, either the deity was sculpted in rock walls itself or installed on the floor of the shelter. There are several natural shelter shrines, like Kalakaleshwara Gudi near Gajendragad, Varavi Siddeshwara Gudi near Yekkeri, Huligyammanakolla, Siddanakolla near Aihole to name a few. If you look at these sites, all of them have natural sources of flowing water. In the past water flowed throughout the year but now water flows during and after rains.

For some reason, man wasn't satisfied having shrines in natural shrines, so the idea of making a rock shelter at a required location formed. With the knowledge of natural shelters, man learned to select sites i.e. a rock formation capable of withstanding changes in its structure. Then there had to be a source of water. The technology of rock-cutting evolved over a few centuries, may be a millennia. As per archaeologists the rock-cut temples across India have been created between 3rd and 6th Centuries. The popular sites are Ajanta, Ellora, Elephanta, Karla, Udayagiri & Khandagiri, Undavalli, Barabar, and of course Badami in Karnataka. The few mentioned here are the larger ones, there are many minor ones as well, for examples the monolithic temples of Aihole. There's one rock-cut shrine at Badami known to a few, its called Arali Honda, situated on the top of the sandstone hill approximately a kilometers away from the main cave temples.

Sometime during the evolution of rock-cut temples, the idea of structural temples was conceived. This doesn't mean that structural construction was unknown. Man had already learned to shape rocks (stone tools) and also build structures like megalithic tombs. If you see the megalithic sites in Karnataka, you can see different types of tombs in terms of raw material, size & forms. The megalithic tombs of Aihole, Rajan Kollur, Konnur are probably soapstone. The slabs are thick & rough-cut - yeti in the crude forms you can see elegance. At Hire Benkal and Brahmagiri sites, the tombs are made of granite slabs. The tombs of Hire Benkal are the largest, ranging between 5' to10' high and proportionally wide. The tombs of Brahmagiri are 1' to 3' high. Well, man had mastered geology and the art of shaping rocks to the form he could imagine - these skills were dedicated to building temples. Besides the art of shaping rocks, man had also developed a spiritual side and a cosmic connection which were factors in the science of temple designing. The technology was so advanced that temples and tombs built centuries/millennia ago are standing, some are so intact as though they were built a few years ago.

Having spoken a bit about stone working of ancient humans, lets take a look at the Badami cave temple numbered one. At Badami cave temple site there are four cave temples and one natural cave which makes it five. The five caves are situated at a elevations of 18 meters to 40 meters approximately. The first cave is numbered one, its mouth visible from the ground level itself. As you see the cave has four columns plus two more columns in the side walls.

A side vie of Cave-1's mouth. The cave's floor is elevated, approximately 5' from the base. The staircase to the cave's floor is also part of the main rock here. 

My first visit to Badami caves was during my school days, probably 1983. It was a family group on a small tour of Badami, Pattadkal, Aihole and Kudala Sangama. I don't remember anything about Pattadal and Aihole but remember a few things here. The most memorable things are the pungent odor of bat droppings in these caves and climbing the steep staircase to the fort atop these rocks. Back then, visitors were allowed to go up, a few years later it was out of bounds for tourists after a nasty incident involving deaths.

Cave-1 is a Shivaite shrine. There are imposing sculptures of Shiva in different forms. On the side wall is the 18 armed Nataraja plus panels of Ganas with various expressions.

A board planted nearby describes the cave in Kannada, Hindi and English. Below are the transcripts in Kannada and English:

