Shiva (as Tripurantaka, in Bhairava form)Western ChalukyaChalukyan
Sacred since
1070 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
c. 1070 (Western Chalukya)
Western Chalukya
History & significance
A Western Chalukya temple of about 1070 CE at Balligavi, now dilapidated, whose friezes carry erotic sculpture rare in Chalukyan work alongside deities and dikpalas and perforated window panels of interlocked nagas. Balligavi was a medieval centre of learning shared by Shaiva, Vaishnava, Jain and Buddhist communities, with over eighty inscriptions recovered from the site.