View source for Alampur Navabrahma Temples

{{Short description|Hindu temples in India dating from the 7th and 9th centuries}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox religious building
| name               = Alampuram Navabrahma Temples
| image              = Alampur India (5).JPG
| alt                = 
| caption            = Svarga Brahma Temple
| map_type           = India #India Telangana
| map_caption        = Location in Telangana
| relief             = yes
| religious_affiliation = [[Hinduism]]
| other_names        = 
| proper_name        = 
| coordinates        = {{coord|15|52|40.1|N|78|08|5.4|E|display=inline,title}}
| country            = [[India]]
| state              = [[Telangana]]
| district           = [[Jogulamba Gadwal district]]
| location           = [[Alampuram (Hemalapuram)]]
| elevation_m        = 
| deity              = [[Shiva]], others
| festivals= 
| architecture_style = [[Hindu temple architecture|Nagara]]
| temple_quantity    = 9
| monument_quantity  = 
| inscriptions       = 
| year_completed     = 7th century
| creator            = 
| website            = 
}}

'''Alampuram Navabrahma Temples''' are a group of nine early Badami Chalukyan [[Hindu temple]]s dated between the 7th and 9th centuries that are located at [[Alampuram (Hemalapuram)]] in [[Telangana]], India, near the meeting point of [[Tungabhadra River]] and [[Krishna River]] at the border of [[Andhra Pradesh]].<ref name="Michell2013p319"/> They are called Nava-Brahma temples though they are dedicated to [[Shiva]]. They exemplify early North Indian [[Nagara style]] architecture with cut rock as the building block. The temples of Alampur resemble the style of Pattadakal, Aihole style as they were Karnata Dravida, Vesara style native to Karnataka.<ref name="Michell2013p319">{{cite book|author=George Michell|title=Southern India: A Guide to Monuments Sites & Museums |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GdBbBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT319|year=2013|publisher=Roli Books |isbn=978-81-7436-903-1|pages=318–321}}</ref>

The temples are significant for their east-facing simple square plans, intricate carvings of themes of Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism. They also contain early examples of friezes that narrate legends from Hindu texts such as the ''[[Panchatantra]]'' fables.<ref>{{cite book|author=Marijke J. Klokke|title=Narrative Sculpture and Literary Traditions in South and Southeast Asia|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fx3mpR4uKmkC&pg=PA94|year=2000|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-11865-9|pages=78–82}}</ref> The temples were a significant influence on the later era Kakatiya Hindu temples.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Madhusudan A. Dhaky|author2=American Institute of Indian Studies|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian temple architecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TXIYAQAAMAAJ |year=1996| publisher=American Institute of Indian Studies|isbn=978-81-86526-00-2|pages=423, 447}}</ref>

These temples were built by the [[Badami Chalukyas]] rulers, and early 8th-century inscriptions found at the site suggest that the site also had a Shaiva ''[[matha]]'' (Hindu monastery) which has not survived.<ref name="Prasad1983p9">{{cite book|author=B. Rajendra Prasad|title=Chalukyan Temples of Andhradesa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9cxI2KZzekC |year=1983|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-0-391-02853-1|pages=8–9}}</ref> Their ruins have been restored by the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] after 1980.<ref name=alampurflood/><ref>[https://archive.today/20130103173221/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-10-14/hyderabad/28093335_1_temples-asi-flood-waters ASI yet to assess damage to Kurnool structures – Times Of India<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

The Alampuram Navabrahma temples were badly damaged and defaced during the Islamic invasion of this region in and after the 14th century.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Andhra Pradesh Journal of Archaeology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OBJuAAAAMAAJ|year=1984|publisher=Director of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Andhra Pradesh|pages=80–81}}</ref><ref name="Reddy2006">{{cite book|author=Pedarapu Chenna Reddy|title=Readings in Society and Religion of Medieval South India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qJXXAAAAMAAJ|year=2006|publisher=University of Hyderabad, Research Press|isbn=978-81-89131-04-3|pages=99–100}}</ref><ref name=alampurflood>{{cite news | url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/08/stories/2009100856160400.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010030347/http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/08/stories/2009100856160400.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=10 October 2009 | newspaper=[[The Hindu]] | title=Alampur surfaces after six days | date=8 October 2009}}</ref> A series of religious wars and conquest led to the construction of an Islamic fort, a mosque and a graveyard called Shah Ali Pedda Dargah being built midst the Navabrahma temples over the 15th to 17th centuries. This construction was completed in part using the temple walls and ruined masonry from the temples, according to [[Ghulam Yazdani]] – an archaeologist who surveyed these temples and the Islamic monuments among them in 1926–27 for the Nizam of Hyderabad.<ref name=yazdani8/> The Hindus abandoned worship in temples in immediate vicinity of these Sultanate-era additions.<ref name=yazdani8>Ghulam Yazdani (1929), ''Annual Report of the Archaeological Department of His Exalted Highness the Nizam's Dominions for 1336 F (1926-1927 AD)'', Archaeological Department of Hyderabad, Baptist Mission Press, pp. 8–11; for contemporary image, see [https://web.archive.org/web/20210216113353/https://heritage.telangana.gov.in/monuments/muslim-fort-and-shah-alis-dargah/ Muslim Fort and Shah Ali’s Dargah, 17th Century CE]</ref>

