Mahakuteshwara Temple Mahakuta

Getting there

• By road

  Mahakuta is a village in Bagalkot district, Karnataka.

Why devotees come here

Mahakuteshwara Temple stands in the Mahakuta group of temples, in Mahakuta village, Bagalkot district, Karnataka. It is one of the two largest shrines in the complex, and its deity is Mahakuteshvara. The temples are dated to the 6th or 7th century CE.

Mahakuteshwara is one of the two largest shrines in the Mahakuta group, the other being the Mallikarjuna temple. The complex mixes Dravida and Nagara styles, a hybrid considered a peculiarity of the Karnataka region.

The temples date from the 6th or 7th century CE. Early kings of the Badami Chalukya line built them. A pillar inscription, dated variously between 595 and 602 CE, records a grant made by Queen Durlabhadevi, wife of Pulakeshin I. One inscription records a gift of rubies and a silver umbrella to the deity Mahakuteshvara, along with a piece of land. An inscription ascribed to Vinapoti, a concubine of King Vijayaditya, is in the porch of the Mahakuteshvara temple.

The Dravida style temples here have a tiered tower over the shrine, capped with a dome-like structure. Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal also have both Dravida and Nagara style temples. The whole group is in Mahakuta village, Bagalkot district, Karnataka.

Tips for your visit

• Look at the tiered tower over the shrine, which is capped with a dome-like structure, a Dravida style feature.
• The inscription ascribed to Vinapoti is in the temple porch.
• Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal also have Dravida and Nagara style temples, so the styles can be compared across the sites.

Questions people ask