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The Chalukyan Architecture of the Kanarese Districts c11: Pattadakal

The Chālukyan Architecture of the Kanarese Districts c11

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Pattadakal

The Temples of Sangamēśvara, Virūpāksha and Mallikārjuna

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PATTADAKAL, or, as it was known in olden times, Paṭṭada Kisuvoḷal, is now an insignificant little village tucked away in rather an out-of-the-way corner of the Bādāmi district, though in a straight line, not more than ten miles east of that place.¹ The rugged sandstone hills between make it difficult of access, and, consequently it is very seldom visited. It lies in a bend of the Malaprabhā river, which flows on thence past Aihoḷe to join the Kṛishṇā. When approaching the village one is struck by the many old temple towers which rise above the roofs of the mud-walled houses. There can be little doubt that this was an important religious centre in the days of the early Chālukyas. There are old shrines here in both the Dravidian and the northern styles. Among the former are the three largest and the most interesting, since their inscriptions leave us in no doubt as to their origin.

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¹ For the meaning of the name Paṭṭadakal see *Indian Antiquary*, X, 162.

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The oldest of these is the temple of Saṅgamēśvara, and from the inscriptions we find that, under the name of Vijayēśvara, it was built by Vijayāditya-Satyāśraya (A.D. 696—733). About a hundred yards south of this is the largest temple in the village, that of Virūpāksha or Lōkēśvara as it was at first called. The inscriptions tell us that this temple was built by Lōkamahādēvī, the senior queen of Vikramāditya II., the son of Vijayāditya, and that it was placed to the south of the temple of Vijayēśvara. We are also informed that the junior queen, Trailōkyamahādēvī, a sister of that queen, also built a temple to the north of Lōkēśvara, which is easily identified with the temple now known as that of Mallikārjuna, whose courtyard touches that of Virūpāksha at its north-west corner. The inscription which gives us this information about the relative positions of these three temples is inscribed upon a great column, called the Lakshmī-kambha, which stands upon the north side of Virūpāksha and in front of Mallikārjuna, but is now embedded within the house of a pūjārī, or temple attendant, through the roof of which the top of the column projects. It tells us that the column itself was set up in the middle between these three shrines, just where we find it.² It was erected by a sculptor, named Subhadēva, for an āchārya named Jñānaśiva who had come from Mṛigathanikāhāra-vishaya on the north bank of the Ganges, in A.D. 754, during the reign of Kirtivarman II. and that it carried the emblem of the triśūla just as the great columns at Kailāsa at Ēlūrā do.¹

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² For a translation of the inscription see the *Epigraphia Indica*, III, p. 1.

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¹ See *History of Indian and Eastern Architecture*, Vol. I, p. 356 (1910 Ed.). This column also had an inscription upon it but the slab bearing it has been removed.

The Temple of Sangamēśvara or Vijayēśvara

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This is a very plain, simple and massive building, but its hall has been badly damaged (Plates XXXV and XXXVII). In addition to the column inscription already mentioned there are others in the temple itself. A great stone tablet, which was found outside, was placed inside the temple for its protection and safety. It bears a long inscription which records a grant to the temple of the god Vijayēśvara which had been built by Vijayāditya-Satyāśraya. On the north face of a pillar in the central hall are inscribed the words “Śri-Vidyaśivara-kambha” in old Kanarese characters. On another pillar a short inscription records the fact that two pillars were designed by a certain Mātibhodamma in the house of the temple of “Śri-Vijayēśvara.” On a third pillar is an inscription which states that it and two other pillars were the votive offerings of Chalabbe, a harlot of the temple of Śri-Vijayēśvara.² Yet another records a grant to the god Vijayēśvaradēva in A.D. 1162 by (Sinda) Chavaṇḍa’s chief wife Dēmaladēvi.³ There is, thus, no doubt of the identification of this temple. As Vijayāditya reigned between A.D. 696 and 733 we have the approximate date of the building—from sixty to a hundred years after that of Mēguṭi at Aihoḷe, and but a few years before that of Virūpāksha.

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² *Indian Antiquary*, X, 170.

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³ *Indian Antiquary*, V, 174.

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The tower of this temple is of the early Dravidian type, but it has no projection or image on the front as there is on the other two temples. The reason for this is apparent on examining the plan, where it will be seen that there is no antechamber before the shrine whose walls would be necessary to carry it. This projection is, in fact, nothing more than the roof of an antechamber. The walls of the two lower storeys of the tower have had niches round them, in some of which images still remain, one of Śiva occupying the centre niche on the front upper storey. On plate XXXVII the tower of this temple may be compared with those of Virūpāksha and Mallikārjuna, where it will be seen how much simpler, in every way, this one is than the other two.

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An inspection of the plans (Plates XXXV and XLV) of the three temples will show that, though practically identical in their general arrangement, there is a considerable advance upon this in the two later ones. The extraordinary thickness in the shrine walls is very noticeable, yet they carry no more weight than those of the other temples do. Vikramāditya’s greater facilities for importing more expert workers probably accounts for it.

