Badami Cave Temples

Carved into a red sandstone escarpment above the artificial Agastya lake, Badami's four rock-cut caves were excavated in the 6th century by the early Chalukyas, whose capital Vatapi stood at this site. Cave 3, dated by inscription to 578 CE, holds some of the finest early Vishnu iconography in Indian art, including a monumental Trivikrama striding across the cosmos. Cave 1's Nataraja panel captures eighteen arms in a single sculpted instant of the cosmic dance, a technical and iconographic tour de force. The presence of a dedicated Jain cave alongside Hindu shrines reflects the plural religious patronage of the Chalukya court. Badami anchors a wider Chalukya heritage circuit with nearby Pattadakal and Aihole.