The Chalukya Shiva Temple , dedicated to

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

, is one of the oldest

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

s and is located in the group of monuments at

Aihole Aihole (ಐಹೊಳೆ), 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 C ...

in the state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Formerly dated to the 7th or 8th century, it is now dated to about the 5th century.Centre for Cultural Resources and Trainin
'' Temple Architecture ''
Government of India. Retrieved on 20 July 2015 It is located to the south of the

Durga temple, Aihole The Durga temple is an early 8th-century Hindu temple located in Aihole, Karnataka, India. Originally dedicated to Surya, it has the most embellished and largest relief panels in Aihole depicting artwork of Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism ...

Structure

The temple shows clear signs of following early timber models, none of which have survived. This is seen for example in the construction of the roof of the

mandapa A ''mandapa'' or ''mantapa'' () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture and Jain temple architecture. ''Mandapas'' are described as "open" or "closed" dependin ...

. The temple consists of a shrine (''

garba griha A ''garbhagriha'' () is the innermost sanctuary of Hindu and Jain temples, often referred to as the "holy of holies" or " sanctum sanctorum". The term ''garbhagriha'' (literally, "womb chamber") comes from the Sanskrit words ''garbha'' for ...

'') with a mandapa in front of it, and a covered path for circumambulating the sanctuary, seen in other very early temples. The ''mukha mandapa'' is situated in front of the sanctum and consists of a set of 12 carved pillars. The ''sabha mandapa'' leads to the ''maha mandapa'' and the pillars are arranged to form two concentric squares. The walls have floral patterns on them and the windows have

lattice Lattice may refer to: Arts and design * Latticework, an ornamental criss-crossed framework, an arrangement of crossing laths or other thin strips of material * Lattice (music), an organized grid model of pitch ratios * Lattice (pastry), an or ...

work done in the northern style. Facing the sanctum, a second smaller sanctum is situated above the center of the hall whose outer walls have many carved images.Michell, 333 Originally dedicated to

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, now the main shrine houses a

Shiva Linga A lingam ( , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Upanishads and epic literature, wher ...

with a

Nandi Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afr ...

. The temple was built in a Panchayatana style, indicating a very early experiment in temple construction. The special feature of this temple is that it starts with a rectangular structure and ends with a square structure. Based on a wooden construction design, the square and rectangular plan has a steep roof, which is an adaptation of wooden styles in stone. The ''maha mandapa'' is open to exterior by large windows between the pillars. The roof above the ''maha mandapa'' shows a turret as a first version of the future forms of tower:

shikhara ''Shikhara'' (IAST: '), a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India, and also often used in Jain temples. A ''shikhara'' over the ''garbhagriha'' chamber ...

s in north India and

vimana Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also menti ...

s in the south.

Notes

References

*Michell, George (1990), ''The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India, Volume 1: Buddhist, Jain, Hindu'', 1990, Penguin Books,

External links

* http://www.karnataka.com/aihole/ * https://www.nativeplanet.com/travel-guide/lad-khan-temple-in-aihole-002921.html {{Hindu temples in Karnataka, collapsed Buildings and structures completed in the 5th century 5th-century Hindu temples Shiva temples in Karnataka Hindu temples in Bagalkot district