Day 1 –
(Badami) Arrive to Bagalkot check in Resorts after breakfast move to (Kanthi Resorts Bagalkot) Badami and Badami cave Temples (temples are composed of four caves out of soft sand stone built in late 6th to 7th centuries, the Chalukya architecture is a blend of Nagara and Dravidian style), Agastya Lake and Banashankari Temple – halt in Kanthi Resorts Bagalkot.
Badami
Banashankari:
Banashankari Temple is a popular and highly revered shrine of Karnataka. Located at Cholachigud, Banashankari Temple lays at a distance 50 kms from Badami. The town of Badami is another destination renowned for its ancient cave temples. The nearest railway station to Cholachigud is located at Badami and from here; many buses or taxis can be availed to reach the temple. On the whole, various tourism buses and coaches are available throughout Karnataka to arrive at Cholachigud.
Banashankari Devi is considered as the incarnation of Goddess Parvati, who is regarded as the divine consort of Lord Shiva. The mention of Banashankari has been made in the Skanda Purana (an ancient scripture), where the Goddess slaughtered a demon named Durgamasura. Since, the temple is positioned in the Tilakaaranya forest; the Devi came to be known as Banashankari or Vanashankari. The term Banashankari is derived from two words; 'Ban' (Van) meaning 'forest' and 'Shankari' meaning 'the lover of Lord Shiva'.
In the main shrine, the image of Banashankari Devi reveals the Goddess in a sitting posture. The Goddess can be seen seated on a growling lion and crushing a demon with her foot. The idol is carved out of a black stone. The Goddess Banashankari is depicted here with eight arms, holding trishul, damaruga, kamaalpatra, ghanta, Veda scripts and khadg-kheta in her different hands. It is believed that the Goddess was the 'Kuladevi' of the Chalukyas.
Initially, Banasankari Mandir was built by the Chalukyas of Kalyan; however the present structure traces its origin in the 17th century. The ancient temple of Banasankari represents the Dravidian style of architecture. 'Haridra Tirtha' is a large pond, which makes the foreground of this temple. The term 'Haridra Tirtha' is the corrupted version of the term 'Harishchandra Tirtha'. This pond is encircled by stone mantapas on its three
Historians have dated the original temple to the 7th century AD - the Kalyani Chalukya period to Jagadekamalla I in 630 AD (according to epigraphic inscriptions) who installed the image of the goddess. The present refurbished temple was built in 1750, by Parusharam Agale, a Maratha chieftain.
It is also said that the original temple was in existence even before the reign of the Chalukyas who gave royal favor to the beliefs of the Vaishnava, Shaivaite, Jain and Shakta religious orders. They worshipped Banashankari as a form of Shakti, their Supreme Goddess. Epigraphic inscriptions mention that Jagadekamalla I renovated the temple with several additions. Another inscription in Kannada language on a pillar located on the northern side of the temple dated to 1019 AD, describes the bravery of the Rashtrakuta king Bhimadeva. The Deepa Stambas (lamp pillar) is seen at the entrance to the temple; the construction of these, as per an inscription, is ascribed to the warrior Ketimayya.
Museum – Badami
Badami (Lat. 16° 55’ N, Long. 75° 48’ E) is situated 40 km south–east of Bagalkot, 132 km south of Bijapur and about 110 km north-west of Dharwad. Badami on the Gadge–Sholapur meter gauge, is the nearest railway station and Hyderabad is the nearest airport. A number of buses ply from Dharwad, Gadge, Bijapur and Bagalkot connecting Badami.
Badami was the capital of the early Chalukyas of Badami, who ruled from this place during 6th–8th century AD. The place is known with ancient names Vatapi, Vatapiadhistana and Badavi. Even during the succeeding centuries, right up to the beginning of 19th century, it was an important politically strategic place forming part of the dominions of many later dynasties. A number of religious and defense structures were built during these periods at Badami. Beautifully excavated rock caves of Bramhanical, Buddhist and Jaina affinity with massive sculptures, structural temples of Dravida vimana type illustrating different stages of experimentations all set around Agasthya Theertha tank within the scenic beauty of sand stone formations, make this place a unique tourist destination.
