Buddhist Treasures in Caves

After Aihole, we reached Badami, also in the Malaprabha River valley. Now a quaint little town, this place was once the glorious capital of the powerful Badami Chalukya Kingdom (540 to 757 CE) which spanned across Deccan and Maharashtra. 

It is an enchanting place in North Karnataka with yellowish-red sandstone quartzite hills forming a canyon-like structure. Inspired by Ajanta and Ellora, the Chalukyas built many cave temples on the cliff face of Badami hills. Now, all that remains of the past glory are those intricately sculpted caves and temples.

The place is well-known for it’s exquisitely carved rock-cut caves (man-made caves) of Shaivite, Vaishnavite, and Jain traditions. However, the presence of Buddhism in Badami Caves is not so well-known. 

There are two natural caves with Buddhist carvings, albeit modest in details. The carvings in one of the natural Buddhist caves pre-date the rock-cut caves and temples.

The sandstone cliffs are around a lake, currently known as both Agasthya-teertha and Bhutanatha-honda. There are four rock-cut cave temples and a natural cave in the southern side of the cliff, overlooking the lake. The natural cave has the carvings of the Buddha and Bodhisattva Padmapani (Avalokitesvara). 

On the eastern banks of the lake is the Bhutanatha Temple. In the rainy season, water fills up in the lake covering three sides of this temple. On the south-east bottom of the cliff, is a hidden natural cave, not frequented by tourists. 

This cave has a beautiful stone relief of the Buddha flanked by two celestial beings holding chamara (whisk). The drapes and ornaments reveal a distinct Mahayana styling.  READ MORE...