The Mahakuta group of temples is located in Mahakuta, a village in the

Bagalkot district Bagalakote district(), is an administrative district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The district headquarters is located in the town of Bagalakote. The district is located in northern Karnataka and borders Belgaum, Gadag, Koppal, Raichur an ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

state, India. It is an important place of worship for

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and the location of a well-known

Shaiva Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...

monastery. The temples are dated to the 6th or 7th century CE and were constructed by the early kings of the

Chalukya dynasty The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynast ...

Badami Badami, formerly known as Vatapi, is a town and headquarters of a taluk by the same name, in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from CE 540 to 757. It is famous for its rock cut monumen ...

. The dating of the temples is based on the style of architecture which is similar to that of the temples in nearby

Aihole Aihole (pronounced "Eye-hoḷé"), also referred to as Aivalli, Ahivolal or Aryapura, is a historic site of ancient and medieval era Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments in Karnataka, India that dates from the sixth century through the twelfth cen ...

Cousens (1926), p. 51 and the information in two notable inscriptions in the complex: the

Mahakuta Pillar Mahakuta Pillar ( kn, ಮಹಾಕೂಟ ಸ್ತಂಭ), also known as Makuta pillar, Magada stambha or Mangalesa Dharma Jayastambha, is a deep red sandstone pillar with an early 7th-century inscription of Early Western Chalukya era. It was fou ...

inscription dated between 595–602 CE (written in the

Sanskrit language Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the lat ...

and

Kannada script The Kannada script (IAST: ''Kannaḍa lipi''; obsolete: Kanarese or Canarese script in English) is an abugida of the Brahmic family, used to write Kannada, one of the Dravidian languages of South India especially in the state of Karnataka. Ka ...

); and an inscription of Vinapoti, a

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

of king

Vijayaditya Vijayaditya (696–733 CE) followed his father, Vinayaditya on to the Chalukya throne. His long reign was marked by general peace and prosperity. Vijayaditya also built a number of temples. He fought against the Pallavas and extracted tribu ...

, dated between 696–733 CE and written in the

Kannada language Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native sp ...

and script.Cousens (1926), p. 52

Basic plan

The Karnataka artisans of the 7th century achieved a certain eclectism in their architecture by building south Indian ''dravida'' style temples adjacent to north Indian ''nagara'' style temples.Sinha (2000), p. 34 Further, their ''dravida'' and ''nagara'' styles were local, indigenous variants and unrelated to the architectural styles that prevailed in modern

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

to the south, and

Central India Central India is a loosely defined geographical region of India. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are included in alm ...

("Madhyadesha") to the north.Sinha (2000), p. 35 They achieved this by combining the basic plan of one style with characteristics of the other. The ''dravida'' style temples here have a tiered tower over the shrine which is capped with a dome like structure. The ''nagara'' style temples use a curvilinear tower over a shrine which has a square plan, and is capped by a ribbed stone. The development of this hybrid style, achieved by combining the typological features of the two basic architectural styles, is considered a peculiarity of the Karnataka region and defines the beginnings of the

Vesara Vesara is a hybrid form of Indian temple architecture, with South Indian plan and a shape that features North Indian details. This fusion style likely originated in the historic architecture schools of the Dharwad region. It is common in the survi ...

style of architecture.Sinha (2000), p. 38 A natural mountain spring flows within the temple complex and feeds fresh water into a large tank called the ''Vishnu Pushkarni'' (" Lotus pool of god

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

") and an ablution tank called ''Papavinasha Tirtha'' ("Tank of Ablution"). Among the several shrines in the complex, the Mahakuteshvara temple, built in the ''dravida'' style, and the Mallikarjuna temple are the largest. There is a small shrine in the centre of the ''Vishnu Pushkarni'' tank and in it is a

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

linga A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...

'' (universal symbol of god Shiva) called ''Panchamukha linga'' ("five faced linga"), one face for each direction and one on top.

Inscriptions

The Mahakuta complex has provided historians two important 7th century inscriptions. The

inscription, dated variously between 595–602 CE records a grant made by Durlabhadevi, a queen of

Pulakeshin I Pulakeshin (IAST: Pulakeśin, r. c. 540–567) was the first sovereign ruler of the Chalukyas of Vatapi, Chalukya dynasty of Vatapi (modern Badami). He ruled parts of the present-day Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states in ...

(the father of king

Mangalesha Mangalesha (IAST: Maṅgaleśa, r. c. 592-610 CE) was a king of the Chalukya dynasty of Vatapi in Karnataka, India. He succeeded his brother Kirttivarman I on the throne, and ruled a kingdom that stretched from southern Gujarat in north to Bella ...

). The queen supplemented an earlier grant with an endowment of ten villages, including

Pattadakal Pattadakal, also called Paṭṭadakallu or Raktapura, is a complex of 7th and 8th century CE Hindu and Jain temples in northern Karnataka (India). Located on the west bank of the Malaprabha River in Bagalakote district, this UNESCO World Heri ...

and Aihole to god Mahkuteshvara Natha. In addition, the inscription provides important information about the Chalukyan lineage, their military expeditions, their conquests and early monuments.''The Mahakuta Pillar and Its Temples'', p. 253, Carol Radcliffe Bolon The pillar goes by the name ''Dharma-jayastambha'' ("Pillar of victory of religion") and is on exhibition at a

Bijapur Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural ...

archaeological museum.Cousens (1926), p. 52 The other inscription, ascribed to Vinapoti, king Vijayaditya's concubine, is inscribed in the porch of the Mahakuteshvara temple. It describes a grant of

rubies A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sap ...

and a silver umbrella to the deity ''Mahakuteshvara'' in addition to a piece of land.

Gallery

Mahakuta group of temples2 at Mahakuta.jpg, Vishnu temple with ''nagara'' superstructure (left) and a shrine with Kadamba Dynasty, Kadamba superstructure (right) at Mahakuta Mahakuta group of temples at Mahakuta.jpg, Mahakuteshvara temple (painted white) in the ''dravida'' style (rear) and Sangameshvara temple in ''nagara'' style (front) Mahakuta group of temples3 at Mahakuta.jpg, Sangameshvara temple with ''nagara'' superstructure at Mahakuta 7th century Kannada inscription at Mahakutesvara temple in Mahakuta.jpg, 7th century Kannada inscription of Vinapoti, concubine of Badami Chalukya King Vijayaditya Wall relief sculpture at the Mahakuta group of temples at Mahakuta.jpg, Sculpture of ''Ardhanareeshvara'' (form of the Hindu god Shiva) at the Mahakuta temples File:Mahakuta 3.jpg, Mahakuta temple tank

Notes

External links

Mahakuta on Google Maps

Relive 6th century at Mahakuta

References