minor inscriptions in Badami north fort

Well known inscriptions at Badami are the following: 1. Mangaleshana Shasana, 2. Kappe Arabhattana Shasana, 3. Pulakeshiya Shasana, and 4. Pallava Shasana. Then there's one inscription in shell script which is yet to be deciphered by archaeologists. Apart from these five there are several minor inscriptions of sculptors' names & tally marks mostly found near the four rock-cut temples which is the southern fort side. Across the Agastya Tirtha is the northern fort side. On these rocks are ruins of three structural temples, two Mantapas and fortifications connected by a maze of narrow pathways. On the rock faces there are minor sculptures and inscriptions which a very few tourists notice. I too hadn't noticed the ones seen here during my past visits.

The first one is a drawing of Hanuman and Vishnu's Chakra situated on a rock face close to the top-most doorway. It was spotted by a fellow tourist we had met a few minutes back. On the left edge of the picture is Vishnu's Chakra. In the middle is Hanuman with his tail looping over him. This could be from the late VI Century CE i.e. the period during the making of Vishnu shrines Cave-II and Cave-III.

That's the discoverer Shankar from Vijayapura. This rock face is about 6 feet away from the footpath, barely visible from here unless one has a sharp sense of observation. The inscription is encircled using a photo editor.

The next inscription is a Trisula close to the last but one gateway. This image is about 7 to 8 feet above the ground level.

A little further away from the Trisula inscription, on the opposite rock face is a group of writings consisting of a few names and tally marks. The tally marks seem to indicate the number of days or weeks or months worked by sculptors.

There could be other such inscriptions hidden despite being in the open. Looking forward to another visit to Badami, the Chalukyan capital.

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inscription of Mangalesha at Badami

The four important Chalukyan period inscriptions found at Badami are:
1. Pulakeshi Shasana,
2. Pallava Shasana,
3. Kappe Arabhatta Shasana and
4. Mangalesha Shasana.
While the first three are situated at different locations in the North fort, the fourth inscription i.e. Mangalesha Shasana is on the rock face besides rock-cut cave temple number 3. Just above the four-line inscription is a separate inscription which seems to be the name of an individual. It could be one of the scribes or sculptors who worked here.

Mangalesha was one of the well known kings of Chalukyan empire, he was a son of  Pulakeshi I. This relationship is mentioned in the pillar inscription at Mahakoota. This four-line inscription at Badami is about the grant from the income of a village named Lannjigesara. Below is the transcription as given in the booklet on Badami published by The Department of Archaeology, Museums & Heritage:

svasti srimat prithivivallabha mamgalēsanā
kalmanege ittōdu lamjigēsaram dēvarkke puniruva
malakarargge ardha-visadi ittōdān-alivõn
pancha-mahāpātakan-akum ēlaneyā narakadā pulu akkum

The grant was given to to the garland makers supplying flowers to MahaVishnu shrine i.e. the rock-cut shrine known as Badami Cave III. The inscription also issues a warning to those attempting to scuttle this grant.

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shell script inscription at Badami

Badami, the ancient capital of the Chalukyan empire is known for rock inscriptions. The most important ones are Kannada inscriptions dating back to VI Century CE namely-
1. cliff inscription of Pulakeshi in North fort,
2. inscription of Mangalesha besides Cave III,
3. Pallava inscription near Pulakeshi's cliff inscription and,
4. Kappe Arabhatta inscription.

Apart from these four there are several minor inscriptions on the rock faces between the rock-cut cave shrines. Some of the inscriptions are probably names of the sculptors who worked here. Then there are groups of short vertical lines lines etched on the rocks which could be sculptors work log. Lastly there's one inscription which doesn't resemble any known script known to common folks like us. This inscription is on the rock next to the steps between Cave III and Cave IV. I noticed the inscription during my visit in July 2023 and then happened to see its photo in the booklet published by The Department of Archaeology, Museums & Heritage. It is referred to as "inscription in shell script."

There is no other images on the web like this inscription. However there's a page dedicated to Shankhalipi on Wikipedia which features a picture of an pillar inscription at Deogarh in Nepal. The scripts are not alike, there could be different types of shell scripts.

Readers, please do share any information you are aware of.

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Tattukoti group of temples, Badami

On the northeastern side of Agastya Tirta is a group of four temples called Tattikoti temples, also referred to as northern Bhootnath group. All four temples are south-facing, are in a completed state and seemingly well preserved. There are signs of repair work in the recent past i.e. by the ASI. As per the booklet on Badami, these temples are said to be built in XI or XII Century CE during Kalyana Chalukyan rule. This picture below was shot from the other side of Agastya Tirta i.e. from a spot close to Cave-4.

