Banashankari Temple, Badami

Getting there

• By air

  Hubli is the nearest airport, 125 km from Badami.

• By train

  Badami Railway Station, on the South Western Railways, is the nearest railhead.

• By road

  The temple is about 5 km from Badami on the road to Gadag. Badami is well connected by road to all parts of Karnataka.

Why devotees come here

Banashankari Temple stands at Cholachagudda, near Badami in Bagalkot district, Karnataka. She is the tutelary deity, or guardian, of the Chalukyas, and devotees come from Karnataka and neighbouring Maharashtra.

Legend says the Skanda Purana and Padma Purana describe a demon, Durgamasura, who troubled the local people constantly. Devi killed him. The same legend says that during a severe famine she provided vegetables and food for the people to survive, which is how she came to be called Shakambhari.

Historians date the original temple to the 7th century. Inscriptions say that Jagadekamalla I installed the image of Devi in 603 CE. The present refurbished temple was built in 1750 by Parusharam Agale, a Maratha chieftain. It was first built in the Dravidian style, and the rebuilt structure follows the Vijayanagara style.

The black stone image in the sanctum shows Devi seated on a lioness, trampling a demon under her foot. A high wall encloses the temple. Stone halls line three sides of the tank, and lamp towers, called deepa stambhas, stand at the entrance and on the west bank. A news report calls the architecture an amalgam of different styles.

Festivals

• Starts with the Rath yatra, for about three weeksBanashankari jatre

  A religious and cultural fair held in the temple precincts every year.

• Starts on the full moon day of Pausha (January)Rath Yatra chariot festival

  The chariot festival of Devi, held every year.

• During the jatreTeppotsava

  A boat festival held in the temple tank.

Tips for your visit

• Look for the portico in front of the sanctum and the tower over it, both inside the high wall around the temple.
• If you come from Bengaluru, Badami is 495 km away.

Questions people ask