Aihole
Temple: Kontigudi and Galaganatha temples

Aihole is situated on the banks of the Malaprabha River in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka. It is a place of great religious and historic significance.

Aihole is situated at a height of around 590 mt. and about 480 km from Bangalore.

Aihole – Overview

Aihole has some of the most beautiful examples of Hindu temple architecture. It is also significant for historians, because an inscription that was discovered here helped them in piecing together the history of this period. During the Chalukyan period, Aihole was the experimental ground for different styles of temple construction.

Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal is considered cradle of Chalukyan Architecture. The oldest temple here is, perhaps, the Lad Khan temple dating back to the 5th Century. On the roof of the temple is another shrine-like Vimana.

Aihole – History

About Aihole

Aihole was the first capital of the Chalukyas, before Pulakesi I shifted the capital to Vatapi (Badami). Aihole is home to some of the most beautiful and varied types of Hindu Architecture. This was the beginning of the era of great temple building in South India.

In Aihole, the artists seem to have experimented with different styles of temple building. There are more than a hundred temples scattered about the town, representing various styles and different eras. The earliest works were rock cut shrines. The artisans slowly evolved a Chalukyan style, blending ideas from all the neighboring regions.

The first phase of the temple was built in 6th century CE and the second phase went on upto 12 th century CE . Over 125 temples in various styles were built in Aihole.

The Aihole Inscription

The Aihole Inscription, believed to have been composed by the Jain poet Ravikeerthi, is a great source for reconstructing the history of this period. It records the achievements of Pulakesi II, especially his victory against Harshavardhana, the ruler of Northern India.

The famous Chalukya King Pulakeshi II was follower of Jainism. Aihole inscription is dated 634 CE, in Sanskrit language and old Kannada script.

Aihole – Architecture

The two main groups of temples here belong to the Kontigudi group and the Galaganatha group. although historians have divided all the temples into 22 groups.

The Kontigudi group is a set of three temples consisting of the Lad Khan temple, Huchiappayyagudi temple and the Huchiappayya math.

The Galaganatha group has nearly 30 temples scattered on the bank of the river Malaprabha. Galaganatha temples are characterized by a curvilinear shikhara above the Garba Griha and images of the deities of Ganga and Yamuna at the entrance to the shrine.

This period saw the construction of great architectural wonders not only at Aihole but the whole region including Badami, Pattadakal, and other places. In the 17th century, Aurangzeb annexed the Deccan and made it a part of the Mughal Empire and Aihole, as a part of that region, came under the Mughal rule.The early Chalukya dynasty was ousted by its own district officers, the Rashtrakutas in AD 757. Later on, Aihole became a part of the Bahmani and other local Muslim dynasties.

The Kontigudi Group

The Lad Khan Temple
This is a Shiva Temple. It has a pillared mukha mandapa leading to a maha mandapa organized into concentric squares by an arrangement of pillars.

The temple was built in late 7th or early 8th century.The oldest temple here is, perhaps, the Lad Khan temple located south of the Durga Temple. It consists of a shrine with two mantapas in front of it.

The temple was built in a Panchayat style, indicating a very early experiment in temple construction. The windows were filled up with lattice work in the northern style and the sanctum was added later on. In front of the sanctum there are a set of 12 carved pillars. Above the center of the hall, facing the sanctum, is a second smaller sanctum with images carved on the outer walls.

The Huchappayyya Gudi
Temple has a curvilinear tower (shikhara) over the sanctum (unlike the Lad Khan temple). The interior of the temple has beautiful carvings. The shikhara is typical of the Chalukyan style

The Huchimalli Gudi
This temple has shrines for Shiva Vishnu and Brahma.

This was built in the 7th century shows an evolution in the temple plan, as it shows an ardhamantapa or an ante-chamber annexed to the main shrine,has a sculpture of Vishnu sitting atop a large cobra. Dating back to the 6th century, the Ravalpathi Cave cave-temple celebrates the many forms of Lord Shiva. This cave is well worth a long visit. Inside the cave is the beautiful statue of dancing Shiva who seems to be trembling with motion.

The Galaganatha Group

Galaganatha temple
There are around 30 temples along the banks of the Malaprabha River. Among these, the main temple is the Galaganatha temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. It has the curvilinear shikara and the images of Ganga and Yamuna flanking the shrine doorway, common to a lot of Chalukya temples.

The Durga Temple
The Durga temple or the fortress temple is the most impressive among this group. It has high relief carvings of Mahishasura Mardhini, Lord Narasimha and depictions of Shiva in various poses.

The Durga (Fort) Temple is notable for its semicircular apes, elevated plinth and the gallery that encircles the sanctum.

The interior is filled with fascinating carvings - Chamundi Devi trampling the buffalo demon, Narasimha - the half-man, half-female deity. Then there is image of the fearsome Mahishasuramardini or the Mother Goddess Durga destroying the demon Mahisha. The temple appears to be of the late 7th or early 8th century.

Melguti Jain Temple
This temple sits on a raised platform. It has a large pillared mukha mandapa, with a flight of steps leading to the roof. From the roof one can view the entire town.

The only dated monument in Aihole, the Meguti Temple was built atop a small hill in 634 AD. Now partly in ruins, possibly never completed, this temple provides an important evidence of the early development of the Dravidian style of Architecture. The inscription dating the monument is found on one of the outer walls of the temple and records its construction by Ravikeerti, who was a commander & minister of Pulakesin II.

Apparently a Jain Temple as seen from the seated Jain figure here, the superstructure rising above the sanctum wall of the temple is not original & the 16-columns porch and hall extension are later additions.

Ravana Phadi
This is one of the oldest rock cut cave temples. This Shaivite temple has a veranda with a triple entrance and large carved pillars. The walls are covered with carvings.

The cave temple of Ravana Phadi stands all by itself backed against the rocky hill out of which it has been carved.

Suryanarayana Temple
This temple has a statue of Surya with his consorts Usha and Sandhya on a chariot drawn by horses.

Not to be missed is the Konthi Temple Complex (Kwanthi Gudi), the Uma Maheswari Temple with a beautifully carved Brahma seated on a lotus and the two storeyed Buddhist Temple.