The museum is located at the foothills of the northern hill containing the northern fort and near the famous Pallava Narasimhavarmman’s inscription. It was established in 1979, as a sculpture shed to collect and preserve explored materials, sculptures, inscriptions, architectural members scattered in and around Badami. Subsequently it was converted into a fully fledged site museum in the year 1982.
The museum mainly comprises of pre-historic stone implements and sculptures, architectural members, inscriptions, hero stones etc. datable from 6th to 16th century AD.
The museum has four galleries, an open gallery in the veranda and an open air gallery in front. The exhibits chiefly comprise of sculptures of Siva in different forms, Ganapati, forms of Vishnu, panel narrating Bhagavata scenes, Lajjagauri, etc. One of the galleries has a scaled model of a nearby pre-historic rock shelter (Shidlaphadi cave) with wall show cases and translides displaying stone artifacts, pre-historic art and their activities. In the open veranda and open air gallery, hero stones, inscriptions, carved architectural members and pair of impressive dwara-palaka figures are exhibited on pedestals. In a new gallery, epigraphy and architecture exhibits are being organized.
The master pieces in the collection include, Lajja Gouri, Makara Torana carved on both the sides, narrative panel depicting Bhagavata, animal figurines like lion, elephants, Kalarimurthy, Tripurantaka Siva and Bhairavi.
Badami cave temples
The Badami cave temples are a complex of temples located at Badami, a town in the Bagalkot District in the north part of Katnataka, India. They are considered an example of Indian rosk-ctut architecture, especially Badami Chalukyan Architucture initiated during the 6th century. Badami previously known as Vapati Badami, the capital of the Early Chalukyas, who ruled much of Karnataka from middle of 6th until the middle of 8th centuries is suitated on the west bank of artificial lake filed with greenish water, dammed by an earthen wall faced with stone steps. Badami is surrounded in the north and south by forts built in later times, from the ramparts that crown their summits
Cave 1
The cave 1 portrays Lord Shiva in his very beautiful incarnation of Nataraja. Lord Shiva in this incarnation has 18 arms. Some of the arms have weapons while some of the arms depict beautiful dance postures. The weapons include drums, trident, axe etc. Some arms also have serpents coiled around them. Lord Shiva has his son Ganesha and the bull Nandi by his side. They also are in beautiful postures. The two sons of Shiva, Ganesha and Kartikkeya are seen riding a peacock in one of the carved sculptures on the walls of the cave. Adjoining to the Nataraja, a wall also depicts the adorable goddess Mahishasuramardini. She has been shown in an angry incarnation killing a buffalo with a trident.
The entrance of the cave is like a Verandah. The Verandah having four columns is very beautifully sculpted with mindblowing images of Lord Shiva in different dancing positions and different incarnations.The cave also has carved sculptures of the goddesses Lakhsmi and Parvati to the left of Lord Shiva. To the left, there is also acarved sculpture of Harihar having an axe and a serpent in hand. To the right, Ardhanariswara sculpted on the end of the walls. All the carved sculptures have beautiful ornaments worn by them,including the animals and birds. The ornaments have designs with lotus carved on them. There is also an image of the Vidyadhara couple on the ceiling,meaning they are flying in the air. Beautiful swords are also carved on the walls. The ceiling also depicts Nagaraja, the king of the snakes. The Nagaraja is surrounded by a lot of other serpents coiled around him.There are sections in the cave which are orthogonal in shape. The bands in those sections are decorated with jewellery and garlands. The view is fantastic. There is a cleavage in the back side of the Cave. It led to the formation of a square sanctuary having beautiful images carved on it.
The cave 1 is very beautiful as it describes Lord Shiva and his family.Lord Shiva in his Nataraja avatar, known to be the goddess of dance, is very eye catching.The cave has beautiful bays and pilasters. The system of using columns gives the cave a foliant look.The cave being on a hill cliff gives an excellent view of the town.All the figures of the gods and goddesses are very excellently carved. The cave also has many human figures doing different actions which are neatly carved.