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The interior is very plain. The pillars are plain heavy shafts, without bases, and with very simple bracket-capitals. The ceilings are quite plain, and so is the shrine doorway which has no dedicatory block above it. Within the shrine is a black stone liṅga, cut from dark grey granite which has taken a very high polish. The upper half has been broken off and the shrine is now in disuse. This temple, like the other two, faces the east. Within around the shrine, is a *pradakshiṇā* or perambulatory passage, which is lighted by three windows in each of the three outer walls around it. These are perforated in simple geometric patterns (Plate XXXVII). Alternating with the windows, on the outer walls, are niches, some of which still contain their images. Among these are Varāha, Viṣṇu and Śiva (?) on the northern wall; Śiva with Bhṛiṅgi, Śiva with *Nandi* and two panels left in block on the west or back wall; the southern wall is hidden by houses which have been built against it.

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This, like the other two temples, was a Śaiva shrine. The Chālukya family seem, by this time, to have changed over from Vaiṣṇavism to Śaivism, and to have become worshippers of Śiva under the form of his *liṅga*.

The Temples of the Queens of Vikramāditya II

Virūpāksha

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This is the largest and most important of the old Dravidian temples in the Kanarese districts (Plates XXXVI—XLVII). An inscription in the east gateway of the courtyard tells us that it was built by the *sūtradhārī* Guṇḍa for Lōkamahādēvī, the queen consort of Vikramāditya II., in commemoration of his having thrice conquered Kāñchī or Conjeveram.¹ Vikramāditya’s reign was not a long one, for he appears to have died in A.D. 746 or 747, having reigned but thirteen or fourteen years, so that his third conquest of Kāñchī may have taken place late in his reign. Though, perhaps, not more than fifty years later than that of Vijayēśvara, the advance in style, and the finer execution and finish displayed are remarkable.

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¹ *Indian Antiquary*, X, 162. Other inscriptions in this gateway record minor grants or the names of visitors.

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Within the old temple of Rājasimhēśvara at Conjeveram is an inscription of Vikramāditya which records that Vikramāditya-Satyāśraya did not confiscate the property of that temple, but returned it to the god.² Again, the Vakkaleri (Wokkaleri) copper plate grant of his son Kīrtivarman II. tells us that, after Vikramāditya’s conquest of Kāñchī, he made gifts to the Rājasimhēśvara temple, and was so impressed with the images and other sculpture he saw there that he had them overlaid with gold.³ It seems likely, then, that Vikramāditya was so struck with the Kāñchī temples that he induced some of the best architects of that capital to return with him. This surmise receives some support from two inscriptions on the eastern gateway of Virūpāksha,⁴ one of which speaks of the builder of Lōkēśvara (Virūpāksha) as “the most eminent *sūtradhārī* of the southern country”. High up on the front or east face of the temple of Pāpanātha at Paṭṭadakal is an inscription in praise of a certain Chaṭṭara-Revadi-Ovajja who is said to have “made the southern country,” that is, was the builder of the temples of the southern country, and hence, by inference, the builder of this one. He belonged to the same guild, the Sarva-siddhi-āchāryas, as the builder of Virūpāksha in the last inscription.⁵ This then would satisfactorily account for the difference between the old shrine of Vijayēśvara, constructed by local builders and this one of Lōkēśvara built by more capable architects accustomed to the more advanced styles prevalent in the southern capital.

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² *Epigraphia Indica*, III, 359.

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³ *South Indian Inscriptions*, I, 147.

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⁴ *Indian Antiquary*, X, 170

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⁵ *Indian Antiquary*, X, 170.

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There seems to have been a curious sequel to this; and, since it has to do with the dynasty which, for a time, supplanted the Chālukyas, it may not be out of place to digress for a little from our immediate purpose to notice it. We know that, in the reign of Vikramāditya’s son, but a few years, perhaps, after the erection of Lōkēśvara, the Rāshṭrakūṭas of the Dakhan, under Dantidurga, swept down upon the Chālukyas and dispossessed them of their dominions, or, at least, all their northern districts. We also gather from an inscription on the Das Avatāra cave at Ēlūrā, that Dantidurga was excavating cave-temples there about this time. The caves at Ēlūrā seem to run in chronological order along the hill face from south to north. A little to the north of the Das Avatāra is excavated the great monolithic temple of Kailāsa, fashioned after the style of the great Dravidian temples of the south. Now this Kailāsa is remarkably like the great temple of Lōkēśvara, both in plan and details, allowing for one being cut in the solid rock and the other being built in the ordinary way on level ground. The great basement on which Kailāsa stands, which is not found in Lōkēśvara, is simply an expedient rendered necessary to raise the whole out of the pit in the hill side in which it is sunk, without which it would have been swamped by the high cliffs of the excavation. But even this great basement of lions and elephants may be seen, on a smaller scale, in the plinth of the porch of Lōkēśvara, not, however, in the stiff stereotyped array as found in later buildings.¹

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¹ See *Cave Temples of India*, 448; and *Elura Cave Temples* (Burgess), 26.

