Badami Cave III
The cave Badami III is one of four carved from reddish sandstone Hindu cave temples of early Western Chalukya in the city Badami in the Indian state of Karnataka . According to the inscription on a pilaster at the eastern end of the veranda by the Chalukya king Mangalesha, it was built and completed under him in 580 and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu .
Cave III is the largest of the four caves. It faces north and is symmetrical along a north-south axis. There is a courtyard in front of the cave. The cave is divided into the following three areas: the veranda (mukha mandapa), the main hall (maha mandapa) and another smaller room, the cella (garbhagrha). On the outside of the veranda, in the upper area, next to the stairs to the cave, there are friezes. On the veranda itself, there are six reliefs on the eastern and western cave walls. Seven panels with images of gods can be seen on the ceiling of the veranda. In the main hall there are medallions with images of gods only on the ceiling. A garland of five pavilion shrines with domed roofs can be seen above the entrance to the cella. Gods and demigods are depicted on the pilasters of the pavilions.
architecture
The width of the cave is approx. 21 m, whereby it tapers slightly from the main hall, and in length 14.5 m, measured from the pillars of the veranda to the rear wall of the main hall (the veranda is about ¼ in length ). The cella extends four meters deeper and is just as wide. The main hall is four and a half meters high. The floor level of the cave is two meters above the floor of the courtyard of the cave.
At the entrance to the cave there is a staircase in the middle of the porch that leads to it. After about one meter you will find the row of columns in the veranda. This is made up of six free-standing, square columns and two pilasters with decorated bases and pillow capitals. A second row of columns marks the threshold to the main hall and is made up of two sixteen-sided columns with an octagonal base and two pilasters of the same type, and two rectangular columns in the middle of the row. Each side of the latter columns shows a column-high, double, inwardly directed, right-angled gradation. All columns and pilasters have a high base and pillow capitals. The pilasters of the second row of columns are located on two small side walls protruding into the room.
The main hall is very spacious. Eight columns run around a column-free area, which is located in front of the cella, and form a rectangular floor plan open to the cella. On the short sides, right and left, there are three more columns each, which form a parallel row of columns. In addition, twelve pilasters, aligned with the rows of columns, can be seen in the main hall. The differently fluted columns of the main room are not as richly decorated as those of the veranda.
Another staircase with a moonstone and four steps leads north from the main hall to the cella. The sweeping stair stringers arise from animal mouths. In the middle of the cella there is a base for a cult figure that has not survived.
The main hall
Some paintings are on the ceiling above the pillar-free area. It is divided into nine parts, each with a roundabout. In the center a four-armed Brahma is shown on his swan (hansa), which is flanked by two smaller figures. Around him are four pairs of Gandharva and four of the eight gods of the cardinal points, Dikpalas . The figure pictured in the north is Kartikeya , an important deity of the Chalukyas. The other parts of the ceiling show gods and dikpalas on their respective mounts. There is a lotus medallion on the floor directly under the Brahma rondel, which served as a platform for offerings.
The porch
At the entrance to the cave, to the right and left of the stairs that lead to the cave, a frieze can be seen, which is divided into more than 30 sections and shows small, pot-bellied, heavenly beings, Gana pairs. Some animals are also shown. Such friezes are characteristic of Chalukya art.
On the capitals of the row of columns of the veranda there are finely carved figures that serve as struts. A representation of a four-armed Ardhanari , half Shiva half Parvati , is on the second column from the left. There are also other depictions of Shiva and Parvati, as well as Kama with Rati and a Naga- Nagini pair, on the pillars. Below the capitals, the square pillars are adorned with wide, finely crafted garlands on each side. All columns have medallions with pairs or individual female figures on the lower part of the shafts. On the inside of the roof lintel of the cave there are 16 narrative reliefs showing scenes from the Krishna Charitra, among other things. Other representations of Vishnu , Shiva and Brahma , as well as Garuda directly above the central entrance , are also shown here.
The figure reliefs
The reliefs on the veranda depict the following Vishnu forms: a standing Vishnu, Vishnu with the snake Ananta-Shesha , Varaha , Trivikrama, Narasimha and Harihara . The standing Vishnu and Trivikrama are in front of the first row of columns. Varaha and Harihara are carved into the two small side walls next to the second row of columns. Vishnu with the serpent Shesha and Narasimha can be found next to the latter on the cave walls. All are four meters high and between 1.80 m and 2.40 m wide, with the exception of the trivikrama depiction, which is 3.30 m wide. Next to or below the representations of Vishnu, Vishnu and Shesha, Varaha and Narasimha there are Gana friezes.
A special feature of early Western Chalukya art is the brahmin cord that runs on the body and over the right arm of all figures. All figures are also richly decorated.