Aug 29, 2023. My friend from Hyderabad, Srinu and I were on a tour of the Badami Chalukyan realm. We started the tour from the rock-cut temples and then drove to the northern side. We parked Srinu's car near the entrance of Bhootnath and Tattikoti groups, that's the farthest one could drive here. I have to mention that all these temples are inactive i.e. there aren't any deities and no rituals take place.

Architecture of all four temples is same. The Shikharas over their sanctums are Kadambanagara, also called Phamsana. As per iconographic study, these temples are dedicated to Yoga Narayana. As you see the exterior walls are plain, devoid of decor. Nevertheless, these are well designed and built to last.

This smaller temple is behind the chief temple. It's porch is clearly visible. Going by the structure, the sanctum and the porch are connected through a vestibule. The seating platform "Sukhanasi" looks very inviting. One could take a break from the blazing sunlight in the porch.

Coming to the third temple, a Dwikutachala i.e. a two sanctum temple, east-facing and south-facing. The east-facing sanctum does not have a Shikhara. Not sure if it wasn't built or if it went missing at some point in history.

Another view of temple #3. In the background is temple #4.

This structure is slightly off in terms of design. Firstly, the porch is missing. Then, it has fiive Kadambanagara Shikharas, one above it's sanctum and four at each of the corners of the Sabhamantapa.

That's Srinu in front of temple #1.

View of Agastya Tirta and southern cliff from the porch of temple #1.

The southeastern corner of the porch. In the background is Bhootnath group which is much larger than this group and more interesting since it is closer to water and has rock-cut sculptures.

That's it from Tattikoti group. We head towards Bhootnath group.

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Sunrise at Vaughan

These sunrise pictures were shot on Nov-21st by my brother at Vaughan, Canada. Red sky indicates oncoming rain or snow. Weather forecast for that day said possibility of snowfall.

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Jaina Narayana Gudi, Pattadakal

This monument is is seldom visited by tourists because of its location. Though it is just a few meters away from the main road, it is situated on a narrow road, parking a large MPV or a bus is not really convenient. Hence a few tourists traveling by car may stop to see this monument restored between 2002 and 2004. My previous visit here was Aug 2010, that's 13 years ago. In those thirteen years I'd passed by this place half a dozen times, somehow I didn't bother giving it another visit.

Aug 29, 2023. This visit was mainly to show the Chalukyan realm to Srinu, my friend from Hyderabad. We had left Dharwad early morning, reached Badami around 9 am. First we saw the rock-cut temples on the southern side and then went to the northern side where we saw Bhootnath group and then climbed the hill from the path used mostly by cattle-herds and local people. We spent about hour on the hill, saw the Shivalayas, the royal Mantapas and descended the hill. From Badami we drove to Shivayogi mandir where we took a break. We had homemade jolada rotti & sprouts for lunch followed by a short nap. As we approached Pattadakal, I thought we must see the Jaina Narayana Gudi before going to the main complex. Here we are looking at recently restored monument.

A information board planted close to the temple reads as below:
Jaina temple
This east-facing Jaina temple built in Dravida style is assigned to the Rashtrakuta period, and probably dates from 9th century. It was raised beside an earlier brick temple of Jina. The temple comprises of a large porch, a hall and a sanctuary with an ambulatory around. Its basement mouldings, wall pilasters and columns, the hara parapet, etc., conform to Dravida tradition. An additional sanctuary over the ground storey is a feature noticed in some Jaina temples, such as those found in Hallur, Lakkundi and Shravanabelagola. Tirthankara images from both the sanctuaries are missing. Noteworthy in the temple are the sculptures of two large elephants with riders in the porch that flank the doorway of the hall. A small figure of Jaina Tirthankara on the northern side confirms the temple's Jaina association.

The temple's side walls are almost plain except for a couple of windows, one each for Sabhamantapa and circumambulatory around the Garbhagudi.

This temple actually has two Garbhagudi positioned one above the other. The upper Gabhagudi is not visible from the ground level. This type of construction is called Dvi-tala Vimana.

The structure looks small and simple in this view. The Shikhara is completely out of view. A balustraded staircase leads up to the portico (Mukhamantapa). There are twelve turned pillars supporting this space's roof.

The Sabhamanatapa door is flanked by life-size elephants with mahouts. This is the only temple in the Badami Chalukyan realm having such a sculpture which is typically Rashtrakutan.