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A comparison of the two temples shows how much alike they are in external appearance—the same arrangement of *Nandi* pavilion, hall and shrine. But the five minor deities which, in Lōkēśvara, are placed in two little shrines at the entrance to the *pradakshiṇā* and the three niches in the passage round the shrine, are, in Kailāsa, accommodated in disengaged shrines on the elevated terrace surrounding the main shrine, the terrace, isolated as it is from the courtyard below, forming the *pradakshiṇā*. The walls and cell-shrines, surrounding the courtyard in Lōkēśvara, are reproduced in Kailāsa by the surrounding corridors in the rock.

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The main towers are almost identical. The walls below them differ inasmuch as those seen in Lōkēśvara are the outer walls of the *pradakshiṇā*, while those beneath the Kailāsa tower are the main shrine walls themselves, there being no closed-in *pradakshiṇā*. The little long wagon-shaped and square finials, used as ornament on the main roof in the former, are seen in their natural positions in the latter as finials to the towers of the small subsidiary shrines. The side porches, as seen in elevation, are remarkably alike even to the heavy roll moulding of the cornice with its embroidered corners of arabesque. The windows, too, are of exactly the same type; and the sculptures in the panels are, in many cases, just duplicates of one another—unusual images, too, not generally found on other temples. Noticeable among these is the one representing the fight between the monkey heroes Sugriva and Vāli, and the great vulture Jaṭāyus attacking Rāvaṇa as he carries off Sītā in his aerial chariot, both of which are reproduced as identical compositions upon the walls of Kailāsa, and upon the same side of the temples—the south (see Plate XLVII)². Another unusual representation is that of the Śiva-liṅga with Brahmā and Viṣṇu beside it, which is also found in Kailāsa, and, in both cases, on the front of the temple (Plate XLVII). One more, on the south face of both, is that of Śiva dancing upon the prostrate form of the black dwarf which came forth from the sacrificial fire lit by the ṛiṣis of the forest for Śiva's destruction. Yet another, upon the south side of each temple, at the extreme west end, is the standing figure of Lakuḷīśa. The last repetition that may be pointed out, and a remarkable one, too, is the group of Śiva and Pārvatī, seated on Kailāsa, with the demon king Rāvaṇa below. This, owing to the greater amount of wall space available in the basement of Kailāsa, is seen there as a great group under the southern porch. In Lōkēśvara, it is on a very small scale, on one of the pillars of the south porch. Beside these there are many repetitions of more commonly occurring sculptures.

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² The *Elura Cave Temples*, plate XXV.

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It is an unusual thing to find the scenes of the great epics, the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata, portrayed upon western temples; but upon both of these do we find them. In Lōkēśvara they occur upon the broad bands round the shafts of the great columns of the hall, while on Kailāsa they are sculptured in narrow bands on the wall of the basement below the porch.

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The single sculptures and groups from the Rāmāyaṇa are upon the south side of both temples, although the temples face different ways; and this is appropriate, since the scenes of that epic are laid in the south. The Mahābhārata panel, upon Kailāsa, is placed upon the north side, northern India being the scene of its wars. When we thus find rare and unusual figures and compositions, in more or less natural attitudes, confined to these temples, which, themselves, are alike in design, we can come to no other conclusion than that the one building has been the model for the other; and, of the two, it is easy to see that Kailāsa is the copy of Lōkēśvara, with its advance in the lighter and more graceful treatment of its details, and a greater profusion of rich ornament. It is even possible that some of the same men worked on both.

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At Kailāsa one is struck by the number of repetitions of the lion, which are not found, except as very small objects, in the mouldings on the temple at Paṭṭadakal. They are, too, a very conspicuous feature on the older temples at Kāñchī, where they are found as brackets and supports at every corner. When it is remembered that the lion was the national emblem of the Pallavas, and that the Pallavas were the "natural enemies" of the Chālukyas, we can well understand the absence of the Pallava emblem from Paṭṭadakal. When the builders of the south were working for the Rāṣṭrakūṭas, there was, probably, not the same objection to it, and the rampant lion, which was a favourite ornamental detail, but which had to be suppressed at Paṭṭadakal, broke out all over Kailāsa with fresh vigour. Where, in Kailāsa hundreds of little lions support the corners of the overhanging cornices in bracket fashion, at Paṭṭadakal little figures of men serve the same purpose.

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To return to our description of Lōkēśvara, we find that it consists of a sanctum containing the great liṅga, the maṇḍapa, or hall, with its porches, the Nandi pavilion containing a colossal bull, standing detached before the eastern or main porch, and the eastern and western gateways connected together by the boundary wall of the courtyard. Including the eastern and western gateways, the building measures 250 feet over all, of which the main building occupies a length of 120 feet. Built against the courtyard wall have been a series of cell-shrines which are now more or less in ruins. The inner walls of the main shrine rise above and through the roof of the hall, and form the first storey of the śikhara or tower, above which are two other storeys and the finial or crowning member. Upon the face of the projection in front of the tower is a sculpture representing the tāṇḍava or dance of Śiva.

