About

The Durga Temple in Aihole is, in fact, a temple to the Sun God. It is known as the Durga Temple because of ramparts of the fort (durg) near which it was discovered. It is dated back to the 8th Century AD. It has an unusual Apsidal shape, with a colonnade supporting its eaves. The Shikhara is partly damaged, and it is assumed that it was once topped by an amalaka and a kalasha. It is the mostly richly decorated monument of all the temples in Aihole, and certainly one of the best preserved. It is made of sandstone, like most of the other temples in the vicinity - a material that is available in abundance in the nearby hills.

It has an unusual apsidal shape, reminiscent of the design of Buddhist chaityas of a similar or earlier vintage. A colonnaded and covered ambulatory passage with major carvings runs around the sanctum. The pedestal in the sanctum sanctorum does not have any idol, leading to speculation over the identify of the presiding deity of the temple. The temple has a mukhamandapa or entrance porch, a sabhamandapa or assembly hall, and an ardhamandapa which is a vestibule connecting the foyer to the assembly hall. These sections are formed through the use of pillars which demarcate the space into distinct sections. These pillars are elaborately decorated with floral and geometric patterns in addition to relief sculpture showing music, dance, festivity, and romance.

The circumambulatory path has a slightly sloping roof supported by pillars on the outside, and the outer wall of the sanctum sanctorum on the inside. This wall has alternating niches and stone-carved screens. The six niches are occupied by idols of Vishnu, Shiva (Pashupati), Harihara, Narasimha avatara, Varaha avatara, and Mahishasura Mardini. The screens have a variety of geometrical patterns including the swastika, diamonds, squares, and wheel-with-spokes designs.

The Durga Temple Complex has a total of seven temples with seven different architectural styles, and appears to have been an architecture school of some kind. showing the evolution and experimentation with different temple styles.

The Ladkhan Temple is the next biggest temple in the complex.

The Gaudar Gudi is similar in style to the Ladkhan temple, but is more refined and ornate.

The Suryanarayana temple runs east-west axially, but its operational entrance is on the south.

The Shiva-Parvati temple has a pyramidal roof

The Chakra Gudi has a rekha-nagara style spire

The Badigere temple has a kadamba-nagara style spire, with its kalasha and amalaka at the apex missing.

There is also a large temple pond within the complex.

The Mallikarjuna Temple Complex which is across the road from the Durga Temple Complex has six small shrines dedicated to Shiva. There are three temples in a cluster on the west within this complex, two of which have an east-facing entrance, while one has a north-facing entrance. The three temples in the eastern cluster all have north facing entrances.

The Meguti Hill features a Jain cave temple at its southern end, a Jain temple on its flat hill-top, a 2-storeyed buddhist cave temple on the northern face, and a number of pre-historic dolmens on top of the southern end of the hill.

There are a number of other temple complexes and groups within the hamlet of Aihole, including the Galaganath Temples, the Ravanaphadi cave, the Huchchayyappa Temple and monastery, The Ambiger gudi complex, the Jyotirlinga temples, the Ramalinga group of temples, the Veniyar shrines, the Maddin temples, the Kuntigudi complex, and the Tryambakeshwara Temples group.

Architecture

The temple stands on a high moulded upapitha (sub-base), apsidal on plan and carrying a peripheral row of columns on its edge that surround the moulded adhishthana and walls of an apsidal vimana and its front mandapa. Thus the colonnade forms a covered circumambulatory with a sloping roof.

The peripheral pillars of the front mandapa and those at the forward end of the circumambulatory have large statuary on them.

The central nave has a higher flat roof, and two lateral aisles have sloping roofs, at a lesser height than the central roof.

The reliefs on the adhishthana and outer wall are cantoned by pilasters and enclose niches which are framed by shrine-fronts of all the patterns of northern and southern vimanas, kuta, sala, panjara, udgama, etc., and contain bold sculpture.

Four recesses, two each between the three bays on the north and south sides and two more between the three bays round the apse-end, are provided with perforated windows.

It has a variety of evolved shrine-fronts displayed in its niches, as well as diverse corbel-forms.

Trivia

An inscription of Chalukya Vikramaditya II (733-46) on the ruined gopura at the south-eastern part of the enclosing-wall indicates that this was built in the 8th century CE.