Pattadakal (Pattadakallu), also called Raktapura, is a complex of 7th and 8th century CE Hindu and Jain temples in northern Karnataka, India.

[5] UNESCO has described Pattadakal as "a harmonious blend of architectural forms from northern and southern India" and an illustration of "eclectic art" at its height.

The Pattadakal monuments are located in the Indian state of Karnataka, about 165 kilometres (103 mi) southeast of Belgaum, 265 kilometres (165 mi) northeast from Goa, 14 miles (23 km) from Badami, via Karnataka state highway SH14, and about 6 miles (9.7 km) from Aihole, set midst sandstone mountains and Malaprabha river valley.

In total, there are over 150 Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist monuments, and archaeological discoveries, dating from the 4th to 10th century CE, in addition to pre-historic dolmens and cave paintings that are preserved at the Pattadakal-Badami-Aihole site.

[11][12] Nearby airports to Pattadakal Access to the site by train is also possible via an Indian Railways service that stops at Badami on the Hubballi-Solapur line.

[3] Pattadakal ("Stone of coronation") was considered a holy place, being where the Malaprabha river turned northwards towards the Himalayas and the Kailasha mountain (uttara-vahini).

Pattadakal became, along with nearby Aihole and Badami, a major cultural centre and religious site for innovations in architecture and experimentation of ideas.

[22] According to T. Richard Blurton, the history of temple arts in northern India is unclear as the region was repeatedly sacked by invaders from Central Asia, particularly during the Muslim incursions from the 11th century onward.

[29][28] The temple is built around a square garbha griha (sacrum sanctum),[27] whose outer walls feature intricate devakoshtha (linteled niches with decorated frames with Hamsa and mythical makaras).

[30] The Galagatha temple is mostly in ruins, except for the southern part which contains a carved slab showing an eight-armed Shiva killing the demon Andhaka, while wearing a garland of skulls as a yajnopavita (sacred thread across the chest).

The death of its patron king, Vijayaditya, in 734 CE resulted in the temple being left unfinished, although work continued intermittently in later centuries.

The temple also features a pranala, a stone structure used to drain out water used during devotional activities, and an antarala, or foyer, connecting to a mantapa with a ruined entrance porch.

[42][40] The temple sits on a raised platform, with five layers of mouldings, decorated with 8th-century carvings of horses, elephants, lions, peacocks, and flowery vine designs.

[40] The kapota (cornice) are decorated with motifs and carved with ganas (playful dwarfs) carrying garlands; brackets show flying couples and kirtimukhas.

[42][40] The superstructure, displaying a well developed North Indian Rekha-Nagara style, is a rising five stage projection of centered squares with a complex pattern of interlocking gavakshas,[40] but the amalaka and kalasha are now missing.

In front of the sanctum is an antechamber (antarala) with small shrines for Durga as Mahishasuramardini killing the buffalo demon and another for Ganesha on each side, both currently empty.

[25][49][48][50] The temple is notable for its range, and quality, of construction exemplifying a well developed Dravidian architectural style, as well as the inscribed names of the artists beneath the panels they worked on.

In front of the sanctum is an antarala with two small shrines within which are facing images of Ganesha and Parvati, in her Durga aspect as Mahishasuramardini killing the buffalo demon.

[10][56][57] According to George Michell, the carvings on the walls and porch of the Virupaksha temple exterior are "vehicles for diverse sculptural compositions, by far the most numerous found on any Early Chalukya monument".

[58] Other than Hindu gods and goddesses, numerous panels show depict people either as couples, in courtship and mithuna, or as individuals wearing jewellery or carrying work implements.

[60] A few depict scenes from the Ramayana such as those involving Angada (Vali's Son from Kishkindha Kingdom)sitting on a high chair made of his own magic tail and higher than the height of the ravana's throne, golden deer, Hanuman, Sugriva, Vali, Ravana and Jatayu bird, Sita being abducted, the struggles of Rama and Lakshmana.

[66][67] The unusual layout of the temple is possibly due to its construction, which occurred in three stages, but there is a lack of epigraphical evidence to support this hypothesis.

[65][66] The Jaina temple at Pattadakal was built during the 9th century, possibly with sponsorship from the Rashtrakuta King Krishna II or the Kalyani Chalukyas.

These inscriptions are an important source of information regarding the grants made by King Vikramaditya, and Vijayaditya, various queens, and others, for the construction and operation of the temple.

The pillar bears inscriptions stating it was erected by Jnana Shivacharya from Mrigathanikahara, located on the north bank of the Ganges, and that he had gifted a parcel of land to the Vijayeshwara.

[citation needed] In 2008, Upinder Singh wrote that S. Venkateshaiah, a senior archaeologist with the ASI had located the quarry where the stones were sourced some 5 kilometers away from the Pattadakal.

She writes that the artisans express the conflicting concepts of Dharma (duty, virtue, righteousness) and Moksha (liberation) in Hindu theology, particularly Pashupata Shaivism.

The former is depicted in various friezes using examples of the life story of Rama from the Ramayana, while the latter is expressed with images of Lakulisha, Nataraja, Yoga, and numerous ascetics.

[79] The temples at Pattadakal are symbolic of the Chalukya inclination towards integration, and experimentation, resulting in a merging of the Northern and Southern Indian architectural styles.

The culmination of this is, as described by UNESCO, "the apogee of an eclectic art which, in the 7th and 8th centuries, achieved a harmonious blend of architectural forms from the north and south of India".