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The beautiful perforated scroll-patterned windows form one of the finest features of the building. On Plate XXXVI will be found a selection of these, together with some simpler ones from the earlier temple of Saṅgamēśvara. These may be compared with the still richer designs of those at Kailāsa.¹

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¹ See The Elura Cave Temples, Plate IV.

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Among the sculptures on the walls, other than those already noticed, which are in the transition state between the natural and vigorous poses of the earliest work and the stiff crystallized lifeless forms of the later mediæval, are found Ardhanārī, the Vāmana avatāra and Viṣṇu upon the front or east face of the temple; Śiva and Pārvatī, the tāṇḍava of Śiva, Harihara, Bhairava and Varāha on the north side; Śiva and Viṣṇu in various forms on the back or west wall; and Lakulīśa, Śiva in different forms, Viṣṇu and Narasimha among those on the south wall (Plate XLVII). Upon the ceiling of the front porch is Sūrya riding in his chariot with his seven prancing steeds, but this sculpture is now much encrusted with whitewash.² At Kailāsa it occurs upon the inside of the outer porch.

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² See the corresponding group on one of the walls at Kailāsa, The Cave Temples of India, Plate LXXXIII.

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Within the great hall are eighteen heavy square pillars supporting the roof, being arranged in four rows from east to west, the two central rows having five pillars in each. The pillars are all of one pattern, differing only in the sculptures upon them; and the very deep architraves, seven and a half feet deep, running from east to west above them, divide the whole ceiling into parallel aisles. The pillars are heavy square shafts, without bases, but with a roll bracket-capital above each, thus spreading the bearing surface beneath each beam. The sloping soffits of the brackets are carved into transverse rolls which are held together by fillets buckled by a central boss bearing a kīrtimukha face.

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The decoration of the pillar shafts consists of broad bands of bas-reliefs, connected by central vertical bands with semicircular medallions on each face below. Above the horizontal bands is another half medallion. These bands of figures, as already mentioned, bear representations of scenes of the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata, the stories of which are far too long to give in much detail here. The scenes of the former are laid principally in southern India. The poem describes the exile from Ayodhyā, for fourteen years, of the two princes Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, their wanderings and adventures in the forest, the abduction of Sītā, the beautiful wife of Rāma, by Rāvaṇa, the demon king of Ceylon, and the great expedition of the monkey warriors, who espoused Rāma's cause, to recover her. It describes how Rāvaṇa carried off Sītā in her aerial chariot, and the building of the great bridge of rocks across the straits to Ceylon to enable the monkey hosts to cross, the final release of Sītā from captivity, and the return of the brothers to Ayodhyā, where, his father being dead, Rāma is enthroned as king and lived happily ever afterwards.

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The Mahābhārata is a recital of the wars between the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas, with their interminable skirmishes and side issues, in which the principal characters on either side perform wonderful deeds. The Pāṇḍavas were five brothers, while the Kaurava brothers numbered one hundred, and were cousins of the Pāṇḍavas.

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Following the illustrations in the accompanying Plates (XLIII and XLIV), it will be found that some of them are labelled with the names of the heroes portrayed. Thus in the top band of the panel on Plate XLIV is Sītā seated at the right hand end, next to her being Rāma and then Lakshmaṇa, both seated. Before them stand the old hag Sūrpaṇakhā, sister to the demon king Rāvaṇa, and his brothers Khara and Dūshaṇa. She has the audacity to make love to Rāma, and, to punish her, Lakshmaṇa cuts off her nose and ears. This incident is depicted in the middle of the band. She rushes off, shrieking, to tell her brother Khara of the outrage. He and Dūshaṇa are the two seated figures at the end. Khara then sent fourteen great *rākshasas* or demons to slay Rāma, Lakshmaṇa and Sītā, but they are themselves slain. At the right end of the second panel is Sītā, standing, while Rāma and Lakshmaṇa are shown drawing their bows against the demons, some of whom are already killed. After that, Khara personally leads fourteen thousand against Rāma, but is slain and his band is annihilated. Sūrpaṇakhā, filled with disappointment and burning with rage, appeals to Rāvaṇa for help, and, in the sculpture, at the end of the band, she is shown imploring his aid. He is represented here with three heads, but he is said to have possessed ten heads and twenty arms.

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The third band from the right shows Rāvaṇa seated, with Māricha disguised as an ascetic, whom he prevails upon to take the form of a golden deer which was to lure the brothers away from Sītā. Next we see Māricha assuming the form of a deer, followed by Sītā, Rāma and Lakshmaṇa, seated. The deer is then shown in three positions with Rāma giving chase. When pierced with Rāma's arrow, and about to die, Māricha assumes his *rākshasa* shape, and, in Rāma's voice, calls loudly for help. Down in the corner, lying prone, with the arrow through him, is Māricha. Lakshmaṇa, deceived by the cry, and thinking Rāma was in difficulties, left Sītā, whom he had remained to guard (she is seen at the right end of the bottom panel), when, immediately, Rāvaṇa, disguised as an ascetic, appears before her. Here he is shown holding an umbrella over himself. Sītā is next seen seated in his aerial car, being carried away through the air. The great vulture, Jaṭāyus, attempts to stop Rāvaṇa; but, after savagely attacking him, and throwing him from his car to the ground, is, himself, left *hors de combat* while Rāvaṇa makes good his escape to Laṅkā with his captive. The bird, at the very end, is here labelled Sūrpaṇakhā, but this is a mistake.

