Alampur Navabrahma Temples

The Alampuram Navabrahma temples are located in the Telangana town of Alampuram, close to the Tungabhadra river. It is {{convert|215|km}} south of Hyderabad, connected by the four-lane National Highway 44 (Asian Highway 43), and about {{convert|240|km}} northeast of Hampi monuments and {{convert|325|km}} east of Badami, the capital of the kings who are credited with building it in the 7th century.

The Sangameswara Temple was originally built at [https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/Kudavelly,+Telangana/@15.9604768,78.2183162,14.26z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x3bb5ec4515c6ec87:0xbb4366f68037a998!8m2!3d15.9599803!4d78.2333743 Kudavelly], by the confluence (sangam) of two major sacred rivers of ancient importance, the Tungabhadra and Krishna. Sangameswara comes from the word Sangam meaning confluence of two or more rivers. The Sangameswara Temple was constructed by Pulakesi I ( 540 CE to 566 CE), in a similar style to the Navabrahma Temples. Based on inscriptional evidence such as the Tummayaneru grant, Sarma dates the temple to pre-Chalukya era when Navabrahma temples were built. Odile Divakaran states that the Sangameswara temple at Kudaveli was not an earlier monument, but was built along with the nine Navabrahma temples, likely in the middle of the 7th century.Odile Divakaran (1971), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/43484516 Les temples d'Ālampur et de ses environs au temps des Cāḷukya de Bādāmi], Arts Asiatiques, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 72-73 According to Sarma, new inscriptions found in the 1980s at the Arka Brahma and Bala Brahma temples mention a pre-existing mahadevayatana or main temple with linga, the Sangameswara Temple.

The Sangameswara Temple has been moved to near the Navabrahma temples, as its original site built at [https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/Kudavelly,+Telangana/@15.9604768,78.2183162,14.26z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x3bb5ec4515c6ec87:0xbb4366f68037a998!8m2!3d15.9599803!4d78.2333743 Kudavelly], some 20 km away, is now flooded by the Srisailam Dam hydroelectric project. The Sangameswara temple transplantation was completed by January 1990.{{cite book|author=IK Sarma|editor=Harsh K. Gupta|title=Deccan Heritage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8830KZLvkYsC&pg=PA169|year=2000|publisher=Universities Press|isbn=978-81-7371-285-2|pages=169–192}}

As the Badami Chalukyan kingdom became well established, its rulers sponsored the distinct Badami Chalukya architecture style of Hindu temple architecture in Aihole, Badami, Alampur and later Pattadakal. The nine temples at this site reflect some of the early Nagara style of Hindu temples that have partially survived for scholarly studies.{{cite book|author=Marijke J. Klokke|title=Narrative Sculpture and Literary Traditions in South and Southeast Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fx3mpR4uKmkC&pg=PA94|year=2000|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-11865-9|pages=94–95}}{{cite book|author=B. Rajendra Prasad|title=Chalukyan Temples of Andhradesa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9cxI2KZzekC |year=1983 |publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-0-391-02853-1|pages=12–29}} The uniqueness of this group of temples lies in their plan and design in the northern architectural style introduced by the Chalukyas of Badami in the 7th century.

The temples are emblematic of the Northern Indian Nagara style of architecture. The Navabrahma temples are present on the left bank of the Tungabhadra River, enclosed in a courtyard.{{Cite web |url=http://mahabubnagar.nic.in/TourismNew.php?t=1 |title=Mahabubnagar-NIC |access-date=14 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403074857/http://mahabubnagar.nic.in/TourismNew.php?t=1 |archive-date=3 April 2016 |url-status=dead }}

The temples have a square plan that follow the vastupurushamandala architecture. A square sanctum is surrounded by a covered circumambulation path and a Rekha-nagara style curvilinear square shikara towers above the sanctum of each temple. The tower is capped by an amla and a kalasha, though in some cases this has not survived. In front of each sanctum is a mandapa.Odile Divakaran (1971), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/43484516 Les temples d'Ālampur et de ses environs au temps des Cāḷukya de Bādāmi], Arts Asiatiques, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 51-101

• Taraka Brahma: This is an unusual early stage Hindu temple because it has a multistorey tower and for carving deities into the ceiling, suggesting that the artisans were experimenting and exploring novel construction ideas in stone temples by the 7th century. This temple, as others, incorporates 6th-7th century CE Telugu and Kannada inscriptions.

