Badami, Karnataka, India

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• published: 06 Aug 2013
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Badami, Karnataka Badami once a royal capital of the Chalukyas is now a sleepy town in Bagalkot district of Karnataka. The town was known as Vatapi previously. It is settled in a valley at the base of a furrowed, red arenaceous rock that rings Agastya lake. Badami is a place which is full of cave temples, entryways, fortresses, dedications and carvings. The Chalukyas who had ruled Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh during 6th and 8th centuries had Badami as their capital. The greatest among the Chalukyas was Pulakeshi II who ruled between 610-642 AD. He defeated many kings and Mahendra Verman I, the Pallava king, was one among them. The state was founded by him in 540 AD. The ancient Chalukyas of Badami are accredited with some of the best customs of Dravidian architecture admitting an observational fuse of older South Indian temple construction and ornamentation and the Nagara mode of North India. This beautiful blend of south and north passed on into the Dravidian temple building pattern. Badami is the site of the 6th-7th century Brahmanical and Jain cave temples. The temples are cut out of solid rock with elaborate interior decorations that speak volumes of art and architecture of that period. There are 4 cave temples connected with each other with a flight of stairs. People of Badami speak Kannada, Hindi and English. Their attire is traditional Indian cotton wear. It is a place for tourists who are interested in temples, art and architecture.