page_title: Aihole
section_title: Durga temple complex
hierarchical_section_title: Aihole / Hindu monuments / Durga temple complex
caption_attribution_description: English: Aihole temples and monuments, also called Aivalli or Ayyavole or Aiholi temples and monuments, are a collection of over 100 temples built predominantly between 6th and 8th century near Malaprabha river in Karnataka. At this point, the river turns northwards towards the Himalayas which likely had significance as a location. Though defaced and damaged after the region was conquered by Muslim commanders of the Delhi Sultanate, the collection is one of the earliest surviving temples and window to ancient Indian arts, religious beliefs, society and architecture. Almost all temples are related to Hinduism, but these co-exist with a few Jain temples of this period and one Buddhist monument. Both north Indian and south Indian styles fuse here, with monuments suggesting experimentation of ideas and building styles under the sponsorship of late Gupta period Hindu kingdoms, particularly the Calukyas and Rashtrakutas. The Durga temple is actually a Surya temple, named as Durga because its ceiling was fortified later with stones and served as a "Durg" or watch / viewpoint. The temple is a rich collection of life size Hindu statues of Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism traditions. The carvings also show Kama and Artha scenes of Indian society from the 2nd half of the 1st millennium CE, while some panels display scenes from the Hindu epic Ramayana.
context_page_description: Aihole, also referred to as Aivalli, Ahivolal or Aryapura, is a historic site of ancient and medieval era Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments in Karnataka, India that dates from the sixth century through the twelfth century CE. Most of the surviving monuments at the site date from the 7th to 10th centuries. Located around an eponymous small village surrounded by farmlands and sandstone hills, Aihole is a major archaeological site featuring over one hundred and twenty stone and cave temples spread along the Malaprabha river valley, in Bagalakote district.
  Aihole is 22 miles from Badami and about 6 miles from Pattadakal, both of which are major centres of historically important Chalukya monuments. Aihole, along with nearby Badami, emerged by the 6th century as the cradle of experimentation with temple architecture, stone artwork, and construction techniques. This resulted in 16 types of free-standing temples and 4 types of rock-cut shrines. The experimentation in architecture and arts that began in Aihole yielded the group of monuments at Pattadakal, a UNESCO world heritage site.
  Over one hundred Aihole temples are Hindu, a few are Jain and one is Buddhist.
context_section_description: The Durga temple is the best known and studied of the Aihole temples. It has a misleading name, because the temple is not named after goddess Durga. According to one theory, it stands near the ruins of a fort-like enclosure or durg during a time of late medieval era Hindu Muslim conflict in the region. According to another local tradition, a stone rubble durg and lookout was assembled on its flat roof and locals therefore began calling it the Durga temple. The temple was originally dedicated to Hindu gods Surya and Vishnu. The temple was dated by early scholars to the 5th century CE, but variously revised to be from between the late 6th and early 8th century.
  The Durga temple is the principal attraction for Aihole visitors and iconic in its apsidal layout. This shape is similar to 2nd or 1st century BCE Buddhist chaitya halls found in Ajanta Caves. The Durga temple stands on a high moulded adisthana and a damaged tower that had a curvilinear shikhara. The damaged tower's amalaka crown lies on the ground. A colonnaded and covered ambulatory passage with major carvings runs around the sanctum. The mukha mandapa (main hall) and the sabha mandapa (community hall for functions) show intricate carvings.
  The Durga temple reverentially displays gods and goddesses from Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism. The included near life-size statues include Shiva, Vishnu, Harihara (half Shiva, half Vishnu), Durga in her Mahishasuramardini form killing the buffalo demon, goddesses Ganga and Yamuna, Brahma, Surya, avatars of Vishnu such as Varaha and Narasimha. The temple has friezes to tell the story of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Further, the temple has artwork showing scenes of daily life and couples, including several amorous couples in various stages of courtship and mithuna.
  The Durga temple complex consists of seven Hindu monuments. Next to the Durga temple is the Suryanarayana temple with a pyramidal shikara on top. It has a Surya statue with each hand holding a lotus flower in its garbha griya (sanctum), in a chariot and seven small horses carved at the bottom. The temple outline is intact, but most of the details are damaged.
  The Lad Khan Temple is near the Durga temple and has been variously dated to "about 450 CE", or from 6th to 8th centuries. The temple is named after the Muslim commander under Adil Shahi Sultan who briefly stayed here about a thousand years after it was built. He used it to coordinate his military campaign in the region. The temple embeds three concentric squares, facing the sanctum with a Shiva Linga. Inside the inner third square is a seated Nandi. The two square mandapas surrounding it create the sabha mandapa or community hall, providing ample space for devotees and community to gather for functions. The second concentric square is supported by a set of 12 intricately carved pillars. The wall has floral designs. The temple inside is lit with natural sunlight coming in from lattice windows of the north Indian style. The temple roof stones include log-shaped stone strips suggestive of an attempt to mimic more ancient timber temple construction.
  The Ladkhan temple includes iconography from the Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism. On the lintel of the sanctum with Shiva Linga, for example, is a Garuda image who carries Vishnu. The temple has reliefs showing goddesses Ganga and Yamuna, as well as other deities. A set of stone stairs connect the lower level to the second floor whereupon is a damaged square shrine. On three sides of this upper level are Vishnu, Surya and Ardhanarishvara (half Shiva, half Parvati). Like other Aihole Hindu temples, the temple includes scenes from daily life, including amorous couple in courtship and kama scenes.
  Gaudargudi temple stands next to the Ladkhan temple, built on the lines of Ladkhan temple but more open from all sides. According to George Michell, the temple is older than the Ladkhan temple. It too has log-shaped stones, where its timber like form is integrated to serve its structural function. The sanctum is empty but h
caption: An amorous couple at the Durga temple.
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPhone 7", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Photos 2.0", "Image DateTime": "2017:09:09 13:36:21", "Image ExifOffset": "198", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[16, 1, 364/25]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "E", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[75, 52, 1107/20]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "508", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[8, 6, 21]", "GPS GPSSpeedRef": "K", "GPS GPSSpeed": "0", "GPS GPSImgDirectionRef": "T", "GPS GPSImgDirection": "78311/444", "GPS GPSDestBearingRef": "T", "GPS GPSDestBearing": "78311/444", "GPS GPSDate": "2017:09:09", "GPS Tag 0x001F": "5", "Image GPSInfo": "1080", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/2457", "EXIF FNumber": "9/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "20", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2017:09:09 13:36:21", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2017:09:09 13:36:21", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "9990/887", "EXIF ApertureValue": "2159/1273", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "5606/547", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Spot", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "399/100", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[2171, 1700, 749, 751]", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "429", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "429", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2910", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3880", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "504/241", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "65", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[399/100, 399/100, 9/5, 9/5]", "EXIF LensMake": "Apple", "EXIF LensModel": "iPhone 7 back camera 3.99mm f/1.8"}