In the West:
The standing, eight-armed Vishnu holds the disc, an arrow, a club and a sword as attributes on the right side. On the left side he is holding the conch, a shield, a bow and his fourth hand is on his hip. Above its crown is a four-armed Narasimha with a conch shell and a disc.
The first row of columns is followed by Vishnu with the serpent Shesha, which forms the base for the four-armed deity. This holds the conch shell on the right and the discus on the left. The other hands rest on Vishnu's legs. He wears a crown and above him are the five heads of the Shesha. Three other female figures and a Garuda can be seen to the left and right of Vishnu.
In the same corner is a four-armed Varaha. He put his left foot on a snake (naga) with a human head. Another snake with a human head sits between Varaha's legs. A dwarf can be seen under the snake. The earth goddess stands on a lotus in Varaha's left hand. He also holds the conch shell with his upper hands on the right and the discus on the left. His lower right hand rests on his hip. Varaha is accompanied by a female figure. Two pairs of Gandharva fly over the deity.
In the East:
The representation of the eight-armed Trivikrama shows the story of this deity in two parts. The crowned King Bali, behind him Sukracharya , who embodies Venus, and a female figure, probably Bali's wife, stand in front of a no longer preserved dwarf figure, Vamana , of the only the screen can be seen. They are all to the right of Trivikrama. Trivikrama itself forms the second part of the picture. He holds the disc, a sword, a club and an arrow on the right and the conch shell, a bow and a shield on the left. The fourth left arm and left foot of Trivikrama point to Rahu . A male figure holds the deity by his left leg. Garuda can be seen to the right of Trivikrama. There are two pairs of dwarfs above the deity.
The lion incarnation of Vishnu, Narasimha , has four arms. Today he has a badly damaged club on which he rests with one of his left arms. The deity holds a lotus in one of its lower hands. A female figure sits on her fingers. Another female minor character stands on the right on a pedestal. Garuda is to the right of Narasimha in human form. Another male figure stands next to the club. Flying dwarfs and a lotus can be seen above the deity.
The crowned Harihara holds the conch shell in his left hand, an attribute of Vishnu (Hari), and on the right an ax, which is an attribute of Shiva (Hara). The figure wears a crown. On the Vishnu side the crown has a pattern, on the other side a strand of hair, a crescent moon and a skull can be seen. There are four serpents on the Shiva side. Shiva holds a fruit in the second hand. In contrast, Vishnu's second hand rests on his thigh.
Panels on the ceiling of the porch
There are seven panels on the ceiling of the veranda depicting gods with eight or four dikpalas. All panels have fabulous or human beings in the corners, which merge into floral motifs.
In the center there is a four-armed Vishnu. He holds the conch shell on the left and the discus on the right. There are eight ovals around Vishnu, which represent the dikpalas. Around this are four pairs of gana. Vishnu is accompanied by Brahma on the right and Shiva on the left. Brahma is shown sitting on his swan with four arms and three heads. In the circles and ovals around him, couples and dikpalas can be seen sitting on their mounts. A four-armed Shiva is sitting on a bull and Parvati is standing behind him. Four ovals around them each show two male figures. One of them is Ganesha . Next to Shiva, Indra sits in a new panel, accompanied by an umbrella carrier, on his elephant Airavata . Female figures are depicted in the eight smaller ovals around him. Varuna on a Makara can be seen next to the Brahma representation. Varuna is surrounded by eleven smaller figures, which are depicted unevenly, partly in circles. At the east end of the porch is a panel with an unidentified male figure, holding a club in his left hand and sitting on a mythical creature with two heads. The figures in the oblong rectangles that are laid out around the center merge into floral motifs. An unfinished, bare panel can be seen in the west.
literature
- RD Banerji: Bas-reliefs of Badami . Government of India, Calcutta 1928 ( Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India 25, ZDB -ID 447339-5 ), (Reprint: Archeological Survey of India, New Delhi 1998).
- JAS Burgess: Rock-Cut Temples at Bâdâmi, in the Dekhan . In: Indian Antiquary 6, 1877, ZDB -ID 302701-6 , pp. 354-366.
- George Michell: Early Western Chalukyan Temples. An Architectural Description and Analysis of the Early Western Chalukyan Temples . sn, London 1975 ( Art and archeology research papers ).
- George Michell: The Penguin guide to the Monuments of India . Volume 1: Buddhist, Jain, Hindu . Penguin Books, London et al. 1990, ISBN 0-14-008144-5 .
- KV Soundara Rajan: Cave Temples of the Deccan . Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi 1981 ( Architectural survey of temples 3, ZDB -ID 1167147-6 ).
- Gary Tarr: Chronology and Development of the Chāļukya Cave Temples . In: Ars Orientalis 8, 1970, ISSN 0571-1371 , pp. 155-184.
