Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c21: Chapter XIV: The Early Chalukyan Phase at Aihole, Badami, and Pattadakal (A.D. 600 to 750)

Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c21

Language: English

Chapter XIV: The Early Chalukyan Phase at Aihole, Badami, and Pattadakal (A.D. 600 to 750)

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¹ *Chalukyan Architecture* by H. Cousens : Arch Survey of India, Vol XLII.

IN a previous chapter reference has been made to the fact that at the ancient township of Aihole in Dharwar there are indications that this capital of the early Chalukyan dynasty was one of the cradles of Indian temple architecture. Such a probability is shown by several examples, all of a distinctly incipient character, and all erected apparently during the fifth and sixth centuries A.D. Most of them are temples of the flat roofed order, and similar therefore to those of the Gupta style of the more northerly latitude, thus displaying a characteristic which implies an early stage in the process of evolution of this structure. In the Chalukyan temples other stages of development may also be traced. For instance in the most primitive of all, the shrine is in the body of the building, with nothing on the exterior to mark its position from outside. Afterwards a tower was added over the shrine, not only to give this central feature dignity, but also as a means of distinguishing the temple from other buildings. Later, the shrine, or cella, was contained in a structure projected from the western end of the temple and surmounted by a tower. This last development caused the sanctuary to form a kind of annexe attached to the body of the temple, the shrine and tower combined comprising that portion of the structure known as the vimana.

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All these stages may be studied in the various temples at Aihole, while the beginning of that significant feature, the sikhara, is also observable It is not improbable that an early phase of the tower consisted of a series of mouldings or courses of masonry of a very simple order, diminishing as they ascend, thus taking the shape of a stepped pyramid, truncated above and crowned by a ribbed stone, as shown in several smaller shrines on the site (Plate LVI, Fig. 4). But one of the earliest, judging by its primitive appearance, to assume the sikhara form is that over the Durga temple. This, when complete, instead of being curved in outline, as in the later examples, is almost straight-sided, like an elongated pyramid, but inclined inward at the apex to support the fluted finial (*amala sila*), a large ribbed stone now thrown down and lying at its foot. There is something singularly interesting in the formation of this temple, particularly in the superposition of its distinctly Hindu tower on an apsidal structure obviously derived from a Buddhist chaitya hall. (Plate XXXVIII) Another at Aihole, the Huchimalligudi, has also been provided with a sikhara, although in this instance it is not raised on an apse, but over a square end. On the front or eastern face of the sikhara, there is a portion projected and shaped like a chaitya-arch, with a circular panel sunk in the centre. This panel contains a carved figure-composition of the god Siva dancing the *tandava*, a representation of a vigorous performance attributed to the deity when in revelry. Afterwards, the projected portion was gradually extended into a kind of gable, and became the roof of the vestibule in the temple interior. It will be noted that most of the sikharas at Aihole are in the northern or Indo-Aryan style, and may have been improvisations by the local craftsmen, but the primitive simplicity of their design is manifest. (Plate XLVI, Fig. 1).

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In addition to the series of Indo-Aryan spires at Aihole, there are several examples of the contrasting or Dravidian style of temple, as for instance, that numbered 53, and the Jaina temple, No. 39, as well as the Meguti temple bearing a date equivalent to A.D. 634, and referred to in Chapter XI. But the remains of these are so incomplete they only suffice to indicate they belong to the southern mode, that most distinctive feature, the tower, being in each case in a state of ruin For a very early example of the Dravidian style in this region, it is necessary to turn to the town of Badami, situated some fifteen miles from Aihole, and the seat of the Chalukyan dynasty at a slightly later date. Here, among a cluster of temples and shrines three miles west of the town, is the temple of Mahakutesvara, which from inscriptional evidence appears to have been built before A.D. 600. It is a small and almost insignificant edifice, but it is instructive because the tower is complete, and shows this feature with an octagonal domical finial, and surrounded by tiers of miniature shrines, all illustrative of an early phase in the evolution of the Dravidian sikhara. But a larger and slightly more developed structure of much the same type, although undoubtedly of a somewhat later date, is a temple on a spur of the rugged hills which overlook the town of Badami itself, and known as the Malegitti-Sivalaya. In the tower of this temple also, the domical finial is octagonal, and supported by a series of small shrines as in the previous example. The Malegitti temple, however, implies something more than a mere confirmation of a stage of evolution; it is a structure of considerable appearance, besides containing much informative material. It is not large, being only 56 feet in length, but is a massive solid production evidently built to withstand the elements in its exposed position. Consisting of three compartments—cella, assembly hall, and porch, the two former square in plan—its heavy monolithic pillars, ponderous bracket capitals, broad string-courses, and overhanging roll cornice, are all suggestive of the rock-cut tradition. Yet imposed on these starkly elemental structural features is a certain amount of sculpture, in panels, borders, and niches, which, although not exactly refined, possesses a spirit and action implying youth and movement. There is an air of restrained power in this structure and a sense of stability which makes it appear as part of the rock on which it is built. (Plate XLII, Fig 1).

