Early medieval · Hindu · India

Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal

ಪಟ್ಟದಕಲ್ಲು

Pattadakal, Karnataka · 15.9480°, 75.8168°

ShivaChalukya (Badami)Dravida (early)UNESCO World Heritage

Sacred since

733 CE

first attestation / structure

Standing structure

c. 740 CE

patron: Queen Lokamahadevi

History & significance

Crowning monument of Pattadakal, the Chalukya coronation city where northern Nagara and southern Dravida temple styles were built side by side — a laboratory of Indian architecture, UNESCO-listed since 1987. Built by queen Lokamahadevi to celebrate Vikramaditya II's triple victory over the Pallavas of Kanchi.

Sthala katha — the legend

The temple deliberately answers Kanchipuram's Kailasanathar, whose builders' guild the victorious Chalukyas are believed to have brought north — conquest expressed as architecture rather than destruction; it later served as the model for the rock-cut Kailasa at Ellora.

Reaching there

Pattadakal is 22 km from Badami by road, with regular buses, taxis and conducted tours from Badami or Bagalkot. Badami, 17 km away, is the nearest railway station, and Hubballi airport is about 140 km off.

Open in Google Maps ↗Wikipedia ↗View on the atlas map