Durga Temple, Aihole

Named not for the goddess but for its proximity to a fort (durg), this 7th-8th century temple at Aihole -- the Chalukyas' earliest architectural laboratory -- is unique for its apsidal plan, a horseshoe form borrowed from Buddhist rock-cut chaitya halls and rare in Hindu temple architecture. A curved ambulatory wrapped by an open peristyle of pillars circles the sanctum, while the sculptural programme on the outer walls captures Chalukya artisans mid-experiment, blending forms that would later mature at Pattadakal. Aihole is often called the 'cradle of Indian temple architecture' for the sheer range of early structural forms tested across its roughly 125 shrines, of which the Durga Temple is the most visited and photographed.