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 porch 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. It is named after a commander who lived there. It is principally a Shiva temple, but it includes iconography from the Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism. On the lintel of the sanctum with Shiva Linga is a Garuda image who carries Vishnu, a common occurence with other Shiva temples in Aihole. The temple has reliefs showing goddesses Ganga and Yamuna, as well as other deities. A set of stone stairs connect the lower level to the second floor which has a square shrine. Images of Vishnu, Surya, and Ardhanareshvara (half Shiva, half Parvati) are carved on three sides of this upper level. Like other Aihole Hindu temples, the temple includes scenes from daily life, including amorous couples.
The temple plan has three concentric squares with the outermost being 15m on its side, the interim one 8m on its side, and the innermost being 4.5m. It has a sanctum with a Shiva Linga. There is a rectangular porch of 6m x 10m covering the east-facing entrance. Inside the inner-most third square is a seated Nandi. The two square mantapas surrounding it create the sabha mantapa or assembly hall, providing ample space for devotees. The second concentric square is supported by a set of 12 intricately carved pillars, while The wall has floral designs. The temple inside is lit with natural sunlight coming in from lattice windows of the north Indian style. The roof slopes away from the center towards all four sides and features log-shaped stone strips suggestive of a more ancient timber temple construction.

The Gaudar Gudi is similar in style to the Ladkhan temple, but is more open from all sides. The temple is probably older than the Ladkhan temple. Like the Ladkhan temple, the Gaudargudi also has log-shaped stones forming its roof. The sanctum is empty but has a Gajalakshmi on its lintel. An inscription engraved on the lintel states that the temple is dedicated to goddess Gauri (an aspect of Parvati). There is evidence that the sanctum, the inside mantapa, and niches on outer walls had carved statues, but these are now empty. Gaudargudi is among the earliest Hindu temples to include a circumambulatory path.

The Suryanarayana temple runs east-west axially, but its operational entrance is on the south. The temple has a mukha-mandapa, an antarala, and a sabha-mandapa axially running east to west, and culminating in the garbha-griha at the western end. It also has a roof of carved stones made to appear like timber logs. Unlike the Ladkhan temple and Gaudargudi which have the roof-stones laid out radially, these log-shaped stones are placed in a grid format. The temple features a square spire topped by a large cupola.

The Shiva-Parvati temple has a pyramidal roof with its ridge running in a north-south direction, giving it an appearance of a thatched-roof hut with eaves overhanging the columns that support it. Its entrance faces the east as is the norm, and features floral and geometric patterns carved into the lintel and doorframe. An image of Gaja-lakshmi stands on the top of the door.

The Chakra Gudi, which is the southern-most temple in the complex, has a rekha-nagara style spire. The temple shows signs of later addition of a mantapa, which is stylistically similar to 9th-century Rashtrakuta structures.

The Badigere temple is the western-most temple in the complex and has a kadamba-nagara style spire, with its kalasha and amalaka at the apex missing. The temple has a pyramidal tower that explores a squat and shrinking discrete squares-topped design with a large cuboidal sukanasa containing a Surya (Sun god) icon. Much of the Badigargudi relief artwork has been damaged and eroded.

There is also a large temple tank within the complex, between the Gaudargudi and Chakra Gudi.

The Mallikarjuna Temple Complex which is a short distance south-east 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.
The Jain Temple on top of the Meguti hill is of particular importance and interest. It is surrounded by surviving ramparts of the the Aihole fort. It is dedicated to the Jain Tirthankara, Mahavira. The temple has an open portico, leading into a mandapa and the sanctum. The entire temple stands on a raised platform. The layout inside features a pillared square mukha-mandapa, which opens into a narrower square antarala divided into two compartments at different levels. A stair connects the slightly higher level, which leads to a larger square-shaped chamber with the sanctum at its heart. This section consists of two concentric squares, the inner square being the sanctum, and the space between the outer square and inner square being the circumambulatory path.
The Meguti Jain temple is historically important for its Aihole Prashasti inscription. A slab on the outer east side wall of the temple is inscribed in Sanskrit language and Old Kannada script. It is dated to the Saka year 556 (634 CE), and is a panegyric poem by Jain poet Ravikirti who was in the court of king Pulakeshin II.

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, among many others.

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.