ಒಂದನೇ ಗುಹಾಲಯ

ಈ ಗುಹೆಯು ಸುಮಾರು ಕ್ರಿ.ಶ.550 ರಲ್ಲಿ ನಿರ್ಮಿತವಾಗಿದ್ದು ಅಂಗರೂಪದ ಈಶ್ವರನಿಗೆ ಅರ್ಪಿತವಾಗಿದೆ. ಇದರಲ್ಲಿ ತೆರೆದ ಮುಖಮಂಟಪ, ಕಂಬಗಳಿಂದ ಕೂಡಿದ ಸಭಾಮಂಟಪ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಹೊಂದಿಕೊಂಡಂತೆ ಗರ್ಭಗೃಹವಿದೆ. ಮುಖಮಂಟಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಡಪಾರ್ಶ್ವದಲ್ಲಿ ಹರಿಹರ ಮತ್ತು ಬಲಪಾರ್ಶ್ವದಲ್ಲಿ ಅರ್ಧನಾರೀಶ್ವರನ ದೊಡ್ಡ ವಿಗ್ರಹಗಳದ್ದು, ಪಾದಪೀಠಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಿವಿಧ ಚಟುವಟಿಕೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಗಣಗಳವೆ. ಚಾವಣಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಾಗರಾಜ ಶಿಲ್ಪವನ್ನು ಸುರುಳಿಯಾಕಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆತ್ತಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಇಕ್ಕೆಲಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾರುತ್ತಿರುವ ವಿದ್ಯಾಧರ ದಂಪತಿಗಳ ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳಿವೆ. ಪೌರಾಣಿಕ ಕೆತ್ತನೆಗಳು, ಮುತ್ತಿನ ಹಾರಗಳು, ಎಲೆಗಳು, ಪದಕಗಳು, ಹಂಸಗಳ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು, ದೇವತೆಗಳು ಕಂಬಗಳನ್ನು ಅಲಂಕರಿಸಿವೆ. ಇತರ ಆಕರ್ಷಕ ಅಂಶಗಳೆಂದರೆ ಗುಹೆಯ ಎಡಬದಿಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ದ್ವಿಭುಜ ಶೈವ ದ್ವಾರಪಾಲ ವೃಷಭ-ಕುಂಜರ (ಗೂಳಿ ಮತ್ತು ಆನೆ) ಮತ್ತು ಶಿವ ಪಾರ್ವತಿಯರು ನಂದಿಯನ್ನೇರುತ್ತಿರುವ ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳು. ಬಲಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಪೂರ್ವಾಭಿಮುಖವಾಗಿರುವ ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಗುಹೆಯ ಗೋಡೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ದುರ್ಗಾ-ಮಹಿಷಾಸುರಮರ್ದಿನಿ, ನವಿಅನ ಮೇಊರುವ ಕಾರ್ತಿಕೇಯ ಮತ್ತು ಕುಳಿತಿರುವ ಗಣೇಶನನ್ನು ಕೆತ್ತಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಗುಹೆಯ ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಬಂಡೆಯ ಮುಖದಲ್ಲಿ 18 ಕೈಗಳ ಸುಂದರವಾದ ನಟರಾಜ ಶಿವನ ಅಪೂರ್ವ ವಿಗ್ರಹವಿದೆ. ಗುಹೆಯ ಮುಖದ ಮೇಲ್ಗಡೆ ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳಾದ ಅಯ್ದಸ್ವಾಮಿ-ಕಲ್ಲುಟಿ ಮುಂತಾದವರ ಹೆಸರುಗಳಿವೆ.

Cave-1

Excavated around 550 CE, Cave-1 is dedicated to god Shiva in Linga form. It consists of an open porch, a pillared hall and a sanctuary excavated into its rear wall. The side walls of the porch have large-size relief sculptures of Harihara on the left and Ardhanari-Siva on the right, supported on pedestals that have friezes of dwarf Ganas in various moods. The ceiling is adorned with deeply cut sculpture of coiled snake-king Nagaraja. On either side of this are flying Vidyadhara couples. The pillars that divide the porch from the inner hall are fluted with beautiful cushion capitals. Pillars carry low relief sculptures of deities and are decorated with pearl-festoons, foliation, medallions with mythical creatures, rows of swans etc. Other interesting themes include a two-armed Saiva-Dvarapala on left flank of porch entrance, a Vrishabha-Kunjara (bull and elephant in one) and Siva-Parvati mounting on Nandi. Following the front contour of the rock, on the right side an east-facing small cave is excavated. It has Durga-Mahishamardini on its rear wall and Kartikeya on peacock and seated Ganesha on flanking walls. Beside this small cave is a unique sculpture of eighteen-armed Siva-Natesha, the 'king of dancers'. Over the facade of the cave are signatures of craftsmen such as "Aychasvami-Kalkutti'.

Eighteen armed Nataraja accompanied by dancing Ganesha, Karthikeys playing drums and Nandi standing by his side. While some of the hands show Natya Mudra, the remaining hands are wielding musical instruments, a serpent & weapons. Nataraja is adorned with a Kirita and other jewelry. 

Lets step into the temple. Apart from the row of six columns seen in the façade, there are four more rows, totally 4 x 6 = 24 columns. With so much stone hacked out to make this space, surely the columns would be experiencing extra load. Notice how the columns are connected at the top and bottom, probably that's a tremor proof design. Between rows 2 and 3 is a desecrated idol of Nandi, its neck and head are missing. The column, by the looks of it, seems to be designed to absorb shockwaves and still remain intact.