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On another spur, a short distance from the foregoing, is a smaller temple, of much the same type, and which, in view of its crude construction, may be of an earlier date. But the finial of its sikhara is square, not octagonal, a fact which on the other hand may point to a further stage of development. This temple, which is nameless, is much ruined, its interior is exposed so that it is no longer a living structure but a mere shell. Yet from these remains, like an anatomical specimen, it is possible to study more readily its composition and constructional system. In Plate LI, Fig. 2, the details of the temple are laid bare, showing its central cella contained within a processional passage, and in front the pillared hall covered with a sloping roof. The masonry is almost savagely simple in its character, while the extravagant use of the material gives it a megalithic appearance. Although perhaps not so primitive as it seems, those who produced this building were not expert-masons or finished manipulators of stone.

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These two temples not only overlook the town of Badami, but they also face towards the series of rock-cut halls described in Chapter XI, and dating from the latter part of the sixth century. In comparing the Malegitti temple and its nameless neighbour, with the rock-cut examples it is difficult to realize that the former were executed probably a century later than the latter. The inferiority of the structural productions as a whole, but particularly of the design and workmanship of the pillars is most noticeable. There is something very primeval in the square plain shafts and heavy bracket capitals of the porches in these buildings specially when contrasted with the refinement of the fluted pillars and elaborately moulded struts of the rock-cut halls. The clumsiness of the later work when compared with the skilled execution of the earlier, implies a retrogression in conception as well as in technique. But the explanation is that two such opposing forms of production are evidence of the great change that was taking place at this juncture in the building art, a change which went to the very root of architectural practice. Hitherto architectural form had been determined by the rock-cut method, permanence being assured by the stability of the cliff side. This system was now about to be superseded by the use of stone masonry. Such a change was however not destined to be a revolutionary one, the process being very gradual, as the rock-cut method was to persist for several succeeding centuries. But rock-architecture had by this time been developed until it had achieved a high standard of achievement, while on the other hand the art of building with blocks of stone was relatively in its infancy. One can almost imagine the surprise of the rock-cutters on seeing this new method, which they no doubt felt was a transitory expedient compared with the lasting qualities of their own performances. For although looked upon in the present age as a common procedure, the art of placing one stone on another so as to form a strong and shapely structure had to have its beginning. And moreover when finally perfected, masonry buildings were more pliant, more ductile, and in certain respects even more lasting than the sometimes crumbling rock. But apart from its technical qualities, masonry construction brought a new architectural content into the temple scheme, for its very nature implied the important conception of an exterior elevation, an aspect and dimension hitherto little known to the rock architect, who dealt almost exclusively with interiors. From the difference in the principles of the two methods, the one an art of building up, the other of cutting down, it seems fairly certain that each was in the hands of a separate guild of workmen operating independently according to their own particular technique. Not that they omitted to learn from one another, the course of both arts shows that there was a mutual understanding in the matter of architectural style, but in practice they did not combine, they progressed on parallel lines.

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The next stage in the development of the building art in these parts may be studied in the temples of Pattadakal, the third of the Chalukyan capital seats. Pattadakal is distant ten miles from Badami, and, on the assumption that the transfer of the capital took place after the capture of the town in A.D 642, it seems fairly certain the earlier temples on this site were executed during the last half of the seventh century. But the Chalukyan dynasty reached the height of its power under the kings Vijayaditya (696-733) and Vikramaditya II (733-46), so that the actual meridian of the style at Pattadakal was attained in the first half of the eighth century. At Pattadakal, temples of no mean order, and in both styles of architecture are found side by side, a phenomenon which would be almost equivalent in mediaeval Europe to Gothic and Renaissance churches being built in juxtaposition and at the same time. Moreover certain of these temples which are in one style, contain architectural details belonging to the other contrasting style, implying that the buildings represented a stage of evolution before the conventions of both had been definitely established. There are ten temples of consequence at Pattadakal, four of which are in the Indo-Aryan or northern style, and six in the Dravidian or southern, as follows:—

