CHALUKYA ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE

Architectural and sculptural achievements of the Chalukya dynasty based in

Badami and Kalyani are delineated in the entries on the individual dynasties. Entries
on important places like Ihole, Badami and Pattadakallu have provided a wealth of
detail and supplemented them with appropriate reference works. Conseuently this
note confines itself to the salient and uniue features of the school.
a. Badami Chalukya Period:
!. "he Chalukyas of Badami who ruled for two centuries durin# the period
spnnin# $%%A.&. and '$%.A.&. developed their own style of architecture
known as the ()esara *tyle+. "his style is a synthesis of the &ravida and
,aa#ara styles. Actually some of temples constructed in this period are
built in the &ravidian styles and a few others e-hibit the characters of the
,aa#ara style. .ccasionally they are combined in a sin#le structure.
/. "he architectural structures of this school are broadly cate#orised in to two
#roups namely the rock cut cave temples and properly structured buildin#s.
0. 1ost of the temples built by the Chalukyas are concentrated in Badami,
Ihole, Pattadakallu and ,a#aralu. 2owever, some classic e-amples are
found also in Alampurapalli, *atyavolu and 1ahanandi in Andhrapradesh.
In all, there about !$% temples belon#in# to this period. About one hundred
of them are found in Ihole alone. All of them are reli#ious structures with
the e-ception of the fort at Ihole.
3. "hese temples are usually built with li#ht red and li#ht yellow sand stones
found abundantly in Bi4apur district. *tone masonry which replaced brick
made or wooden structures is the hall mark of this period. ,aturally there
was a hu#e scope for e-perimentation, of the trial and error variety. It is not
for nothin# that Ihole is called the cradle of Chalukyan architecture and
sculpture.
$. A ma4ority of these temples are dedicated to 2indu 5ods and 5oddesses.
"here some 6aina and Bauddha caves and temples scattered around the
kin#dom.
7. "he cave temples of this period are not celebrated because of their
architectural #randeur. "hey are admired for their bas reliefs, intricate
carvin#s, attention to details, thematic variety and murals. It is essentially
because of their sculptural beauty that they have attracted connoisseurs.
'. "he temple architecture of Badami Chalukyas has shown evolutionary
tendencies. *tone masonry was #radually supersedin# the rock8cut
methods of cave temples durin# their re#ime. It seems that the sculptors
indul#ed in lots of e-perimentation in Ihole. 1any temples found there are
not finished products. "he style finds its clima- in Badami and more
particularly in Pattadakallu.
"o look at some of these evolutionary features, it may be noted that
the the temples had flat or sli#htly slopin# roofs and they were surmounted
by small (shikhara+s. A pillared hall 9man"apa: was a later addition.
;eatures such as (sukanaasi+, (#arbha#riha+, (mukha mantapa+ and
(pradakshina patha+ 9Circumambulatory path: which became default
features at a later date are conspicuous by their absence in some of these
early Chalukyan temples. &ur#a temple at Ihole is an e-ception.
.n the contrary, the temples at Pattadakallu are fully evolved and they
show many advanced features.
<. It is possible to notice this evolution in sculptures also. "he early period in
the history of Badami Chalukyas has icons and sculptures that are simple
and evocative of emotions. "hey are not #iven to e-cessive decoration.
2owever, the traditional te-ts of icono#raphy seem to have #ained the
upper hand in later days. "he statues are technically perfect and
aesthetically pleasin#. But scholars have opined that they are bound by
reli#ious restrictions.

b. Kalyani Chalukya Period=
!. Kalyani Chalukyas or the >estern Chalukyas came to power after the
decline of the ?ashtrakuta empire. "hey rei#ned in the interval between
@'$ A.&. and !!@% A.&. "he architectural and sculptural advents of this
dynasty was not confined to its capital and its nei#hbourin# towns. It was
well spread in different parts of Karnataka and beyond. Actually hardly
any evidence has survived in Kalyana their capital even thou#h the
temples at the near by villa#es of ,arayanapura and *hivapura are
e-uisite.
/. "he temples have used soap stone. 9Chloritic *chist: 95reenish or
blueish black stone: instead of the sand stone. "he nature of this stone
has resulted in temples that are not tall in stature, but are full of
ornamentation.
0. It is interestin# to note that the Kalyani Chalukya architecture has not
borrowed any thin# from the 2oysala style. It has not followed the
Badami Chalukya model in toto either. "he foundations of these temples
are rectan#ular and they have eschewed the star shaped models of the
2oysala architects. 9with the possible e-ception of the temple at
(&ambaAa+:
3. "hey do not have a circumambulatory path 9pradakshina patha: around
the #arbha#riha as is customary with the 2oysala temples. 1any a time,
the main entrance to the temple is at its side rather than the front.
$. "he doors of the Kalyani Chalukya temples are very artistic and they
are built accordin# to some sound architectural principles. 2owever,
they are not #iven to e-cessive decoration in carvin#. "he outline of the
temples are determined by pro4ections and recesses and
representations that can produce a number of patterns. "hey can be
stepped, stellate 9star shaped: or suare.
7. )imana, 9*ancta: mantapa, pillars and door panels are some the
important and evolvin# features of this style. B"he artisans used northern
style spires and e-pressed it in a modifieddravida outline. 1iniature towers
of both dravida and nagara types are used as ornamentation on the walls.C
9>ikipedia: "he ceilin#s were either domical or suare sheped and in
either case they were supported by pillars. Pillars with plain suare8block
base and alternatin# suare blocks and cylindrical sculpted sections were
usual. Bell shaped lathe8turned pillars also were used freuently.
'. "he 1ahadeva temple at Ita#i, *iddeshvara temple at 2averi, Kashi
)ishveshvara temple at Aakkundi, taradevi temple at &ambaAa,
1ahamayaa temple at Kuknuur, &ur#a temple at 2irekeruur, 1ukteshvara
temple at Chau&adanapura, 1allikar4una temple at Kuravatti and
Amriteshvara temple at Anni#eri are some of the more illustrious e-amples
of Kalyani architecture.
It is a matter of re#ret that temples built in and arround Kalyana the Capital
of this dyansty are either e-tinct or in ruins. >hatever remains point to the
fact that they stuck to the ,aa#ara style more than their counter parts
elsewhre in the empire.