Image: 11th century Panchalingeshwara temples group, Kalyani Chalukya, Sedam Karnataka India - 78

Description: Sedam, spelled as Seram in early 20th-century archaeological survey literature, is a small town about 50 kilometers southeast of Gulbarga city (Highway 10). It is near the Karnataka-Telangana border. Close to the Kamlawati river, are many temples from the 9th to 12th-century, but most were destroyed during the Hindu kingdoms and Islamic Sultanates wars after 14th-century. One large and heavy stone temples group – the Pancha Linga temple, also called Panchalingeswara temple – survives in good architectural condition. However, inside the mandapa, there is visible damage – chopped heads, limbs, defacement. These temples in Sedam were built by the Kalyani Chalukya rulers in the 11th-century. The Panchalingeshvara temples group originally consisted of many temples as evidenced by the foundation remains with missing temples. Four of these have survived, of which two are main temples. All are of Shaivism tradition and reverentially include Shaktism and Vaishnavism motifs. The temple is notable for the alignment of the four temples. The two large temples are at right-angle to each other. One faces west and other north. Both have lifesize dwarapalas at their entrance, but one has a pair female dwarapalas, another male pair. The dvarapalas have a lot of details, for example the sophisticated hairdo of the female dwarapalas is included on their back. The mandapa pillars and ceilings of both are intricately carved with decorative artworks and mythical Hindu legends. Tandava Nataraja theme is common inside, and the temple reverentially includes Brahma and Vishnu. A large Ganesha statue graces in the mandapa, and another side has Kartikeya. Nandi face the sanctums of all temples, and for the two main temples, the Nandi too are intricately carved wearing jewelry. The sanctums entrances have Gaja-lakshmi and inside are Shiva linga, with one depicting eyes, the other sanctum plain Shiva linga. Of the four temples, the other two are smaller temples, with one facing east and the last south. Outside temple walls and surfaces show broken reliefs and also signs of more uniform natural erosion. Recent restoration work has improved the temple's condition, but an overcoat of lime hides some of artwork. Archaeological surveys have identified many more Hindu and Jain temples and ruins spread in and near Sedam, suggestive of it being an important Chalukya city, but most of these monuments are nearby empty or in ruins.
Title: 11th century Panchalingeshwara temples group, Kalyani Chalukya, Sedam Karnataka India - 78
Credit: P. Madhusudan
Author: P. Madhusudan
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication
License: CC0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en
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