In the state of Karnataka, just south of the contemporary city of Bijapur, there is a historical site.
Aihole was a significant city during the Chalukya empire (4th–8th centuries C.E. ), and its surviving structures include some of the earliest Hindu temples still standing.
- These temples reflect an early stage in Hindu architecture's development from previous architectural forms like rock-cut cave temples (chaitya) or walled courtyards (vihara).
- A basic square pavilion (mandapa) with a tower (shikhara) above the primary image of the god, one of the oldest temples (ca. 450 C.E.) is one of the characteristics of subsequent Hindu temples.
- A Durga temple constructed approximately a century later follows the basic layout of a chaitya, but it also includes a shikhara.
The temples at Aihole are linked to older types of Hindu architecture, but they also foreshadow the full development of medieval Hindu architecture.
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