Pattadakal

Feel the stone under your feet first. It is warm, even early in the day, and slightly rough, like fine sandpaper. Look down and you will see it is not grey at all. It is a soft gold, shading into pink and rust. Around you, the towers of temples rise from a flat green lawn. A quiet river runs just beyond them. Welcome to Pattadakal, in the Bagalkot district of northern Karnataka.

This is a small place, and that is part of its power. You can walk from one end of the main temple group to the other in a few minutes. Yet within this short distance stands a cluster of temples that architects and historians have studied for generations. In 1987, UNESCO listed Pattadakal as a World Heritage Site. The reason is simple to state, and far richer to see. Here, two great traditions of Indian temple building stand side by side.

Most of what you see was built in the seventh and eighth centuries by the Chalukyas. They were a powerful dynasty based at Badami, a short drive from here. The Chalukyas ruled much of the Deccan, the high plateau of central and southern India. Pattadakal was not their capital. It was something more symbolic. The name is usually linked to the idea of coronation, and many scholars believe Chalukya kings were crowned here. This was a royal and sacred stage.

Now the first surprise. Look at the shapes of the towers around you. Some rise in a smooth, curving cone, like a tall beehive. Others climb in clear, stepped tiers, like a pyramid of small roofs. The curved towers follow the northern style, called Nagara. The stepped towers follow the southern style, called Dravida. In most of India, a region chose one or the other. At Pattadakal, the builders tried both, almost as if in a workshop.

The largest and most celebrated temple here is the Virupaksha temple, dedicated to the god Shiva. It was commissioned by a queen, Lokamahadevi. She built it to honour a victory by her husband, King Vikramaditya the Second, over the Pallavas. The Pallavas were a rival dynasty whose capital was Kanchipuram, far to the south. There is a fine irony in this. The temple celebrating that conquest is built in the southern style of the very people the king defeated.

Historians often note that the Virupaksha temple closely echoes the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram. The king seems to have admired what he saw in the enemy city. Some accounts suggest he brought southern craftsmen back with him, though the details are debated. What is clear is the influence that came afterward. Scholars widely believe this temple helped inspire the great rock-cut Kailasa temple at Ellora. So ideas travelled here, then travelled onward.

Walk towards the entrance of the Virupaksha temple. In front of it stands a pavilion that shelters a large stone bull. This is Nandi, the mount of Shiva, who always faces the god's shrine. Notice how smooth parts of the figure are. Now the second surprise. Unlike most monuments here, the Virupaksha temple is still a place of worship. You may smell incense or see fresh flowers. Please move quietly, and remove your shoes where asked.

Inside and on the outer walls, look closely at the carved panels. You will find scenes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the two great epic poems of India. There are also scenes from the Panchatantra, a collection of animal fables, rather like Aesop's tales. Look for monkeys, crocodiles, and birds acting out moral stories. Inscriptions on the site even record the names of some of the craftsmen who worked here. Their signatures are part of the monument.

Just beside the Virupaksha stands the Mallikarjuna temple. It is a smaller twin in many ways. It was built by another queen, Trailokyamahadevi, who was the sister of Lokamahadevi. Two sisters, married to the same king, each raised a temple to mark the same victory. Compare the two buildings as you walk between them. The plan is similar, but the details differ. The Mallikarjuna was left with some of its carving less finished.

Now look further across the lawn to the older and smaller temples. The Sangameshwara is often described as one of the earliest temples here. The Galaganatha has a graceful curved tower in the northern style. The Kashi Vishwanatha, the Jambulinga, and the Kadasiddheshwara each show a slightly different experiment in form. Walk slowly among them. Notice how the towers change in shape and proportion. You are watching builders test ideas, one generation after another.

At the southern edge of the group stands the Papanatha temple. It is one of the most interesting buildings at Pattadakal, because it seems to mix both styles in one structure. Its walls carry long carved scenes from the Ramayana. Its tower follows the northern curve, while other parts follow southern habits. A short distance away, outside the main enclosure, there is also a Jain temple. It was built later, in the time of the Rashtrakutas, the dynasty that replaced the Chalukyas.

Turn now towards the river. This is the Malaprabha. Locals note that it runs towards the north here, which is considered auspicious in Hindu tradition. That belief may explain, in part, why this spot was chosen for royal rites. In the dry months the river is calm and shallow. After the monsoon it can run full and brown. Each winter, the temples also host a dance festival, when classical dancers perform against the floodlit stone.

Before you leave, stand still for a moment on the lawn. Listen. You may hear parakeets in the trees, the wind across the grass, perhaps a temple bell from the Virupaksha. Look once more at the two kinds of towers, curved and stepped, rising together against the sky. Some of these stones were placed here more than twelve hundred years ago. As you walk back to the gate, notice how the gold of the sandstone changes as the light moves.