The doorframe is quite simple. There's no lalatha-bindhu (central block) in the lintel. Usually doorframes have a central block showing Gajalakshmi in Shiva or Vishnu temples. In case of Jain Basadi, the central block would have an icon of seated Mahaveera.

This is the Sabha Mantapa. The stout pillars indicate this is an early design. Similar type of pillars can be seen at Sangamaeshwar Gudi, Mallikarjuna Gudi and Kasi Visveswara Gudi in the main complex. The interior of this temple had a strong odor of bat droppings, in fact the Sabhamantapa floor was littered with droppings. The smell was overpowering, discouraged me from venturing deeper into the temple.

As we step across the door into the Sabhamantapa, on the right hand side is this leaning stone block. This is an ancient stone ladder which was used to climb upto the upper sanctum. I asked the guard if tourists were allowed to climb up. No. I was really curious to see how the roof was. Unfortunately ASI has its rules.

A diagonal view of the ladder. The ladder has 8 or 9 steps, each step at least a foot high. The ladder is placed in a stone block approximately one and half feet high. Adding up the inches, floor to ceiling height is about 12 feet. This ladder looks simple but making it involves a lot of geometrical calculations. There are three more ladders I've seen, they are at three different temples in Aihole. One could check out the four ladders under one article- stone step-ladders in Chalukyan temples.

The stone ladder and the temple door. Light and shadow create interesting views in here.

Here's a view of the sanctum with a Shivalinga. I have to say that this is an inactive temple, this Shivalinga made its way into this temple at some point of time when Shivaivites were dominating the social structure.

As per the booklet on Pattadakal by Archaeological Survey of India, this temple was built  during the Rashtrakuta Krishna II (878 to 914 CE).

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Gauri Gudi, Aihole

This photo of Gauri Gusi was shot on 16th Dec 2011 afternoon. That was 5th (possible 6th) visit to Aihole, it was a solo trip. I had spent just a few hours at Aihole, may be visited 2 or 3 temple complexes.

This temple though it looks small from here has a spacious interior. The temple structure has undergone massive changes. The lower half is original and the upper half is relatively new addition. In this view, the lower half consists of the platform, Sukhanasi and a few pillars. The upper walls made of smaller blocks are recent addition, may be 70 to 80 years old. If you look beyond the front wall, you can see how wide the temple is.

Oct 6th 2023. I was revisiting Gauri Gudi after 12 years, this time with my friend Sridhar from Bengaluru. We came here around 10-15, it was already bright and hot. The temple looked the same as before, no changes expect that one of the two notice boards and an information were missing.

Below is the transcript of the info board:

This Virupaksha temple with Linga in the sanctum has two male images in its Mantapa and one of them is popularly addressed as 'Gauri' and the temple has this name. But originally it was a Vishnu temple as can be seen from the profuse Vaishnavite icons here. The temple has a wide Rangamantapa and a vestibule. This is assigned to the 12th Century and in the Kalyana Chalukya style. The Rangamantapa ceiling has a deep Bhuvaneshwari design in the shape of a lotus.

This four pillared mantapa is the center of the Sabha Manatapa. Along the inner perimeter are raised seating platforms i.e. Sukhanasi. Of the four pillars, the front-right pillar is damaged, yet holding firmly. One important thing I wish to point out is that this is a south-facing temple and this hall has three entrances on its southern, eastern and western sides. However, the eastern and western entrances have been blocked by neighboring structures which are homes.

This hall (Natya Mantapa) is connected to the sanctum (Garbhagudi) through a vestibule (Antharala). The very look of the pillars and the perforated screen of the vestibule says this was meant to be a grand temple. The white patches seen on the pillars, beams and walls is leftover lime. Village folks have a habit of whitewashing home and temples, they do the same to stone structures out of ignorance. Unlike mud plastered walls, lime weakens stone over time.

This is the center of Nrutya Mantapa ceiling. The multi-tiered lotus is a marvelous creation.

This concentric grill enclosed in a star like polygon is also on the ceiling. I wonder if this was an ancient ventilator to let out hot air. This is one of the kind seen at Aihole. At least I cannot remember seeing anything like this in other temples.

Nandi idol sits on the Natya Mantapa floor. Had this been a Shiva shrine originally, nandi idol would've been fixed into the floor between the Natya Mantapa and Antharala. For some reason the deity was replaced converting this Vishnu shrine into a Shiva shrine.

The rear view of Nandi seated over a pedestal.

Shiva Linga inside the sanctum. Shivaya Namaha. To my knowledge this is the only active ancient temple here.

