Pattadakal

Pattadakal is a village and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bagalkot district, Karnataka, India. The site comprises a group of temples dating from the 6th to the 8th centuries, built during the Chalukya dynasty. Situated on the south bank of the Malaprabha River near Badami, Pattadakal served as a ceremonial center where Chalukyan kings were crowned. The name is often interpreted as referring to a coronation place.

The temple complex is celebrated as an important example of Chalukyan architecture, showing a fusion of northern (Nagara) and southern (Dravida) stylistic elements. The complex originally included multiple shrines arranged around courtyards, with the Virupaksha Temple as the principal shrine and the Kailasanath Temple as a notable counterpart. The Virupaksha Temple is the largest, dedicated to Shiva, while the Kailasanath Temple imitates the Mount Kailasa temple in form and scale. Other shrines in the complex include temples such as Mallikarjuna, Jambulingesvara, and Kasi Viswanath, among others, illustrating a stylistic transition from simple to more elaborate decorative programs. Sculptures depict deities from Shaivism and Vaishnavism and narrative reliefs that reflect royal patronage and religious symbolism.

Construction at Pattadakal spans the reigns of early and mid-Chalukya rulers in the 7th and 8th centuries, with royal patronage linked to coronations and temple building during the height of the dynasty. The site is viewed as marking the culmination of the classical Chalukyan temple style, influencing southern Indian temple architecture subsequently.

In 1987 Pattadakal was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the cultural landscape associated with the Chalukya dynasties, along with other related sites in the region. Today, the site remains a key destination for scholarship on Indian temple architecture and a major tourist site in Karnataka.