Information AboutAihole |
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| indian architecture | |
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Aihole ( Kannada ಐಹೊಳೆ)is in the Bagalkot District of Karnataka , India. Early inscriptions call this town "Ayyavole" and "Aryapura". Aihole has its own historical significance and is called as ''cradle of Hindu rock architecture''. Many Temples and Caves of historical importance can be found at Aihole. It is a very popular tourist spot in north Karnataka. Aihole was the first capital of the early Chalukya s. Here they built over 125 temples in various styles and is said to be a laboratory of experiments in rock cut architecture. Aihole is to the west of Badami , along the Malaprabha River , while Pattadakal is to the east. Pulakesi I , one of the greatest rulers of this Dynasty , moved the capital to Badami nearby. Badami was then known as Vatapi. It is from these temples that the Chalukyas gained their experience and went on to build the great temples of Pattadakal . The first phase of temple building in Aihole dates back to the 6th century CE, the second phase up to the 12th century CE. Some temples were even built as early as the 5th century CE. Early Chalukyan Style The early Chalukyas inherited architectural styles largely from their neighbours to the north and south of their kingdom. {Link without Title} Monuments of India, Part II, Early Chalukya, Aihole Usage of curved towers decorated with blind arches came from northern India. Pilastered walls with panel inserts are a southern Indian style. The usage of Deccan style is in their balcony seating, angled eaves and sloping roofs, and elaborately carved columns and ceilings (George Michell,1997). In short, they artistically brought together the prevailing styles in their neighbourhood to create the Chalukyan style. Typical features unique to Early Western Chalukyan architecture include mortarless assembly, an emphasis on length rather than width or height, flat roofs, richly carved ceilings, and, sculpturally, an emphasis on relatively few major figures, which tend to be isolated from each other rather than arranged in crowded groups. The aesthetic sensibility of sculpture from this period also seems to retain a certain classical quality whose impulse does not carry over into later periods of Indian art (Susan Huntington, 1985). The prominent temple groups here are the Kontigudi group and the Galaganatha group of temples, although historians have divided all the temples into 22 groups. A group of three temples is referred to as the Kontigudi group of temples. One of these is the Lad Khan temple, named after a mendicant that lived in this temple in the 19th century , another the '''Huchiappayyagudi''' temple and the '''Huchiappayya math'''.
The Galaganatha group is one of nearly thirty temples on the bank of the river Malaprabha. The main shrine of the Galaganatha temple enshrining Shiva - Galaganatha has a curvilinear shikhara, and has images of Ganga and Yamuna at the entrance to this shrine.
NOTES SEE ALSO Badami Chalukya Architecture Pattadakal Badami EXTERNAL LINKS
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