A Wandering Mind

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Showing posts with the label Badami

Mahakuta

Our driver dropped us off at the parking lot. “Go that way. The temple is right there”, he said. The parking lot was full, but the place was eerily empty and silent. A couple of drivers were taking a nap and a chap was selling lemonade. It looked nothing like any temple. There were no flower sellers, no one pestering us to buy puja items...... we wondered if we were in the right place after all. In my broken Kannada, I asked the lemonade man for the temple. He silently pointed ahead, and went back to his reverie. We walked on and soon came to an entrance, where a board assured me, that I was indeed at the place I wanted to be....

Badami Cave Temples Part 4

The fourth cave at Badami is the only Jain cave among the four. This is also by far the simplest cave, though there are quite a lot of renditions of the Jain Tirthankars. This was also the only cave which the school students gave a miss, so it was practically empty! Unfortunately, this cave seems to get less than its rightful share of eyeballs, so it was dark and dank. The inner sanctum was so dark that I could see nothing! Our guide didn’t have a torch, and since it was late in the evening, I managed to get a decent capture of the sanctum with my camera in the ‘night’ mode! The sanctum houses an image of Mahavira…. Outside are many interesting carvings of Jain Tirthankars….. My knowledge of these is rudimentary, so let me just take you on a photo-tour…

Badami Cave Temples Part 3

Badami Caves Part 1 Badami Caves Part 2 My main worry while on our tour of Badami and surrounding places was how Samhith would react to seeing just sculptures and temples all day long. He had tired of temples after Aihole and Pattadakkal, but Badami was interesting because of the caves. Besides, the beautiful work on the rough stone, made over a thousand years ago seemed to excite him. However, by the time we had climbed up to the third cave, his enthusiasm was flagging, especially seeing all the other visiting children clambering all over (something I wouldn’t allow him to do!) I hoped there would be something in the third cave to keep him attentive, but I needn’t have worried! He was all agog, because, by now, he could identify some of the figures by himself, something which impressed our guide, and this made him feel extremely proud of himself! The third cave is also dedicated to Vishnu and is the most beautiful one with the most intricate of sculptures.

Badami Cave Temples Part 2

Please read the first part Badami Cave Temples Part 1 (if you haven’t already) before reading this one! The caves at Badami have become quite a tourist attraction, and also a popular spot for school picnics and excursions. When we visited the caves in late December, there was a huge crowd of school students, all of them thrilled at having a day off from studies. The teachers accompanying them seemed bored, and least interested in anything except making sure that the children didn’t lean too much over the parapet wall and fall off!

The Cave Temples of Badami

The main attractions at Badami are the rock cut cave temples. Carved out of the sandstone cliffs in the late 6 th and 7 th centuries, these caves have a verandah at the entrance with pillars cut into the stone. This leads to a pillared hall or mandapa, which in turn leads to a small sanctum. There are 4 such caves – the first one is dedicated to lord Shiva, the second and third are dedicated to Lord Vishnu and the fourth one is a Jain cave. Come along with me for a photo-tour of the caves. Please excuse the quality of the photographs. I have tried to capture the beauty I saw all around me, but, there are many which do not do justice to the beauty of the originals. It was evening when we visited the caves, so the light wasn’t too helpful. Besides, the caves were so filled with school children who had come on a picnic, that just getting a shot without them in the frame was a challenge!

Badami Fort

Huge red sandstone cliffs are all we can see as we drive into Badami. Soon, the lake comes into view, and the two sets of cliffs which attract thousands of visitors to this small town become clearer. Opposite us we can see the famed caves filled with tourists who stand out against the red rocks in their multi-coloured clothing. On the other side, we see a board announcing the presence of the ASI museum, and over it, an arch which appears to be the entrance of a fort. Our driver discourages us from entering. “Madam, there is nothing to see there… just two old and broken temples, and the climb is strenuous. Everything here was destroyed by the Pallava kings. No one goes there. It will be deserted. Let us go and see the caves instead.” However, the cliffs are too inviting to miss and a sudden desire to climb and see the ruins of the old temples strikes me. Besides, every place we visited has been crowded, and the caves seem to be full too. The strain of climbing seems to ...

Skywatch Friday - Images from Badami

Badami was the capital of the early Chalukyas, from the 6 th to the 8 th century AD. The city was then known as Vatapi. The name came from the legend of Sage Agasthya who destroyed the demons Vatapi and Ilvala here. As the story goes, Vatapi and Ilvala were demon brothers. Vatapi had a boon from the gods that no matter how many pieces his body was cut into, when called, they would join and he would be whole and alive. Taking advantage of this, the brothers tricked all sages who passed by their region. They would invite them for a feast, an invitation which could not be refused. Then Vatapi would turn into a ram and Ilvala would cut him up and serve him to the guests (in those days, even sages ate meat).