File:7th century Svarga Brahma Hindu temple plan, Alampur Telangana India.svg

• Svarga Brahma: Swarga Brahma temple was built during 681-696 AD or the Vinayaditya era. An inscription found in the temple states that Lokaditya Ela Arasa built it in the honour of the queen. It is an example of Badami Chalukya Architecture and sculpture. This temple is the most elaborately ornamented temple. Its square plan is simple, and it includes a mukhachatuski, a gudhamandapa, an antarala and a garbhagriya. It has a porch in front with fluted shafts and foliage motifs. It has a pair of dikpalas (directional guardians) in each corner of the temple. The temple shows two Nataraja (dancing Shiva), one Lingobhava (Shiva emerging from a linga), one Dakshinamurti (Shiva in yoga position as a teacher sitting under a tree). The temple also has common life scenes, as well as amorous couples in various stages of courtship and kama. The temple has friezes showing four fables from the Panchatantra, along with a Sanskrit inscription below that summarizes the moral of each fable.{{cite book|author=Marijke J. Klokke|title=Narrative Sculpture and Literary Traditions in South and Southeast Asia|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fx3mpR4uKmkC |year=2000|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-11865-9|pages=81–82}}{{cite book|author=B. Rajendra Prasad|title=Chalukyan Temples of Andhradesa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9cxI2KZzekC |year=1983|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-0-391-02853-1|pages=23–27}} One of its niches has a sculpture narrating the Vamana-Trivikrama legend of Vishnu.{{cite book|author=James C. Harle|title=The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent|url=https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl|url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-06217-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl/page/185 185]–187 with Figure 140}}

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|File:704 CE Svarga Brahma Temple, Alampur Navabrahma, Telangana India - 1.jpg|Temple overview

|File:704 CE Svarga Brahma Temple, Alampur Navabrahma, Telangana India - 71.jpg|Mandapa and pillars inside

|File:704 CE Svarga Brahma Temple, Alampur Navabrahma, Telangana India - 02.jpg|Outer walls include reliefs of Vedic and Puranic deities. Above: Indra.

|File:704 CE Svarga Brahma Temple, Alampur Navabrahma, Telangana India - 27.jpg|Amorous couple, kama scene on outer wall

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• Padma Brahma is probably the last temple to be built in the group, one with an incomplete tower rather than a destroyed tower structure. It has no entrance porch, but displays the most complex pediment designs. Padma Brahma temple has a polished stone sculpture of Shivalinga.
• Bala Brahma: The Bala Brahma temple is likely the second oldest here, likely completed by about 650 CE.Odile Divakaran (1971), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/43484516 Les temples d'Ālampur et de ses environs au temps des Cāḷukya de Bādāmi], Arts Asiatiques, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 72-74 It has Sanskrit inscriptions in early Telugu script, one of which can be dated to 702 CE. The temple has Shaktism themes represented with the sculptures of Saptamatrikas (seven mothers). It is an active house of Hindu worship in contemporary times. Shivaratri is celebrated in this temple every year.

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|File:7th century Bala Brahma Temple, Navabrahma group, Alampur, Telangana India - 1.jpg|Nagara-style shikara

|File:7th century Bala Brahma Temple, Navabrahma group, Alampur, Telangana India - 49.jpg|Outer covered hall

|File:7th century Bala Brahma Temple, Navabrahma group, Alampur, Telangana India - 39.jpg|Mandapam with original pillar and modern era floor

|File:7th century Bala Brahma Temple, Navabrahma group, Alampur, Telangana India - 4.jpg|Durga on two lions, mid 7th-century

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• Garuda Brahma has the same plan as the Vishwa Brahma temple, but it lacks the latter's intricate carving. It includes a flying Garuda, the vahana of Vishnu, suggestive of the likelihood that the temple once included a sculpture of Vishnu.

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|File:7th 8th century Garuda Brahma Temple, Navabrahma group, Alampur, Telangana India - 70.jpg|Temple overview

|File:7th 8th century Garuda Brahma Temple, Navabrahma group, Alampur, Telangana India - 55.jpg|Stone mesh window

|File:7th 8th century Garuda Brahma Temple, Navabrahma group, Alampur, Telangana India - 62.jpg|Gandharvas outer walls

|File:7th 8th century Garuda Brahma Temple, Navabrahma group, Alampur, Telangana India - 21.jpg|Defaced goddess Ganga, entrance

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• Kumara Brahma is probably the earliest temple built, and like others stands on a jagati (platform).{{cite book|author=B. Rajendra Prasad|title=Chalukyan Temples of Andhradesa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9cxI2KZzekC |year=1983|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-0-391-02853-1|pages=12–15}} The outer walls provide a perforated screen to let natural light come into the circumambulation path. The pillars and beams in the ceiling are all carved with miniature figures and mayura (peacock) motifs. The tower is divided into venukosha, uccheda and madhyalata, with the Sikhara of tribhuni class of design. The pillars inside the mandapa have amorous couples in mithuna scenes. The sanctum doorway is flanked by Ganga and Yamuna goddesses, as well as two dvarapalas.

{{Gallery

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|File:7th century Kumara Brahma Temple, Alampur Navabrahma, Telangana India - 02.jpg|Temple overview

|File:Kumara Brahma Temple, Alampur Navabrahma, Telangana India - 25.jpg|Pillar relief inside

|File:7th century Kumara Brahma Temple, Alampur Navabrahma, Telangana India - 20.jpg|Saptamatrikas and Ganesha monolith, Inscription above them

|File:7th century Kumara Brahma Temple, Alampur Navabrahma, Telangana India - 33.jpg|Mahisasuramardini

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File:Arka Brahmeswara Swamy Temple.jpg