The same column design can be seen in structural temples at Pattadakal. The wall spaces between the first, second and third column rows have floor to ceiling sculptures of Shiva and Mahishamardini. The circular sections of the columns are ribbed, the grooves & crests are uniform and precise.

View of the space between rows 2 and 3. In the middle is the idol of Nandi. Probably this idol is the only item which isn't part of the rock, this is a separate object. The deity, Shivalinga, is part of the rock but not Nandi - this is the case in Ravalapadi as well.

Next is the space between rows 3 and 4. At the middle, a lotus has been sculpted in the floor. The inner columns design is slightly different from the outer ones, these lack the circular sections, but decorated with elegant murals resembling jewelry patterns.

The beautiful lotus on the floor, simple but very elegant work. Sculpting these three rings of petals requires serious experience.

Lastly, the space between row 4 and Garbhagudi wall. In fact, there's another row of columns merged into the wall. Check out the murals on the columns. The column in the foreground has an interesting sculpture- heads of two bulls enclosed in a embossed circle. Probably this is image is in honor of Shiva's mount Nandi. Or, it could signify something else. Imagine how the sculptor worked it. The level of concentration required is hard to imagine. There's no scope for correction in rock-cut temples - zero tolerance! Take a look at the wall close to the corner, the cuboidal cavity was meant for placing an oil lamp, I think. The sanctum floor is elevated, one has to climb three steps to reach the sanctum.  The steps in front of the sanctum entrance is interesting. The flanking balustrades meet in the front forming a shallow dam. I think the function of that dam is to hold water, person entering the sanctum can wash feet there and then take the steps.

A closeup of a mural. This pattern of multiple strings of beads, the central band and lotus arc can be seen on other columns as well. At the first glance, the patterns may look same but there could be minor variations. Can any of us even conjure up a pattern like this?

Moving on... a diagonal view of the hall with Garbhagudi entrance in the background. The corcner notches in the columns is an interesting touch. The section inside is a hexadecagon - a 16 sided polygon. With Pushpa standing next to a column, I'm guessing its height... about 10' plus another 3' to the ceiling. So the approximate height of this hall is 13 feet. In a hall sans cross-ventilation air can be pretty still. I being the type of sweat easily, started prospering in minutes.

A direst view of the sanctum, the deity, a Shivalinga can is visible. One thing about rock-cut shrines is lack of drainage of used water. Probably water accumulates in a corner and evaporates.

View of the cave entrance from the sanctum door. I must try this shot afternoon, around 5 pm when Sun is down and less bright. In the second column row, the beam has two square cavities - what could be the purpose of those holes?

Now lets take a look at the close-to-life-size sculptures. These images are made on the walls between rows 1,2 and 3.  The male-female avatar of Shiva is Ardhanarishwara. In company are Parvati, Nandi and Bhringi. Apparently the image of Ardhanarishwara is meant to convey the message to people that men and women are equal, neither is greater than the other. Harihara is Shiva's avatar which is half Shiva and half Vishnu. With a conch in the left hand, the left half is Vishnu and the right side is Shiva. Harishara is accompanied by Parvati / Nandi and Laxmi / Garuda on the respective sides.

Ardhanarishwara | Harihara

Then we have a two armed Shiva holding a Trisula. Shiva is adorned in jewelry including a bead-string and bracelets. His Kirita is a grand piece. The Trisula is really well carved, meaning it looks very realistic. In the panel below Shiva is the bull-elephant pair which have a common head. This particular image can be seen in almost every Chalukyan temple. Mahishamardini too is a standard item in Chaluyan shrines. Here its a four armed Mardini holding Mahisha by the tail, her foot pressing down his head. This image assures that evil will be conquered one way or the other. 

Trisuladari Shiva | Mahishamardini

Having spent 20 minutes inside the cave, I was sweating, had to come out to open air. On the rock faces flanking the cave mouth are sculptor's diary. The series of lines, about nine such sets, are seen on this rock. Each set is supposed to indicate the number of days worked by a sculptor. Or each line means a week. This way of tracking time can be seen in many Chalukyan sites. Talking about work, I wonder how many people were employed while making Cave-1. Apart from the sculptors & their assistants, there would be teams to clear out the waste material and keep the site tidy. Wish I could go back in time and get a glimpse of the scene.

Lastly, a quick look at the recent addition to the cave's art. These were done by people who used these caves as their residences probably mid or late XIX Century. All these are some sort of games played with marbles, pawns and dice. At other sites the most commonly seen games are Huli-Manae and Chowkabara which are still played to this day.

Having done with cave-1, we'll see the other four caves in successive posts... Rock-cut Cave-2.

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