Exploring Karnataka...... The ancient School of temple construction...... At Aihole. A site where there are more than 100 temple complex...... Amazed to look at the Durga temple.......
Aihole, also referred to as Aivalli, Ahivolal or Aryapura, is a historic site of ancient and medieval era Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments in Karnataka, India that dates from the sixth century through the twelfth century CE.Most of the surviving monuments at the site date from the 7th to 10th centuries. Located around an eponymous small village surrounded by farmlands and sandstone hills, Aihole is a major archaeological site featuring over one hundred and twenty stone and cave temples spread along the Malaprabha river valley, in Bagalakote district. Hunagunda Taluk Distance 35 km.....
It's the cradle of experimentation with temple architecture, stone artwork, and construction techniques. This resulted in 16 types of free-standing temples and 4 types of rock-cut shrines.......
Over one hundred Aihole temples are Hindu, a few are Jain and one is Buddhist. These were built and coexisted in close proximity. The site is spread over about 5 square kilometres (1.9 sq mi).The Hindu temples are dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, Durga, Surya and other Hindu deities. The Jain Basadi temples are dedicated to Mahavira, Parshvanatha, Neminatha and other Jain Tirthankaras.The Buddhist monument is a temple and small monastery......
The Durga temple is the principal attraction for Aihole visitors and iconic in its apsidal layout.This shape is similar to 2nd or 1st century BCE Buddhist chaitya halls found in Ajanta Caves. The Durga temple stands on a high moulded adhisthana and a damaged tower that had a curvilinear shikhara. The damaged tower's amalaka crown lies on the ground. A colonnaded and covered ambulatory passage with major carvings runs around the sanctum. The mukha mantapa (main hall) and the sabha mantapa (community hall for functions) show intricate carvings.
The Durga temple reverentially displays gods and goddesses from Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism. The included near life-size statues include Shiva, Vishnu, Harihara (half Shiva, half Vishnu), Durga in her Mahishasuramardini form killing the buffalo demon, goddesses Ganga and Yamuna, Brahma, Surya, avatars of Vishnu such as Varaha and Narasimha. The temple has friezes to tell the story of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Further, the temple has artwork showing scenes of daily life and couples, including several amorous couples in various stages of courtship and mithuna.........
The Durga temple complex consists of seven Hindu monuments. Next to the Durga temple is the Suryanarayana temple with a pyramidal shikara on top. It has a Surya statue with each hand holding a lotus flower in its garbha griya (sanctum), in a chariot and seven small horses carved at the bottom. The temple outline is intact, but most of the details are damaged.......
