Badami Cave Temples

The Badami Cave Temples are a set of four shrines hollowed out of the red sandstone cliffs around Badami, the old Chalukya capital in Bagalkot district. Local craftsmen carved them between the 6th and 8th centuries under Chalukya patronage, and they were made for the worship of Hindu deities.

The interiors are full of relief carvings of gods and goddesses and scenes from Hindu myth. The caves are also noted for combining features of the northern Nagara and southern Dravida traditions, a blend that runs through much Chalukyan work in the region. Line drawings of the paintings once found in Cave III are shown at the archaeological museum in town, and the fort, Agastya Lake and the Bhutanatha temples are all close by.