The Chalukyan Architecture of the Kanarese Districts c10.3

c10.3

Bādāmi was an early capital of the Chālukya dynasty, when it was known under the name of Vātāpi; indeed, it is safe to assume that it was an important stronghold under the Pallavas before the advent of the Chālukyas. There is an inscription on one of the rocks on the north bank of the tank, in very early characters, which mentions Bādāmi under its ancient name of Vātāpi, and speaks of “the Pallava, the foremost of kings.” It is probable that the town was temporarily recovered by the Pallavas from the Western Chālukyas at the close of the reign of Pulikēśin II. This inscription is, possibly, of an earlier date than that of Maṅgalēśa in Cave III (A.D. 578).²