Alampur Navabrahma Temples

The Navabrahma Temples are a group of nine Shiva temples at Alampur in Telangana, near the meeting of the Tungabhadra and Krishna rivers and about 215 km south of Hyderabad. The Badami Chalukyas built them between the 7th and 9th centuries, and despite their name all are dedicated to Shiva. Each has a square sanctum ringed by a covered walkway, a curved Nagara-style tower and a hall in front. Carvings draw on Shaiva, Vaishnava and Shakta themes, and friezes retell Panchatantra fables.

The Svarga Brahma temple, built around 681–696, is the most richly decorated, with two Natarajas and Panchatantra panels captioned in Sanskrit, while the Taraka Brahma has an unusual multistorey tower and carved ceiling deities. From the 14th century the temples were badly damaged, and a fort, mosque and dargah later rose among them. The ASI has restored them since 1980, and in 1990 the Sangameswara Temple was moved here from Kudavelly, whose site the Srisailam Dam flooded.