History of Mallikarjuna Temple

The history of Pattadakal goes back to a time when it was called Kisuvolal, a valley of red soil. It even found a mention in Ptolemy’s Geography in the 2nd century CE. Presently Pattadakal is located in the district of Bagalkot, state of Karnataka, India. The Chalukyas of Badami (ancient Vatapi) or Early Chalukyas (543-753 CE) built a large complex of temples for royal commemoration and coronation in Pattadakal. This complex is on the left bank of the Malaprabha River which runs further north to meet the river Krishna. It was accorded World Heritage Status by UNESCO in 1987.

Pattadakal literally means ‘coronation stone’ and bears testimony to the later phase of evolution of the distinctive Early Chalukyan architecture. The gestation phase of this development which took place in Aihole, Badami (the ancient capital), Alampur, and Mahakuta finds its culmination here. It is in the last few decades, during the successive reigns of Vijayaditya (696-733 CE), Vikramaditya II (733-746 CE) and Kirtivarman II (746-753 CE), that several temples were gradually constructed in this fertile valley. A Jain shrine was constructed much later, after the collapse of the empire by their successor Rashtrakuta Dynasty (8th-10th centuries CE) in the 9th century CE.

It was originally called the Trailokeswara temple in honour of the Queen Trailokya Mahadevi. Almost like a twin, the Mallikarjuna temple was built for the same purpose, at the same time as Virupaksha temple which stands beside it. There are only a few noticeable differences between these two, one of them being a hemispherical amalaka as opposed to a four-sided one, and a parapet devoid of certain architectural elements such as kuta (square), sala (oblong) etc. that correspond to the projections and recesses below.

The shrines, lateral to the antarala, are sadly missing the images of their respective deities. Prakara (walls) too are largely destroyed. Tales from the puranas (religious texts) and epics carved inside the temple include sculptures of Mahisasurmardini, samudra manthan, Narasimha fighting Hiranyakashipu, the slaying of Mareecha etc. The niches on temple walls are also gracefully decorated.

Source Copied : https://www.worldhistory.org/article/899/the-temples-of-pattadakal/

LOCATION DETAILS

Near By Place To Visit !