Early Calukyan Temples of Andhra Desa

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One of my former students informed me in the summer vacation of 1960 of the existence of a group of fine temples at Satyavolu, near Giddaluru, in the Kurnool district. I visited these temples in May of that year and surveyed them. I remembered to have seen a similar temple at Mahanandi while conducting a Scout camp there in 1945. I visited Mahanandi on the return journey and surveyed the temples in the place. I surveyed the temples of Alampur in May, 1961, as part of my work on Early Calukyan architecture and finished the field work with a visit to Badami, Pattadakallu and Aihole in September, 1962. This monograph is the result of three years' study.

I have added a brief note on the style and nomenclature of these temples in the Introduction. A detailed discussion involving a critical review of Early Calukyan architecture is being published in the August, 1963 issue of the Journal of Indian History. I wish to elaborate this discussion in my forth coming book on the Art and Architecture of Andhradesa.

I am grateful to Sri. S. Goindarajulu, Vice Chancellor, S. V. University, for kindly permitting me to offer this monograph the Archalogical Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh. I thank Sri. Mohammad Abdul Waheed Khan, Director of Archaeology, Andhra Pradesh, for kindly including this monograph among the Departmental publications.

A comparative study of the architectural features of the various temples built in a different epoch in the Andhra Pradesh will clearly reveal that the temples constructed by the Early Chalukyas are indeed the marvellous specimens and superb in their architectonic qualities. They are lofty in conception and in no way inferior in grandeur to the temples built by Pallavas in the South. After the decline of the Buddhist art a cultural renaissance was started by the Chalukyas in the Deccan who built beautiful shrines for Hindu pantheon at Athol, Patadkal and Badami par-excellence in artistic merit and aesthetic qualities. The influence of the Chalukyan art and architectural tradition travelled from its epicentre to the far distant areas in Andhra Pradesh but unfortunately many of the monuments could not stand the test of time and disappeared in the limbo of forgotten things except a few like Nava Brahma temples at Alampur and at Maha Nandi, Satyavolu which stand as alliving testimony to the genius of the great builders who followed the course of this great art tradition. During my recent exploration of Kurnool District I discovered at Truimella village in Giddalur taluq a dilapidated temple built in Chalukyan idiom and a number of sculptures and an epigraph of the time of Chalukya Vikaramadatiya-1 (A. D. 655-685). For a student of architecture the entire area of Kurnool appears to be very prolific for studying the salient feature of the Early Chalukyan temple. The Vimana erected over the main shrine is usually curvilinear and pyramidal in shape and is generally confused with the Indo-Aryan or the Orissan style. Even though the Vimana of the Chalukyan and Orissan temples belong to the category of Vesara type, there is a marked difference which distinguishes one from the other in their architectonic qualities. The Orissan structures generally go high with elongated narrow Vimanas and are very akin to those of the Gupta structures in the North. Whereas the Vi- manas of the Early Chalukyan temples are slightly curvilinear and pyramidal. A comparative study of the temples at Bhuvaneshwar and Alampur will prominently reveal this notable contrast between the two schools though both of them bear certain similarities such as the Amalaka and Kalasa at the top and a Nagara type of structure at the bottom and Vesara type of Vimana. Unless one has a critical acumen to notice the significant differences it is not possible for one to drive away the wrong notion that the builders of the Early Chalukayan temples borrowed the art tradition of the Gupta school of the Northern India. I fully agree with the contention of the learned author of the pre. the monograph that the Chalukyans followed the architectural tradition of the Buddhist period as noticed at Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda and other sites and evolved new idioms to embellish their monuments and thus became poineers in the field of temple architecture as evinced from the fact that the traditions set up by them were followed by the successive dynasties which came in their wake. The famous temple at Alampur is designated from the Early time as the western gateway of Srisailam and obtained first great royal patronage of the Early and later branches as evidenced by the numerous inscriptions found at this holy place.

Before presenting the subject the learned author has classified the three types of temple architecture viz. Nagara, Dravida and Vesara and made a thorough study of the temple under these categories and thus made the subject very intelligible even to the beginners. He has also given brief contents of many of the inscriptions that are mentioned at Alampur which are of immense help to the students of architecture in tracing out the subsequent changes, accretions and alterations that took place in the original structures from time to time. The eminent author did not spare any efforts in describing the subtleties and nuances of the various icons which are ascribable to the time of Early Chalukyas. Besides the work of the early writers like Cousens the present monograph, in my opinion, is of an immense value to the students of architecture and iconography. I am extremely grateful to Dr. M. Rama Rao who is a renowned scholar in Indology for his valuable contribution of this monograph to the State Archaeological Department. I am very much beholden to Sri M. R. Apparow, the Hon'ble Minister for Excise, Prohibition and Cultural Affairs and Sri N. Bhagwandas, I. A. S. Secretary to Government, Education Department for their able guidance and wholehearted cooperation in bringing out this publication. I am also thankful to Sri P. V. P. Sastry, Assis tant Director (Epigraphy) and Sarvashri R. Narayan, Syed Fakhruddin and P. Johnstone for reading the proof with zeal and interest. I also express my thanks to the Director Swaarajya Printing Works Sri K. L. Manohar and his able staff for printing this monograph neatly and in record time.