Largest Shiva Temple of Pattadakal.
The Virupaksha Temple is the largest and best Shiva temple of Pattadakal. It was constructed in the Dravidian style of temple architecture by Lokamahadevi, the Senior Queen of Vikramaditya II, to commemorate her husband’s victory over the Pallavas of Kanchipuram, in the year 740 CE.
Inside the temple sanctum was a Shiva Lingam which we walked around. We also saw two small shrines with facing images of Ganesha and Parvati, in her Durga avatar, slaying the buffalo demon, Mahishasura. There is a Nandi mandapa in front, where we met a temple priest performing live puja besides the large monolithic Nandi Bull.
There were a lot of cravings and sculptures on the inner walls of the temple and mandapams, depicting episodes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. There were a lot of inscriptions too, in different parts of the temple, recording the victory of King Vikramaditya II over Kanchipuram.
The famous Kailasha Temple at Ellora in Maharashtra is believed to have been modelled along the design of this temple.
This temple is the only one in Pattadakal where live worship is performed on a daily basis, so we had to enter with bare feet. The other temples are just grand monuments, but where no worship is carried out in the present day, so these can be seen without taking off our footwear.
Inside the temple sanctum was a Shiva Lingam which we walked around. We also saw two small shrines with facing images of Ganesha and Parvati, in her Durga avatar, slaying the buffalo demon, Mahishasura. There is a Nandi mandapa in front, where we met a temple priest performing live puja besides the large monolithic Nandi Bull.
There were a lot of cravings and sculptures on the inner walls of the temple and mandapams, depicting episodes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. There were a lot of inscriptions too, in different parts of the temple, recording the victory of King Vikramaditya II over Kanchipuram.
The famous Kailasha Temple at Ellora in Maharashtra is believed to have been modelled along the design of this temple.
This temple is the only one in Pattadakal where live worship is performed on a daily basis, so we had to enter with bare feet. The other temples are just grand monuments, but where no worship is carried out in the present day, so these can be seen without taking off our footwear.
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