From here the front entrance (southern) and side entrance (western) are seen. On the walls flanking the Antharala screen are niches without any deities.

Let's take a look at one of the four pillars of Nrutya Mantapa. These four pillar is made of a dark colored hard stone while the rest of the temple is made of sandstone blocks. Going by these pillars, this temple could be of Kalyana Chalukya period. Similar pillars can be seen at Banashankari Gudi, Amargol near Dharwad. 

A closer look at jewelry patterns on the column. The sculpturing is very detailed and delicate. If these columns were to be washed and scrubbed with coconut fiber they would have a glossy look, the details would be sharper.

This is one of the four faces of the pillar base. This sculpture depicts Vishnu, his icons Shakha and Chakra are visible clearly. Likewise most of the sculptures on the column are Vishnavite as mentioned in the temple description above.

In the western entrance passage is this large stone basin. It's made of sandstone and looks pretty ancient. This could've been used to feed water to cattle or horses. This picture too was shot during my earlier visit.

That's all from Gauri Gudi for now. We go across the road to see the group of five Jain temples.

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Jaina temple group, Aihole

Aihole has several Jain temples like the rock-cut shrine on the southwestern tip of Aihole hill, the twin temple inside Charantimath complex and a group of four temples opposite Gauri Gudi. There could be other Jain temples at Aihole but these are the ones I'm aware of. This blog post is dedicated to the last item i.e. the group opposite Gauri Gudi. I'd seen this group first time in Dec 2011, and again in Oct 2023, after almost 12 years. From the few pictures I'd taken during my first visit, I could see that the place hadn't changed much, which is good.

The four temples are placed around a small open space in U-shape. All these are sandstone structures, probably built during Badami Chalukyan times. The entrance to the group is on the northern side. As I sept into the open space, there are two temples facing each other. The picture below is the east-facing temple (#1) which seems like an incomplete structure. This Mantapa is the Natya Mantapa within the Sabha Mantapa. The seating platform seen here is present on the opposite side as well. There's no deity inside the sanctum. The sculpted icon of Mahaveera on the sanctum door frame is what indicates that this is a Jaina shrine.

What I wanted to highlight here is the Sukhanasi profile and the circular hole with a diaphragm. This reminds me of a cavity turn knob in modern machinery. The purpose of this cavity is something I need to figure out. One thing I can think of is to insert a lever and shift the seat i.e. to align it to the base.

This is the side view of the temple. It's a small structure but it was meant to be a grand one.

This is the rear view, the inner space of this part is the sanctum. As to the Shikhara, I'm not sure what the builders had planned. Maybe a stepped Shikhara.

Moving on, the next two temples (#2 and #3) stand next to each other, both north-facing. The format is more or less same... Garbhagudi, Antharala, and Sabhmantapa. This one has a narrow shoulder running around the temple so that one could go around it. However, the path is blocked on the right hand side. From the looks of it, this temple has been damaged, most likely by humans., several parts of the structure have gone missing.

Another view of temple #2. The Shikhara is a stepped pyramid. It's Kalasa is missing.

Moving on to temple #3. Again, several parts of the structure are missing. I feel this temple too has suffered damages, then the rubble has been cleared or used somewhere else. It's quite possible that temple parts have been carted away and used in foundations of houses here i.e. well before these monuments came under government protection.

The inner space of temple #3. That's Sridhar standing between the inner pillars of the Natya manatapa. Slabs from the roofs are also missing here.

This is temple #4, the largest of the four temples, probably this is the chief temple of this group. This east-facing temple is a Trikutachala meaning a temple with three sanctums. The sanctums are east, north and south facing. Of the four temples here, this temple is the most well preserved one. By it's looks, construction was completed and it has suffered some minor damages.

This is the only picture of the interior I shot. The columns are bigger compared to the other temples of this group. They are somewhat like the columns at Kunti Gudi complex. The interior was quite dim, it's only because of the glare barging in through the only door, the interior was visible. When I stepped into this space, I saw three or four men lying down, call it their late morning siesta. This person sat up and welcomed me. We exchanged a few words and I left them to their siesta.

Close to the entrance of this group was this stone seat. I feel this is a piece from the Sukhanasi of temple #1. Thankfully the separated piece is still here. Sridhar poses on the seat under the blinding glare of Suryadeva. Vibhuti on Sridhar's forehead is from Gauri Gudi, he had spent several minutes there before turning up here.

That's it about the Jaina group of temples. From here we went to Durga Gudi complex and then drove to a village called Shulebaavi to see the ancient Shuleshwara Gudi with a stepped well.

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