• Arka Brahma temple is a mostly ruined temple. The temple art has been defaced, with only remnants of Ganga and Yamuna goddesses visible on the entrance of the sanctum. There is an inscription in the Siddhamatrika script which in most cases are likely the names of the artists who worked on specific sculpture (now missing), and these are in Kannada and Telugu languages.{{cite book|author=B. Rajendra Prasad|title=Chalukyan Temples of Andhradesa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9cxI2KZzekC |year=1983|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-0-391-02853-1|pages=16–17}}
• Veera Brahma Temple is a simpler, much damaged temple in the group. It has a gudha-mandapa, antarala and a garbhagriya.{{cite book|author=B. Rajendra Prasad|title=Chalukyan Temples of Andhradesa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9cxI2KZzekC |year=1983|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-0-391-02853-1|pages=17–20}} The outer walls of the temple are sectioned by pairs of pilasters into projecting niches but the artwork in these have not survived. The tower above the sanctum has projections in its center.{{cite book|author=George Michell|title=Southern India: A Guide to Monuments Sites & Museums |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GdBbBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT319|year=2013|publisher=Roli Books |isbn=978-81-7436-903-1|pages=319–320}}
• Vishva Brahma temple is the northmost and an intricately carved temple with its niches and windows featuring complex designs around them. The foundational platform is also carved with musicians, dancers, foliage, birds, geese and ganas. The temple pillars inside the mandapa have fluted shafts above seated lions, while the capital is ribbed kalasha shaped. The temple also has sculptural scenes from the Hindu epics as well as the Panchatantra.{{cite book|author=Marijke J. Klokke|title=Narrative Sculpture and Literary Traditions in South and Southeast Asia|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fx3mpR4uKmkC |year=2000|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-11865-9|pages=78–79}}

{{Gallery

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|File:7th century Vishwa Brahma Temples, Alampur, Telangana India - 3.jpg|Temple overview

|File:7th century Vishwa Brahma Temples, Alampur, Telangana India - 43.jpg|Pillar carvings inside

|File:7th century Vishwa Brahma Temples, Alampur, Telangana India - 25.jpg|Gangadhara in the west portico outside

|File:7th century Vishwa Brahma Temples, Alampur, Telangana India - 50.jpg|Hanuman and the Ramayana legend

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There is an ASI museum near this group of temples. It shows ruins recovered at the site, with remnants of a Durga in Mhishasura-mardini form, a Lajja-Gauri, a Nataraja Shiva which George Michell calls a "masterpiece of refined sculpture", a polished Nandi statue with Shiva and Parvati riding it. The museum also has ruins of reliefs that narrate Hindu epics and other texts such as the Panchatantra.{{cite book|author=Marijke J. Klokke|title=Narrative Sculpture and Literary Traditions in South and Southeast Asia|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fx3mpR4uKmkC |year=2000|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-11865-9|pages=94–95}}

The Alampuram temples are listed as an archaeological and architectural treasure on the official "List of Monuments" prepared by the Archaeological Survey of India under The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act.{{cite web |title=Alphabetical List of Monuments - Andhra Pradesh |publisher=Archaeological Survey of India |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_andhra.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625052615/http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_andhra.asp |archive-date=2014-06-25 |url-status=dead |access-date=2017-11-27 }} Some temples at the Alampur site came under submergence due to the building of Sri Sailam Hydro-electric Project, the threatened ancient and medieval era monuments along with the Sangameswara temple were relocated to a higher place, west and southwest of the Navabrahma temples.{{cite book|author=N. L. Batra|title=Heritage conservation: preservation and restoration of monuments|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2OBtAAAAMAAJ|year=1996|publisher=Aryan |isbn=978-81-7305-108-1|page=39}}{{cite book|author=Government of Andhra Pradesh|title=Alampur, Mahboobnagar District, Andhra Pradesh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NorXAAAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Government of Andhra Pradesh Publications|page=92}} The latter was transplanted near the Alampur Papanasi Temples.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}

Alampur was an important pilgrimage site for the Hindus well after the 8th century as evidenced by the inscriptions and nearby major complex of temples. The Papanasam group of Hindu temples built in the 9th and 10th centuries are about {{convert|1.5|km}} southwest from the Navabrahma temple site. There are other temples like Suryanarayana temple dating back to 9th century. The Narasimha temple has inscriptions from the Sri Krishna Devaraya (Vijayanagar Empire) era.{{cite book|author=B. Rajendra Prasad|title=Chalukyan Temples of Andhradesa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9cxI2KZzekC |year=1983 |publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-0-391-02853-1|pages=17–29}}

{{commons category|Alampur Navabrahma Temples}}

• Alampuram Museum
• Alampuram Papanasi Temples
• Aihole
• Pattadakal

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• [https://www.jstor.org/stable/44145180 Ten Mahishasuramardani Icons from Alampur], M Radhakrishna Sharma
• [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3250134 Doorframes on the Earliest Orissan Temples], Thomas Donaldson

{{Hindu Temples in Telangana}}{{Hindudharma}}

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Category:Hindu temples in Mahbubnagar district

Category:Indian architectural history

Category:Shiva temples in Telangana

Category:Hindu pilgrimage sites in India

Category:Chalukya dynasty

Category:Hindu temple architecture

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Category:Monuments of National Importance in Telangana