Badami is a place located in North of Karnataka. This small town comes under the district of Bagalkot. Badami is known for its caves and temples architecture, which attracts the tourists to this place frequently. In ancient times, Badami was ruled by the famous Chalukyan dynasty. These caves and temples were built during 6th and 7th century.
The main attraction for the tourists is the stone carved cave temples. These famous temples are located near by the banks of the Agastya Lake. There are mainly four temples with unique sculptures and arts. Two temples are purely dedicated to Lord Vishnu and others for Lord Shiva and Jain temple.
In Badami, some carvings of Gods implicate Hindu Mythology in detail.
Some of them are Narasimha style of God that is depicted here, where the God is half man and half loin. “Hari Hara” avatar is depicted as half Lord Vishnu and half Lord Shiva. Lord Vishnu Narayana reclining on the snake postures is portrayed in depth here. Style of paintings and sculptures on the pillars & ceiling are very much unique and represents the marvellous work of Chalukyas.
Travel operators in Bangalore offer packages to these historical places. You can choose some of the best car rental agencies for this purpose, so that you can visit these places without any difficulty.
Magnificent cave temples of Badami
Cave Temples of Lord Vishnu
There are two cave temples, which are dedicated to God Vishnu.
In the first cave, Vishnu is portrayed in “Trivikrama” posture where one foot is placed on Earth and another in sky. It is located on the top of a sandstone hill. Here Lord Vishnu is portrayed as a Varaha or Dwarf.
In the second cave, all the forms of Lord Vishnu can be seen here such as Narasimha, Varaha, Hari Hara, Trivikrama and Vishnu with Adiseshan (Snake). The cave was discovered during 578 AD and it is nearly 70 feet wide. The art here depicts the culture of people during the 6th century such as their costumes, lifestyles, jewellery and hairstyle.
Cave temple of Lord Shiva
This cave temple is made out of red sandstones. Here in the square shaped sanctum Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati are depicted and Lord Shiva is portrayed in his dancing style known as “Natraja”. The Natraja is sculptured with 18 arms and 81 dancing poses of the Lord are also mentioned here.
Jain cave temple
This cave is founded in the eastern side of all caves. The main sculpture in the sanctum depicts “Mahavira”. The cave belongs to 6th century. The other important carving of this temple is Tirthankara Parshavnatha.
How to reach there
Badami is located about 500 km from the capital city Bangalore. It is well connected by roadways connecting major places such as Belgaum, Hubli, Dharwad, Mysore, Bangalore etc. To visit this place you can rent a car through the tour operators from any of these cities for relaxed journey. Hiring cars is an easy and convenient option.
Where to stay
Travel operators in Bangalore can also arrange for food and accommodation. Karnataka tourism department provides lodging facilities to the people, who visit this place. Online booking of rooms’ option is also available here.
