Image: 7th - 12th century Mahavira flanked by 24 Tirthankaras in Cave 4, Badami Jain cave temple Karnataka

Description: Cave 4 in Badami, Karnataka is a Jain temple. It is the smallest of Caves 1-4 group that exist together. The earliest carvings are from the 7th to 8th century, but the temple was likely enhanced through the 11th and 12th centuries. The temple shows intricately carved pillars, various Tirthankaras. The largest statues are devoted to Bahubali, Parshvanatha and Mahavira. Badami, also mentioned as Vatapi, Vatapipura and Vatapinagari in historical texts, was an important ancient and early medieval era capital. It is the site of the earliest Hindu cave temples in South India whose date can be established with certainty. The earliest cave temple (Cave 3, Vaishnavism) is from the 6th century, with Cave 1 (Shaivism) built shortly thereafter. Cave 2 (Vaishnavism) is dated to the 7th century. Cave 4 features theology and ideas of Jainism, built after the first three. The Badami region is home to numerous medieval era Hindu and Jain temples and monuments. It also has artwork that seem like Buddhist monuments but the syncretic nature of the artwork make them difficult to categorize as belonging to Buddhism or Hinduism.
Title: 7th - 12th century Mahavira flanked by 24 Tirthankaras in Cave 4, Badami Jain cave temple Karnataka
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Author: Ms Sarah Welch
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