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Two of the temples, the Papanath and the Virupaksha, are larger and more important than the others; the former is certainly the older, and it is not improbable that it was built as the chief temple soon after the capital was founded, possibly before the end of the seventh century. Apparently dedicated in the first instance to Vishnu and Surya, it seems to have been converted afterwards to the worship of Siva. The other large temple, that of Virupaksha, is shown by its inscriptions to have been built during the reign of Vikramaditya II, so that its mean date would be about A.D. 740. It is dedicated to Siva and may therefore have been built to take the place of the previous example when the Chalukyan dynasty appears to have changed over from Vaishnavism to Saivism. It is of some significance that of these two temples, Papanath in the Indo-Aryan style is dedicated to Vishnu, and Virupaksha in the Dravidian style was built for the worship of Siva.

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The temple of Papanath, both in its plan and in elevation, bears every indication of a conception in course of formation (Plate LIII, Fig. 1). In general appearance it is a long low composition some ninety feet in length, with a tower at its eastern end too small and stunted to be in good proportion with the remainder of the building. Much of the inconsistency of its exterior design is brought about by the illogical arrangement of the plan, which illustrates perceptibly the uncertainty that existed at the time as to the correct disposition of the main elements of the structure and their relation to one another. In this instance the vestibule, or *antarala*, is at fault, as the compartment is too large; it takes the shape of a square court, containing four pillars widely set, so that instead of forming a connecting antechamber, it becomes a supplementary assembly hall (Plate LV, Fig. 1). It is this disproportion in the plan that has produced a corresponding disproportion in the elevation. Turning to the more detailed treatment of the different parts of the Papanath temple, the interior presents that massive solid character, both in the bulk of its walls and particularly in the shape of its pillars, which suggests not only the rock-cut influence, but also something elemental. The latter quality is shown in certain of the larger details such as brackets and struts half hidden in the upper gloom, in the form of supernatural creatures, recalling some phase of prehistoric exhi- [Figure: Fig 1 Srinivasanalur, Trichinopoly Dist Temple of Koranganatha , c A D 940]

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[Figure: Fig 2 Darasuram, Tanjore Dist : Alankara Mandapa in Airravateswara Temple , c. A D. 1350]

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The image provided is upside-down. Following the correct reading orientation (rotating 180°):

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Fig. 1

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Fig. 3

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Fig. 2. Temple, Galagnāth (Dharwar District), c. A.D. 1000

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Fig 1 Gangaikondacholapuram Temple, c A D 1025 Near Kumbakonam Fig 2

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Fig 1 Gangaikondacholapuram Temple, c A D 1025

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Fig 2 Tiruvarur Temple, Tanjore Dist Detail of Gopuram ; c A D 1600.

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tion of which all that now remains are like the nightmares of a child, vague, awe-inspiring memories.

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The exterior treatment of this building is of much the same nature, but more readily explained. Over the outer walls is a heavy cornice above which is a parapet of ornamental shrines, while below is a substantial basement formed of bold string-courses carried round the structure, like powerful bands binding the whole composition together. It is however in the broad space between these upper and lower members, in a word, the "filling," of the outside wall surface that the most instructive architectonic sculpture has been applied. This consists of a repetition of a feature derived from a particular type of shrine, originally in three dimensions, but now translated for decorative purposes into a bas-relief. Each niche is composed of two pillars, a cornice, and a traceried canopy, the last being essentially of Indo-Aryan extraction. Although all these details, especially the mural shrine motif, are pleasing features in themselves, their disposition on the building shows no special knowledge of architectural design; the fact that the decorative shrines are regimentated over thirty times round the building, is evidence of a poverty of ideas and an ignorance of spacing and correct distribution which can only be attributed to inexperience. How these inconsistencies were corrected will be explained in the next example (Plate LIII, Fig. 1).