Cave 2
Cave 2 is created in late 6th century AD, is almost same as cave 1 in terms of its layout and dimensions but it is consecrated to Vishnu who is shown here as Trivikrama – with one foot on Earth and another – directed to the north. Vishnu in this temple is represented also as Varaha (boar) and Krishna avatars. Cave is reached by climbing 64 steps from the first cave. Entrance is adorned with reliefs of guardians.
The entrance of the cave has two armed guardians holding flowers rather than weapons. The end walls of the outer Verandah is occupied by sculpted panels, to the right, Trivikrama; to the left, Varaha rescuing Bhudevi, with a penitent nag below. The adjacent side walls have smooth surfaces with traces of paintwork. The columns shows gods and battle scenes, the churning of cosmic ocean, Gajalaxmi and figures, Bramha and figures, Vishnu asleep on Shesha, illustrate the birth of Krishna, Krishna’s youth, Krishna with gopis and cows. The ceiling shows a wheel with sixteen fish spokes in a square frame along with swastikas and flying couples. The end bays have a flying couple and Vishnu on Garuda
Cave 3
The theme on which the cave 3 is based on is Shaivite and Vaishavite. The third cave is dedicated to Vishnu, and is the best and the biggest, and it has splendid giant figures of Trivikrama, Shankaranarayana, Anantasayana, Paravasudeva, Bhuvaraha, Harihara and Narasimha. All these statues are engraved in a vigorous style. An inscription found here records the creation of the shrine by Mangalesha in 578 CE. Chalukya king Mangalesha in 578 CE. Mangalesa was on the throne from 597 to 609 AD. It is common that Indian cave temples were patronised by influential members of royal families. These inscriptions are in Kannada language. The age of cave temple is known with certainty with the inscriptions on the rock in this cave.
Rock-cut temple has north – south orientation providing maximum amount of sunlight in winter. The hall and the verandah dig up to 14.5 m deep into the mountain and the shrine extends the cave some 4 m more inside. The Hall goes up to 4 m high.
Cave 3 is 60 steps away from the cave 2. The temple with its gigantic facade of 21 m wide is adorned of six hefty columns in a row. Below the columns there is a frieze consisting of 30 smaller reliefs of ganas.
Splendid embellishments are encompassed in the entire cave, including paintings on ceiling. Four-armed Brahma is the focal point of the murals .There happens to be a lotus medallion on the floor underneath the mural of Brahma – place to beseech.
Large number of Vishnu’s reliefs including standing Vishnu, Vishnu with a serpent, Vishnu as Narasimha (half human – half lion), Varaha, Harihara and Trivikrama avatars epitomize the immensity of vastly admired Indian art. Reliefs stand 4 m tall.
The culture and clothing embedded in the sixth century is clearly visible in the art sculpted in cave 3.
There are some paintings on the ceiling and the style indicates maturity but has lost its original dazzling colour. The bracket figures on the piers here are some of the finest.
Cave 4
The fourth cave is which is constructed lastly among all the caves.It is only jain monument of early Chalukya period in Badami town and it was made in late 6th-7th century.The cave is not as large as the other cave. It is beautiful and rich with decoration. It is located higher than other caves. It is not as beautiful as the other three caves.It has five bayed entrance with square columns which make it more beautiful and attractive at base. The first aisle (a passage between buildings) is treated asverandah.The end walls have Parshwanath (right) represented using painting, his head is covered by a metal piece of multi cobra hoods and bahubali is left to him with his lower legs surrounded by snakes . His two sisters Brahmi and sundari is here with him.
On the back part of wall, Mahavira is painted on it.This painting shows Mahavira as a savior. He is sitting on lion throne.
The sanctum is adorned by the image of Mahavira. The pedestal contains an old Kannada inscription of the 12th century A.D. which registers the death of one Jakkave. Scores of Jaina Thirthankara images have been engraved in the inner pillars and walls. In addition to it, there are some idols of Bahubali, Yakshas and Yakshis. Other carvings here are of Padmavathi & other Thirthankaras. Some scholars assign the cave to the 8th century.
A steep climb up some steps cut in a crevice between Cave II and III leads to the southern part of Badami Fort and to an old gun placed there by Tippu Sultan.