Aihole: The Temple Town of Chalukya Kingdom

Aihole might be a village today but in the 5th century, it was the capital of the Chalukya Kingdom. It was during the era of the Chalukyas that the Hindu Temple Architecture saw significant evolution. They invested a lot of wealth and time in building artistic temples. Aihole, which has about 125 temples, is considered to be the cradle of Hindu rock architecture. Situated in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, Aihole enjoys proximity with the historical sites of Pattadakal and Badami; both the sites are known for the temples built during Chalukya era. Here are the pictures of the monuments in Aihole.

Note: At the end of the post there is a video of Aihole.

Durga Temple

Lad Khan Temple

Ravana Phadi Cave Temples

Galaganatha Group of Temples

The ruins of temples in Galaganatha Group — Picture Credit: Manjunath Doddamani Gajendragad

Meguti Jain Temple

The dilapidated structure of a Jain Temple — Picture Credit: Alende devasia

Jyotirlinga Temple

Mallikarjuna Temple Complex

Hucchimalli Temple

Hucchappayya Math Complex

This 8-min video by Karnataka Tourism has a good narration of the monuments of Aihole:

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