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For a continuation we must pass on to the drawings on Plate XLVI where we find Sītā seated in the Aśoka garden, under a tree, where she was confined and guarded by a number of *rākshasis*. The story is continued upon the bands. Here the beginning of the bridge of rocks is seen with Hanumān, the monkey warrior, springing across the straits, and being encountered by the *rākshasi* who rises from the waters. Next, he is seen entering Laṅkā by leaping over the walls, where he is confronted by another *rākshasi*. Below he is in the tree above Sītā telling her of the approach of Rāma to her rescue, and he is further seen leaping across the houses causing a general conflagration after the *rākshasas* had set fire to his tail.

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The panels devoted to the Mahābhārata are not so easily deciphered, as the heroes are all ordinary giants with nothing about their persons to distinguish the one from the other. The scenes, too, are mostly combats and duels. In the middle panel of one is seen Bhishma reclining upon his arrowy bed (XLIV).

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There can be no doubt at all about the original dedication of the temple, apart from what the inscriptions tell us, for the *Nandi* pavilion before it, with its colossal bull, declare it to be Śaivite.

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Upon each side of every doorway stands a gigantic *dvārapāla* or doorkeeper, just as they are found in the cave-temples.

The Temple of Mallikārjuna or Trailōkyēśvara

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Adjoining the north-west corner of Virūpāksha is the temple of Mallikārjuna, which may be identified, without much doubt, with that of Trailōkyēśvara which was erected by the younger queen of Vikramāditya II., named Trailōkyamahādēvi. It would be but natural to suppose that the senior queen's temple took priority in building, and this assumption is to some extent borne out by the fact that many parts of this temple have been left unfinished, owing, no doubt, to the death of Vikramāditya stopping the funds. And it is possible that we have the portraits of the king and this queen here, for, carved upon one of the pilasters, on the north side of the hall, and standing out in full from it, is a pair of figures, male and female (Fig. 18). The man wears a very elaborate coiffure in which the hair is platted and rolled, and is carried up to a great bunch of carefully modelled curls. Around the upper arms and wrists are plain coiled bracelets. From the waist, downwards, the figures are broken away. On his left, with his left arm about her, stands a woman whose right arm very lovingly embraces his neck. She has the usual jewelled necklets, bracelets and waistbelt.

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Fig. 18.—Pair of figures from the temple of Mallikārjuna, Paṭṭadakal.

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The general plan and design are the same as in Virūpāksha; the interiors, save for a slight increase in the width of the latter, being exactly the same, even to the two little side shrines, one on either side of the entrance to the main shrine. The great heavy columns are of the same type, and have similar bands of sculptures around them. But these have not all been finished, the shadowy forms of some only just emerging from the rough. Among these sculptures may be seen the churning of the ocean by the gods and *asuras* (Plate XLVIII), the marriage of Śiva and Pārvatī, Kṛishṇa holding up the mountain Govardhana, the killing of the demon Dhenuka by Balarāma, the Vāmana *avatāra* and others.

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Beyond the tree, in the panel where the ass, Dhenuka, is seen among the branches is Kṛishṇa killing Kansa's great elephant. Next to this he is seen slaying the demon Kesin who is in the shape of a horse, and, at the end, he is shown killing Ariṣṭa who attacked him in the shape of a savage bull. The panel beneath probably shows Kansa seated upon his throne at the tournament, ostensibly held in honour of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, but really with the intention of compassing their deaths, by fair means or foul, in the contests. In the end Kṛṣṇa sprang upon him, seized him by the hair and crushed him to death. Before this happened, however, we are told, in the Viṣṇu purāṇa, that Kṛṣṇa, after dancing round the arena in defiance, came to grips with Chanura and, after pounding him well, whirled him round and dashed him to the ground with such violence as to smash his body into a hundred fragments. This scene is, no doubt, portrayed where, in the lower panel, Kṛṣṇa is seen holding Chanura upsidedown by the legs in the act of swinging him round. The top panel shows also a part of the *mêlée* in which Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma punish Kansa's picked men.

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A comparison of the towers of the two temples shows that they are alike in all their parts save the crowning member which, in this temple, is round instead of square. There is no doubt the square form of Virūpāksha is more in keeping with the character of the rest of the tower. On the monolithic temple of Kailāsa at Ēḷūrā this member is octagonal. In both these Paṭṭadakal temples the towers are complete even to the pot finials or *kalaśas*.

