Stories set in stone

A carving of Surya Narayan at Virupaksha temple in Pattadakal.

Part of the nine-panel carving at Sankeshwar.

The Nandyavarta Swastika ceiling at cave number 2 at Badami.

A carving of Brahma.

The ceiling of Kamal Basadi. Photo courtesy: Wikimedia

A view of the ceiling of the Kamala Narayana temple. Photo courtesy: Wikimedia

In North Karnataka, the sculptors of bygone eras left no stone unturned in carving resplendent structures into temples.

Most temples in these regions were built by the Badami Chalukyas and Kalyani Chalukyas, Rattas, Rashtrakutas and the Vijayanagara kings.

Both in rock-cut temples as in Badami, as well as free-standing ones (built with foundation, pillars etc), the ceilings are particularly interesting.

The walls, at eye level, formed a wide canvas for the depiction of the main deities of worship. The ceiling made way for a different kind of storytelling.

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The sculptors of the time made use of these spaces to depict elaborate mythical narratives replete with gods, demi-gods, ganas, vidyadharas, nagas, digpalas and other celestial beings.

The lotus, swastika, celestial beings and rosettes seem to be the most preferred patterns. The lotus is the most recurring pattern across these ceilings. Another interesting observation is that each ceiling is unique.

While the scope for the portrayal of minor gods and guardian deities increased with such a dedicated space, the aesthetic appeal of the temple was enhanced by the seamless integration of these themes with those of the facade and outer walls of the temple.

Architecture

In North Karnataka, temples are classified based on their architectural style. Nagara, Dravida, Chalukya and Kadamba are some popular styles.

Built in the later Chalukya style of architecture, the Kamal Basadi in Belagavi has an impressive ceiling, complete with a lotus carved with painstaking detail. In fact, it is this ceiling that gave the temple its identity (Kamal Basadi).

The ceiling of the Basadi, built in 1204, depicts three layers of lotus petals in an inverted position. Each of the three layers is etched with 24 images of Tirthankaras. This makes a total of 72 Tirthankaras—24 from each epoch.

The lotus motif is dominant in the ceilings of one of the porches at the Shrimad Jagadguru Shankaracharya Karvir Matha, Sankeshwar, built during the Ratta regime. Constructed in the Rekha nagara style, the structure has a splendid ceiling of nine identical square panels, each with unique and beautiful floral and lotus motifs.

At Kamala Narayan temple in Belagavi’s Degaon is a large, exquisitely carved inverted lotus in the common sabhamantap. This inverted lotus is different from that of the one at Kamal Basadi — in size it is smaller. The lotus carving in Degaon is purely floral in motif, without the Tirthankaras in the Basadi. The Kamala Narayan temple was built in 1174 by the Kadamba queen Kamala Devi.

Mythical figures

In the famed rock-cut and free-standing temples of Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal, built by the eastern Chalukya dynasty during the 6th to 8th centuries CE, there are ceilings that are distinctive in every way. The cave number one at Badami, where a sculpture of the principal deity Shiva dwells in the form of Nataraj, has images of a coiled Naga couple and the vidyadharas (bearers of knowledge) on the ceiling.

In cave number two, dedicated to Vishnu, is a ceiling bearing the Matsya Chakra — a wheel with sixteen fishes as spokes, pointing towards a lotus medallion. It is framed within a square flanked by two square panels with a swastika on each side. Each of the patterns nestled in the arms of the swastika is different from the others.

The same pattern of the coiled Naga couple and the Matsya Chakra appears at the Durga temple at Aihole, albeit in a more refined avatar, hinting at the artisans having taken inspiration from the former.

One of the most stunning imaginings of Brahma riding his Vahana, the hamsa, is present in cave number three at Badami. In the eight circular panels surrounding Brahma, the top panel is occupied by Yama, riding a buffalo. Below is Varuna, the god of rains and seas. To the left is Indra, the god of the heavens and of the devas. To the right is Kartikeya, riding his peacock. The other panels depict minor gods and vidyadharas.

Unmatched in size, scale and drama, though, is the ceiling of the Virupaksha temple at Pattadkal. The ceiling depicts Surya Narayan (Sun God), riding his chariot, holding two lotus buds in his hands. He is accompanied by Aruna as his charioteer and flanked by his consorts Usha (dawn) and Pratyusha or Sandhya (dusk).

In an era when neither software nor any precision tools were available, the craftsmanship at several temples in India is unmatched. These artisans created magical realms in stone. At the time, temples were not only meant for worship but also designed to evoke a sense of awe for the deity, king and admiration for the artisans. While the kings, artisans and people of the era have long since disappeared, these temples have remained, with all their grandeur. They remind us of an era bygone, having withstood the vagaries of nature and time to tell glorious stories of the past.