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It was probably less than fifty years after the foregoing, that the temple of Virupaksha was produced, but the progress made in such a relatively short period in architectural composition is noteworthy. (Plate LIII, Fig. 2). So much so that it has been implied the increasing power of the Chalukyan rulers enabled them to call in outside experts to aid the local artisans in their building efforts. If this is correct it was help of a nature which could only have been obtained from those in the employ of the contemporary Pallava rulers on the eastern seaboard, where a movement not unlike that now being described was also taking place. That there were close contacts between the Chalukyans and the Pallavas is a matter of historical knowledge, and that these influenced the architectural productions of the two peoples has also been a subject of considerable research. Confirmation of these influences is presumed to be derived from two sources (a) the evidence of inscriptions, and (b) points of style. With regard to the former there is an inscription on the Papanatha temple which reads that one Chattara-Revada-Ovaja of the Sarvasiddhi-Acharyas, and presumably the architect of the temple, was a builder from the south, possibly, though not necessarily in the Tamil country, and that he was also versed in the technical practices hitherto only known to a certain guild of Kanarese stone-masons. Two inscriptions on the Virupaksha temple also relate to a craftsman from the southern country who built this temple for the queen of Vikramaditya, and whose qualifications are defined in the most fulsome terms. But in no sense can these make it quite clear as some authorities have interpreted, that the Chalukyan king Vikramaditya II, when he conquered the Pallava capital of Conjeeveram in 740, was so struck by the architectural masterpiece of the Kailasnatha temple, that he brought back with him a Tamil architect who was responsible for the Pallava elements in the two temples built by his queens at Pattadakal. As a matter of fact there is in these temples no contribution "from the Dravidian style that was not already in regular use in the Chalukyan country, the only new feature being its combination of elements from both the local styles which previously seem to have influenced one another remarkably little."¹ What happened was that architecture, as this art developed in the south of India, evolved, appropriated, devised and invented certain forms which eventually resolved themselves into buildings now known as in the Dravidian style. During this early primitive period intercourse between the various peoples of the south led to imitations and borrowings, the system of universal technical canons and of craftsmen's guilds were the means by which this intercourse was maintained in the sphere of the building art, and in this manner the style of architecture in the regions of the south came into being.

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¹ Bulletin of the Madras Government Museum, by F. H. Gravely and T. N Ramachandran, Vol. III, Pt. 1, Madras 1934.

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It becomes tolerably clear therefore that the much improved design and execution of the Virupaksha temple were mainly due to the purposeful application of the Chalukyan builders to the task in hand, who, during the ensuing intervals, made it an occasion to acquire much practical proficiency. This is seen in the better proportions and adjustment of the plan, with its resultant effect on the external formation of the building. Although by no means a finished exposition of the essential parts of the temple system, the size and position of the vestibule, including the junction of the shrine-chamber with the pillared hall, are logical and well-conceived, and mark a distinct advance. Such an arrangement represents however only a stage in the temple development. For the final achievement in this direction it is necessary to compare it with the Chalukyan temples of the early mediaeval period, as for instance the productions at Kukkanur and Lakkundi of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries (Chapter XXX), where the entire composition is shown fully matured (Plate LV, Fig. 3).

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None the less there is a bold beauty in the appearance of the Virupaksha temple as a whole, which is best seen in the exterior. It is a comprehensive scheme, as it consists not only of the central structure, but of a detached *nandi* pavilion in front and is contained within a walled enclosure entered by an appropriate gateway. Larger in size than the previous example as it measures one hundred and twenty feet from the front of the porch to the back of the shrine, owing to its balanced composition it is much more pleasing to the eye. This satisfactory effect has been obtained by treating the building as a unity, so that there is a definite coherence and rhythmic grouping of its parts. On the other hand, there is still that heavy solidity characteristic of all such early works, but here it is relieved by an increase in the amount and quality of the sculptured ornamentation. This plastic decoration resolves itself into several classes of workmanship and it seems not improbable that it was the handiwork of as many separate groups of craftsmen. There is the purely architectural detail, such as mouldings, pilasters, cornices and brackets, evidently prepared by the mason's own artificers; the floral scrollwork together with the richly patterned perforated windows, the production of men specially trained in ornamental carving; the bold animal supports chiselled by artisans accustomed to large schemes; the intricate bas-reliefs of figure-subjects requiring technical skill combined with a knowledge of mythology; and finally the full sized statuary in the panels and niches obviously designed and moulded by the master-sculptors of the time. The character of this ornamentation, and the manner in which it is applied bespeak more than ordinary knowledge. Although lavishly disposed, it is so skilfully co-ordinated with the rest of the structure that no part can be said to show where the building art ends and the plastic art begins. The sculpture flows into the architecture in a continuous yet disciplined stream. So harmonious is the entire conception it conveys the impression that the deepest emotions of its creators were concentrated on its production. The amount of thought expended, not only on the whole, but on each detail is incredible; every one of its grey weatherworn stones, in spite of the passage of centuries, is yet warm with life and feeling. The Virupaksha temple is one of those rare buildings of the past in which the spirit still lingers of the men who conceived it and wrought it with their hands. (Plate LIII).