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Among the images upon the outside of the temple are both Viṣṇu and Śiva on the north side; the *tāṇḍava* and Ardhanārī on the west or back; Bhairava, Śiva and Pārvatī, the *tāṇḍava* and Lakulīśa on the south. Other sculptures are damaged or are covered by houses built up against the temple. The perforated windows are of the same character as those in Virūpāksha.

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Garuḍa presides above the shrine door, and he is also found above the north doorway of the hall, while, above the south door, on the dedicatory block, is Viṣṇu himself, seated upon Garuḍa. This is curious in face of the statement in the inscription quoted above. It was, perhaps, nothing more than the practice of the earlier kings which had become a habit with their successors. Śiva and Viṣṇu appear to have been equally reverenced at that time, and the division between Vaiṣṇavas and Śaivites, which in later times became so acute, was, perhaps, non-existent in those early days. In the later mediæval temples we find Lakshmī presiding above the doors of Vaiṣṇava, Śaiva and Jaina temples. Up above the shrine door, and above the dedicatory block, is a well-sculptured small panel containing Śiva and Pārvatī with *Nandi* beneath them, in the style generally found in the caves. The *dvārapāla* on the south side of the shrine door is Śiva, four-armed and carrying his trident, and on the north side is Śiva again as a Yogi with coiled head-dress, trident and four arms. Again, on the façade stone on the face of the tower is Śiva dancing the *tāṇḍava*.

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Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva sculptures are very impartially mixed up. The bay of the hall ceiling, just in front of the shrine, contains a sculpture of Gaja-Lakshmī, Viṣṇu's consort, as in Virūpāksha, with very natural-looking lotuses encircling her. Again, as in Virūpāksha, the second ceiling from the shrine has a hooded *nāga* figure with his serpent coils around him. The third panel is missing, the roof being open, and, curiously enough, this is so in Virūpāksha. The fourth, furthest away from the shrine, contains Śiva dancing the *tāṇḍava*, with *Nandi* beside him. The corresponding group in the other temple is damaged. On the front of the second cross beam from the shrine is a representation of the worship of the *linga*. Lastly, upon the south face of the north pillar in the east porch, is a sculpture of Narasimha, over which is a short inscription which seems to record the name or title of some person.

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Out before the temple, but now built in by houses, are the remains of the *Nandi* pavilion, but it seems to have been smaller and of a lighter design than that of Virūpāksha.

The Temple of Pāpanātha

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The temple of Pāpanātha stands at the south-east corner of the village of Paṭṭadakal, and serves the purpose of a village wall so far as it goes. It is in disuse and is utterly neglected, except that it has been used as a byre, cattle being tethered within and all along its walls, without, on the village side. It is a very ornate temple, with an almost complete tower in the northern style; and, judging from the character of the letters of a few short inscriptions upon it, it cannot be later than that of Virūpāksha. It is probably earlier, and was superseded as the chief temple here by that of Virūpāksha. It faces east.

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Though, at first sight, this temple looks very different to Virūpāksha, it will be found that the difference is almost entirely confined to its tower. The plan is but a modification of that of its neighbour. The space between the sixteen-pillared hall of Virūpāksha and its shrine, including the intermediate two pillars, is, in this one, amplified into a small inner hall with four pillars. This is the only difference of any account, a difference which might occur between any two purely Dravidian temples; in fact, it will be found to be a nearer approach to the plan of Kailāsanātha at Conjevaram than Virūpāksha.¹ The walls, outside, are practically the same as in Virūpāksha, a variation in the arrangement of the sculpture panels alone being made. The basement mouldings are the same in both, and so are the cornices and the mouldings above them. A Dravidian tower in place of the present one would not look at all strange. It is, therefore, unnecessary to describe these temples with northern spires, as found in these districts, as a class apart from the others (Plates XLIX, L and LIII).

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¹ Compare with the plan of Kailāsanātha as given in the *History of Indian and Eastern Architecture*, Vol. I, p. 358.

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Upon the building are inscribed the names of many of the sculptures, and high up on the east face, on the south side of the door, is an inscription, in characters which Dr. Fleet says are not much, if at all, earlier than the seventh century, in praise of a certain Chaṭṭara Revadi-Ovajja, who is said to have "made the southern country," *i.e.*, was the builder of the temples of the southern country, and hence, by inference, the builder of this. He belonged to the same guild to which the builder of Lokeśvara was attached. In Fergusson's *Indian and Eastern Architecture*, as revised by Dr. Burgess, the age is put down as, approximately, A.D. 700. It is hardly likely that three great costly temples would have been in hand in one place at nearly the same time. A.D. 650 as the latest possible date, therefore, would be, perhaps, as near the mark as we can get with present data.

