Mallikaarjuna Temple

Overview

Mallikaarjuna Temple is a Lord Shiva temple located in Pattadakkal. Pattadakkal is a village in Karnataka. It lies on the banks of the Malapraba River in Bagalkot district. It is 22 km from Badami and about 10 km from Aihole and is well known for its historic temples. The group of 8th century monuments in Pattadakkal are the culmination of the earliest experiments in the Vesara style of Hindu temple architecture. The town displays both Southern and the Indo-Aryan styles of temple architecture.

About The Temple

This temple, called Sri Trilokeshwara Maha Saila Prasadha in an inscription, was built around 740 A.D. It was built by Queen Trailokyamahadevi of Vikramaditya II (733-45 A.D.) to commemorate the king’s victory over the Pallavas of Kanchipuram. It resembles the Virupaksha temple built for the same purpose. These two temples stand side by side. They closely resemble each other in their plan elevation, decoration and even sculptures. It has the fully developed southern vimana style. This temple consists of a sanctum (garbhagriha) with circumambulatory corridor (pradakshinapatha), an antechamber with a shrine each on either side in front, a sabha-mandaba with entrance porches on the east, north and south and a separate Nandi-mandaba in front. The shrines, originally dedicated to Ganesha and Mahisasurmardhini, are now empty. Only a portion of the enclosure walls is intact on the southern side and two upright pillars and a few huge stone blocks mark the once existence of the western gateway.

It is built on a high plinth having five fully evolved mouldings and its wall surfaces are divided in to projection. It recesses accommodating sculptures and windows like the Virupaksha temple. These sculptures are mainly Shaivite and some are unfinished. The parapet and the superstructure of this temple are similar to those of the Virupaksha temple. But, there are one or two noticeable differences. This temple has a hemi-spherical roof (shikhara) as against the square roof of Virupaksha temple. Further, Nataraj is depicted in the shallow arch of the sukanasa here.

The epic episodes carved on the pillars of the sabha-mandaba include goddesses fighting Mahishasur, churning of the ocean, Narasimma fighting Hiranyakashipu, “exploits of Krishna” slaying of Maricha etc. The couples relieved on the engaged columns here are bigger in size and better preserved than those in Virupaksha temple.

The well conceived and skilfully executed Nandi-mandaba presents an elegant piece of architecture. Its basement has beautifully carved figures of elephants and other animals. Its balconies show sixteen-sided pillars with scroll belts. Female figures are carved in the niches on the walls.

Accessibility

Airport

The Bangalore Airport is the nearest.

Railways

The nearest railhead is Badami.

Road

Pattadakkal is linked with Badami by roads. Pattadakkal and has connectivity with other major locations by road.

Temple Address

Mallikaarjuna Temple,
Pattadakkal,
Bagalkot,
Karnataka,
India,
Pin code – 587201.