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It is mainly in the application of this architectural embellishment to the structural background of the temple that progress is most marked. Specially is it noticeable in the treatment of the exterior walls, and more particularly in the area known as the "filling," already referred to in the previous example. This expanse of wall surface between the basement and the cornice, in view of its prominent position in the structure as a whole, invites very considered treatment. Here it has been divided up by means of pilasters, sometimes singly and at other places in pairs, into well-proportioned spaces, the intervening panels being enriched by the introduction of niches alternating with perforated windows. A comparison of the scheme of the wall surface with that of the Papanath example is an index of the gain in the art of architectural mural decoration, which has taken place since that temple was built But there is something more than a mere improvement in the nature of this filling, there is a difference in the type of unit forming the basis of the composition. This unit, or fundamental element, is the ornamental shrine or niche. Where, in the Papanath temple, these were of the Indo-Aryan kind, in the Virupaksha they are of Dravidian character. The style of each temple is, therefore, not only defined by the shape of the tower, or even by the general formation of the structure, but also by the "order" expressed in the shrine-like niches on its walls. In a word the temple is a development and elaboration of the aboriginal shrine. The northern order of niche, as in the Papanath example, is distinguished by the character of its canopy, which is made up of multiples of a small decorative chaitya arch, grouped so as to form a triangular pattern. (Plate LIV, Fig. 8). On the other hand the Dravidian niche has as its underlying principle a canopy adapted from a single chaitya-arch motif, as illustrated on the Virupaksha temple.

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One other point relating to these "orders" emerges in the early temples, which, although small in itself has considerable significance. A close examination of the pilasters on the exterior reveals an unusual convention in their design. This is a narrowing or constricting of the upper end of the shaft where it joins on to the capital. It is possible that such an inward curvature, seen below the neck moulding and forming a kind of shoulder, originated from the campaniform contours of Asoka's bell capital, and is first observable to a very slight degree in the pillars on the verandah of the rock-cut vihara No. 2 at Karli. (Plate XI, Fig. 7) Afterwards this "neck and shoulder" shape became more pronounced on the pillars of the southern style and wherever seen may be accepted as the sign manual of the Dravidian order. One exception at least may be noted, singularly enough in one of the buildings now being described. The pilasters on the exterior of the Papanath temple are of this particular type, thus recording a symbol of the Dravidian order on an Indo-Aryan structure. But such an apparent solecism only serves to prove that at this early stage a few of the architectural proprieties of each style were still undetermined. There is one other architectural feature on the Virupaksha temple worthy of note. This is a structure rising above the parapet at the back of each of its porches, and which has been indentified as an embryo *gopuram*, that monumental gatehead which dominates all the approaches to the Dravidian temple, and one of the most striking productions in the architecture of the south. Here its final formation is observable, afterwards to develop into the horns and scroll motif on the topmost roof of these towering entrance pylons. (Chapter XX)

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It has been shown that the centre of the architectural movement associated with the Early Chalukyans was confined to the triad of ancient capitals, the seats of this dynasty in Dharwar. But a minor development of a somewhat similar character took place, which, although in the same region, yet is an appreciable distance away from the fountain head. At Alampur, a village on the west bank of the Tungabhadra river in the Raichur district of Mysore State, is a group of temples almost identical with some of those described above.¹ These temples are six in number, and are situated inside a fortified enclosure in the same manner as at Aihole. They are however more in the style of the Papanath at Pattadakal, as they have Indo-Aryan *sikharas*, and may accordingly be assigned to the same date as that example, namely the latter half of the seventh century Of no great size, as the largest only occupies a rectangle 75 feet by 50 feet, they are structurally very complete, as the walls and spires are in a finished state, and there is a finial in the form of a fluted *amala sila*, in position on most of them. Although appearing to be a modified reproduction of the Papanath type, in plan and in their interior arrangements they show a certain individuality, illustrating what seems to be a local manifestation of the style. In the shape and position of the pillared hall and the shrine chamber, the Alampur structures are not unlike the rock-cut temple of the Ravana-ka-Khai in the Ellora group (Chapter XV), also of the seventh century. That is to say the interior consists of an oblong hall with the shrine at one end, a colonnade of pillars forming a nave and aisles in front, and a processional passage the whole way round. The pillars are not so massive in their proportions as those in the rock-cut example, being tolerably slender and graceful, but they are decorated in the same manner, with the Indo-Aryan vase and foliage capital in evidence, a motif, as already shown, associated with the productions of the Gupta regime. This small group at Alampur, besides throwing further light on the gradual formation of the temple design, also reveals some kind of thought-transmission in the field of architectural expression. In a straight line a hundred miles away to find a small replica of the main movement, but with no accountable association, is an experience, although remarkable, yet not altogether unknown in Indian art history.