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When we come to the question of the original dedication of the temple we are faced with just as much uncertainty. It was probably not Śaiva, that is, devoted to the worship of the *linga*, for there is no sign, in front, of a pavilion for a *Nandi*, the present one being placed, very clumsily, inside the great hall. The *aṣṭadikpāla* ceiling, in the centre of the hall,¹ has Vishnu reclining upon Śesha as its central panel instead of the *tāṇḍava* of Śiva which is usual in such ceilings found in Śaiva temples. The workmanship of this one looks quite as old as the temple itself, and is not an after addition as appears to have been the case with that in the temple of Kont-Guḍi at Aihole already described. Garuḍa presides over the shrine door, while, above him, on the face of the beam, is Gaja-Lakshmī. There is a *dvarapāla*, four-armed, on either side of the shrine door, wearing a jewelled headdress. In the upper left hand of the south figure is a *triśūla*, but it has been made of plaster, evidently after the temple was converted to Śaiva worship. In the shrine walls, within the *pradakshina* passage, are three niches, one on each face. In the south niche is an image of Śiva, in the north Vishnu, but in the back or west, the most important, an image of Sūrya. Over the doorway, between the two halls, is Garuḍa again. The dedicatory block over the outer door is like that on the temple just outside the southwest gate of the village of Aihole, on the bank of the stream—two *makara* heads looking opposite ways and joined in the centre by a lozenge or brooch ornament—but immediately above it is a *devī*.

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¹ For a description of one of these ceilings see page 150.

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Fig. 19.—Interior of the temple of Pāpanātha, Paṭṭadakal.

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Taking everything into consideration, and in spite of the *tāṇḍava* sculpture on the face of the tower, it seems impossible to come to any other conclusion than that the temple was, originally, Vaishṇava, like the Durga temple at Aihole, and possibly dedicated to Sūrya.

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As is usual in all these old temples, Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva sculptures are equally mixed. Amongst the groups in the ceiling panels, besides those just noted, are the *tāṇḍava* and Śeṣa, and in the hall are the loose images of Gaṇapati and Mahiṣāsura-Mardanī, which may not be original. The exterior walls are fretted with ornamental filigree, and are divided up into rows of little pillared niches containing small images. The spaces between these niches are also used for similar little groups and some of those beautiful perforated stone windows which are found in Virūpāksha. The photograph shows these better than any amount of description (Plate L). Some of these groups represent scenes from the Rāmāyaṇa, many of which are labelled in characters which may be as old as the sixth century.¹ Amongst the names are Rāman, Site, Site, Lakkaṇa, Jaṭayu, Sugrivan, Bāli, Aṅgajan, Ravaṇan, Suppanaki, Kara-Dusaṇan, Bhīmasēna, Śri-Baladēva, Naḷan, Vibhīshaṇan, and Kumbhaṛṇan. Besides these are images of Śiva in various attitudes, with and without Pārvatī, Rāvaṇa under Kailāsa, Viṣṇu, Mahiṣāsura-mardanī, the *tāṇḍava*, Gaṇapati, Narasimha, Varāha, the Vāmana *avatāra*, Varuṇa, and Kṛiṣṇa, upholding Govardhana. In the ceiling of the porch is the *tāṇḍava* group.

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¹ *Indian Antiquary*, X, 170.

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Fig. 20.—Pillars in the porch of the temple of Pāpanātha, Paṭṭadakal.

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The beams, between the ceiling panels of the larger hall, are most exquisitely carved and decorated in hanging arabesque, it being some of the richest work of its kind in western India (Plate LIII). The brackets under the ends of them are fashioned as *makara's* heads, from whose jaws issue rampant lions connecting them with the soffits of the beams. On the faces of each pilaster are pairs of figures—men and women—in almost full relief. A continuous frieze of little figures, bearing up loops of a running festoon, as is found in early Buddhist ornament, runs along the tops of the walls of the hall; and, opposite this, over the pillars, is a frieze of pairs of flying figures.

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The pillars of the outer hall are of a different type to those found in Virūpāksha, but they are very squat and clumsy looking. They have moulded bases, sixteen-sided shafts and clumsily-shaped cushion capitals. Two-thirds up the shaft is a great square heavy block left rough for carving. The pillars of the porch are somewhat after the style of the Durga temple at Aihoḷe (Figs. 20 and 21).

Old Jaina Temple

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About a quarter of a mile to the west of the village of Paṭṭadakal stands a desecrated and disused temple which appears to have been Jaina. It is in the old Dravidian style, and, save for the kalaśa or pot finial, its tower is complete; but it is probably of a somewhat later date than Virūpāksha. Assuming that the outer open porch is part of the original design, I would be inclined to put it at a hundred or a hundred and fifty years later, in the reign of Amoghavarsha I., or Kṛishṇa II., that is, about the time some of the Jaina caves were being excavated at Ēlūra. The great elephants, one on either side of the entrance, are very reminiscent of those at Kailaśa and the Indra Sabhā at that place, and more especially the half elephants on the face of the latter (Fig. 21 and Plates XLIX, LI, LIII and LIV).¹

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¹ See The Cave Temples of Elura, Pl. VII.

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The temple was never finished, the outer wall, surrounding the shrine, and shown upon the plan, not having been carried up beyond a few courses of the basement. This may be seen in the photograph where these courses are noticeable, and the projecting course on the walls above which the sloping roof slabs rested. Some of the pot and foliage ornament, upon the outer wall of the porch, has also been left unfinished.

