Badami Travel

Resting at the mouth of a canyon between two rocky hills, Vatapi of ancient times is better known as Badami currently. 46 kms from Aihole, this second capital of the Early Western Chalukyas who ruled Karnataka between 6th and 8th centuries, Hampi is around 120 kms from Bijapur. Famous for its rock cut cave temples, Badami also houses a number of other temples built in the Chalukyan architecture. Representing the secular nature of the contemporary rulers, these caves are dedicated to three schools of thought namely Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The first cave dedicated to Lord Shiva houses a huge image of Nataraja- the God in dancing form. With cave 2 and 3 dedicated to Lord Vishnu, the fourth cave displays religious beliefs of Jain Tirthankaras.

These deep caverns are carved with spectacular images of various incarnations of Hindu gods in red sandstone thus upholding live example of early southern architecture.

Located at an altitude of 15.92° North and 75.68° East, Badami is at an elevation of 586 meters (1922 feet). Surrounding a holy water reservoir named 'Agastya Tirtha' the town is spread over a total area of 10.3 square kilometers. 132 kms from Hubli, Badami is around 500 kilometers from Bangalore, the state capital.

The ancient name Vatapi of the town finds a legendary mention in many scriptures. It is believed that once two demon siblings namely Vatapi and Ilvala resided the hills of Badami. They used to kill the mendicants passing their way by a queer trick. On seeing a sage from distance, Vatapi used to turn into a ram. Ilvala then used to offer its flesh to the guest. As soon as the latter used to finish eating the flesh, Ilvala would call out Vatapi. Under the impact of a rare boon to Ilvala; Vatapi used to emerge ripping through the body of the person, thus killing him.

They applied this trick successfully for years until they were counter tricked by Sage Agastya. As he digested Vatapi much before Ilvala could call for him. This brought an end to their devilish deeds thus freeing the locals of their atrocities. Badami still has those hills representing the demons.

Apart from it cave temples, Badami is also much famed for housing an Archaeological Museum. Set up by the archaeological survey of India, the museum displays wonderful sculptures. The Lajja-Gauri images at the museum date back to the fertility cult, of those times. The town is at its best between October to February.