Badami Cave 1: Magnificent Shiva Temple
Dated to approximately 550 CE, Cave 1 is the first of the four rock-cut caves in the Badami hills. It is a Mantapa-style temple dedicated to Shiva.
Dimensions : 70 ft x 20ft rectangular-shaped
60ft from the ground level.
The Garbhagriha (Sanctum Sanctorum) is a small chamber housing the
Shivalinga at the rear side of the cave. There is a Sabha Mandapa in front of the Garbhagriha and a Mukhamantapa in front of the Sabha Mandapa.
The facade shows the pillars of the Mukhamantapa and the staircase leading to it. Inside the Mukhamantapa and Sabha Mandapa, there are more pillars embellished with beautiful carvings. Extending the facade on the right and left are the walls carved with beautiful sculptural reliefs.
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Badami Temple Cave 1:
Dwarapal with Shiv-Parvati and Vrishabh-Kunjara carved into the Cave 1 left-side extension, this relief depicts the Dwarapal (Doorkeeper) of Shiv. The Dwarapal is holding a Trishul. Carved below the Dwarapal is Vrishabh-Kunjara (Bull-Elephant), an illusionary sculpture with a single head joined by the torsos of the bull & elephant. Carved above the Dwarapal is a relief of Shiv & Parvati seated on Nandi.
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Badami Temple Cave 1: Nataraja Carving
Carved into the right side extension, this large-size sculptural relief depicts Nataraj, a form of Shiv, performing the Tandav Nritya, a vigorous cosmic dance of creation, preservation, and destruction.
Nataraj is standing in an elegant dancing pose with 18 arms in a form that expresses the dance position (9×9=81 combinations in total) arranged in a geometric pattern. The eighteen arms express Natya mudras with some holding objects such as drums, a flame torch, a serpent, a trident, and an axe.
Shiv’s dance is Ugra Tandav dancing on a Rakshas, but here the dance is Lalitha Natya Chatur Tandav (which is a happy mode) and you could see that the dance performed on a lotus flower and the sons of Shiv are also participating in the dance, Ganesh is dancing and Karthikey is playing a musical instrument Mruthungam along with Nandi on the other side.
Dimensions: 5 feet (1.5 m) tall
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Badami Cave 1: Ardhanarishvar – Fusion of Shiv & Parvati
Carved into the right-side wall of the Mukhamantap, it depicts the story of Ardhanarisvar, a manifestation of Shiv as half man and half woman. In this relief, Ardhanarishvar, who has man-like features on the right half and woman-like features on the left half, is standing with an elegant Tribhanga stance (body bent in three places, neck, waist & knee). While appearing to play a musical instrument, Ardhanarishvar is gently leaning on his vehicle Nandi. Standing with folded hands behind Nandi is Bringi, a sage with three legs who appears like a skeleton. Standing to the left of Ardhanarishvar is an unidentified female figure carrying a bowl in her left hand. Flying above Ardhanarishvar are the Vidyadhar couples.
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Badami Temple Cave 1: Coiled Nagaraj
Coiled Nagaraj carved into the cave ceiling depicts Nagaraj, the mythical king of serpents, with multiple serpent heads and a human head attached to a torso, extended by a spiraling serpent body. Nagaraj has five serpent heads surrounding his human head, and his coiled serpent body, whose thickness decreases as it spirals out, fits perfectly within a wheel engraved with fine artwork. Enclosed the wheel is a square panel richly decorated with flower-like patterns.
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Badami Temple Cave 1: Harihara – Fusion of Shiv & Vishnu
Harihara is a symbolic fusion of the two Gods half Shiv’s and half Vishnu’s. Harihara is carved with Shiva’s features on the left side and Vishnu’s features on the right side. Shiv’s wife Parvati and his vehicle Nandi are standing on the right side of Harihara. Likewise, Vishnu’s wife Lakshmi, and his vehicle Garuda are standing on the left side.
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