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Like most of these old Jaina temples, this one had an upper shrine which was entered from the roof of the hall, and for this purpose a great stone ladder was placed in the northeast corner of the hall under an opening through the roof. As already mentioned a similar ladder was found against the wall of the Kont-Guḍi at Aihoḷe. The four pillars in the hall are of the same type as those in that temple, but are, with the pillars in the porch, which have round shafts, a considerable advance towards the later mediæval type.

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The water-pot and foliage ornament forms a very conspicuous feature upon the outer wall of the porch, and it occurs again at the bottom of the hall doorway, on either side. At the upper corners of the shrine doorway are two superb makaras with splendid flowing tails (Fig. 22). Their position here is rather exceptional, and one would have expected to see a delicately cusped toraṇa stretching across from jaw to jaw. Each of the elephants flanking the outer doorway has a rider upon it.² The rider on the north side is canopied by a five-hooded snake¹; that on the south side is too much damaged to say whether it had the same or not. They may possibly be portrait images of the man who built the temple and his wife.

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² Elephants with their riders are often found in Jaina temples, notably at the famous marble shrines on Mount Abū.

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¹ In connection with the *nāga* or cobra-crested chiefs see Dr. Fleet's remarks, *Bombay Gazetteer*, Vol. I, Part II, 576 and 281 note 3.

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Fig. 21.—Elephant beside the door of the Jaina temple, Paṭṭadakal.

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Within the shrine is a small mean-looking *linga* without any *sālunkā*, which has, no doubt, been put in there at some late period, most probably by the Lingāyats. There are no dedicatory blocks over the doors, and the only indications to shew that it was a Jaina temple are two little images of seated Jainas, one half way up the back or west side and one on the north side of the tower. To this might be added the negative evidence that there are no Brahmanical images about the building. The temple faces the east.

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Between this temple and the village are the remains of another old temple, which may possibly be the one referred to in the inscription on the tablet which was found lying in the fields to the west of the village, and, therefore on or not far from the spot. It appears to record the grant of a stone throne or pedestal, and of a bracelet and bangle to the idol of the temple of the god Lōkapālēśvara, which had been built by Anantaguṇa. It is possible, too, that it may refer to Lōkēśvara of the great temple in the village.²

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² *Indian Antiquary*, X, 164

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Fig. 22.—Makara ornament on the door of the Jaina temple, Paṭṭadakal.

Temple of Kāśiviśvanātha

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On the north side of Mallikārjuna, and close to it, is the small temple of Kāśiviśvanātha with its *śikhara* in the northern style. Within the shrine is a black stone *linga*, and Garuḍa presides above the doorway. On the beam across the antechamber ceiling, on its soffit, is a representation of the worship of the *linga*. In the middle of the ceiling is an *aṣṭadikpāla* panel, similar to that in Pāpanātha, but it has Śiva and Pārvatī seated in the middle compartment. It does not occupy the whole ceiling, and is a crude piece of work compared with mediæval ones. On Plate LII is shown the outer door with a glimpse of two pillars within. Garuḍa is upon the lintel, but has been badly damaged.

The Temple of Galaganātha

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This temple is in a ruined state; it stands on the north of Saṅgamēśvara, the village wall abutting upon it. It now consists of a shrine, over which rises a tower in the northern style, with a small portion of its outer wall outside the *pradakṣiṇa* on the north and south.

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The rest, if it were ever built, has disappeared. On the south side is a blind porch, half buried in debris, in which is a spirited representation of Bhairava. On the dedicatory block is the tāṇḍava of Śiva, which is very unusual indeed (Plate LII). It is very likely that this temple and the last were Śaiva from the beginning.

The Temple of Kādsiddhēśvara

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Outside the village walls, on the north, and beyond Galaganātha, is the small temple of Kādsiddhēśvara with a śikhara in the northern style. It is a compact neat little building. On each of the three sides of the shrine, outside, is an image in a niche. On the north side it is a female with two arms; the right hand rests on the head of a bull, while the left holds up a half-blown lotus. A little dwarf stands below. The back or west figure is Viṣṇu, standing straight to the front. The standing figure on the south is damaged. The temple has pretty lattice windows. On the front of the tower is the usual tāṇḍava but damaged. We have here another very unusual dedicatory block over the shrine door—Śiva and Pārvatī seated side by side. At the top, to one side, is Brahmā, while, upon the other, is Viṣṇu. We can make no mistake here in saying that this shrine was originally dedicated to Śiva. A very cave-like feature in this doorway is the peculiar setback of the mouldings at the upper corners, a device practised at the present day in Europe (Plate LII).

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In addition to those described, there are the remains of two other temples of the same class at Paṭṭadakal, namely, Jambhuliṅga and Chandraśēkhara. The former is a little west of Galaganātha. It is a small building with a northern śikhara, on the front of which is the usual tāṇḍava. Within the shrine is a black stone liṅga. There is no dedicatory image on the shrine door.

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Chandraśēkhara is only a fragment, without a tower, between Saṅgamēśvara, and Galaganātha.

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