the light baggage

This Post is a part of the Chalukya Trail. Please Click here to read the main post Overview: The Pattadakal Group of monuments near Badami is a UNESCO World heritage site. Located on the banks of the river Malaprabha in Bagalkote district, it highlights the architectural splendour of the Chalukyas. There are around 10 temples in the complex built in both Nagara style and Dravidian style and it is during this period when both styles were given final form. In the middle of the 7th century, the Chalukyas shifted their capital from Badami to Pattadakal. This was the place where several Chalukyan kings were crowned. The Mallikarjuna, Sangameshwara and the Virupaksha temple were built by the queens of Vikramaditya-II to commemorate his victory over the Pallavas of Kanchi in the 7th century. The Papanatha, Kashivishveshwara, Jambulinga and Galaganatha temple were built in North Indian style and can be compared to the Sun temple in Konark and other temples in North India like Varanasi and

This Post is a part of the Chalukya Trail. Please Click here to read the main post Overview: Badami, as the name indicates, has been derived from the dry fruit 'Badami' in Kannada meaning Almond. There goes a very interesting story behind it. Millions of years ago, the area was submerged under the sea. Over the years, due to the continuous transformation of the Earth's landmass, the water from the seas got shifted and still we can see the signs of marine life that once existed here. After a few centuries later, a massive volcanic activity took place due to which the sediments got deposited on the rocks giving it a dark red colour resembling the colour of Almond, hence the name Badami. Adding to this, all the structures in this town are red in colour.   Badami, which was earlier called Vatapi, was the second capital of the Western Chalukya empire which flourished between early 6th century to 9th century. One can still feel the essence of the Chalukyas on visiting th