==Location==
The Alampuram Navabrahma temples are located in the Telangana town of Alampuram, close to the Tungabhadra river. It is {{convert|215|km}} south of [[Hyderabad]], connected by the four-lane National Highway 44 (Asian Highway 43), and about {{convert|240|km}} northeast of [[Hampi]] monuments and {{convert|325|km}} east of [[Badami]], the capital of the kings who are credited with building it in the 7th century.<ref name="Michell2013p319"/>

==History==
===Sangameswara Temple===
The Sangameswara Temple was originally built at [https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/Kudavelly,+Telangana/@15.9604768,78.2183162,14.26z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x3bb5ec4515c6ec87:0xbb4366f68037a998!8m2!3d15.9599803!4d78.2333743 Kudavelly], by the [[confluence]] (sangam) of two major sacred rivers of ancient importance, the Tungabhadra and Krishna.<ref name="Michell2013p319"/> Sangameswara comes from the word Sangam meaning confluence of two or more rivers.  The Sangameswara Temple was constructed by [[Pulakeshin I|Pulakesi I]] ( 540 CE to  566 CE), in a similar style to the Navabrahma Temples. Based on inscriptional evidence such as the Tummayaneru grant, Sarma dates the temple to pre-Chalukya era when Navabrahma temples were built.<ref name="Gupta2000p169"/> Odile Divakaran states that the Sangameswara temple at Kudaveli was not an earlier monument, but was built along with the nine Navabrahma temples, likely in the middle of the 7th century.<ref>Odile Divakaran (1971), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/43484516 Les temples d'Ālampur et de ses environs au temps des Cāḷukya de Bādāmi], Arts Asiatiques, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 72-73</ref> According to Sarma, new inscriptions found in the 1980s at the Arka Brahma and Bala Brahma temples mention a pre-existing ''mahadevayatana'' or main temple with linga, the Sangameswara Temple.<ref name="Gupta2000p169"/>

The Sangameswara Temple has been moved to near the Navabrahma temples, as its original site built at [https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/Kudavelly,+Telangana/@15.9604768,78.2183162,14.26z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x3bb5ec4515c6ec87:0xbb4366f68037a998!8m2!3d15.9599803!4d78.2333743 Kudavelly], some 20&nbsp;km away, is now flooded by the [[Srisailam Dam]] hydroelectric project. The Sangameswara temple transplantation was completed by January 1990.<ref name="Gupta2000p169">{{cite book|author=IK Sarma|editor=Harsh K. Gupta|title=Deccan Heritage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8830KZLvkYsC&pg=PA169|year=2000|publisher=Universities Press|isbn=978-81-7371-285-2|pages=169–192}}</ref>

===Navabrahma temples===
As the [[Badami Chalukyas|Badami Chalukyan]] kingdom became well established, its rulers sponsored the distinct [[Badami Chalukya architecture]] style of [[Hindu temple architecture]] in [[Aihole]], [[Badami]], Alampur and later [[Pattadakal]]. The nine temples at this site reflect some of the early Nagara style of Hindu temples that have partially survived for scholarly studies.<ref>{{cite book|author=Marijke J. Klokke|title=Narrative Sculpture and Literary Traditions in South and Southeast Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fx3mpR4uKmkC&pg=PA94|year=2000|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-11865-9|pages=94–95}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=B. Rajendra Prasad|title=Chalukyan Temples of Andhradesa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9cxI2KZzekC |year=1983 |publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-0-391-02853-1|pages=12–29}}</ref> The uniqueness of this group of temples lies in their plan and design in the northern architectural style introduced by the Chalukyas of Badami in the 7th century.

==Description==
The temples are emblematic of the Northern Indian Nagara style of architecture.<ref name="Michell2013p319"/> The Navabrahma temples are present on the left bank of the [[Tungabhadra River]], enclosed in a courtyard.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://mahabubnagar.nic.in/TourismNew.php?t=1 |title=Mahabubnagar-NIC |access-date=14 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403074857/http://mahabubnagar.nic.in/TourismNew.php?t=1 |archive-date=3 April 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The temples have a square plan that follow the ''vastupurushamandala'' architecture. A square sanctum is surrounded by a covered circumambulation path and a Rekha-nagara style curvilinear square shikara towers above the sanctum of each temple. The tower is capped by an amla and a kalasha, though in some cases this has not survived. In front of each sanctum is a mandapa.<ref name=odile51>Odile Divakaran (1971), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/43484516 Les temples d'Ālampur et de ses environs au temps des Cāḷukya de Bādāmi], Arts Asiatiques, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 51-101</ref>

*Taraka Brahma: This is an unusual early stage Hindu temple because it has a multistorey tower and for carving deities into the ceiling, suggesting that the artisans were experimenting and exploring novel construction ideas in stone temples by the 7th century.<ref name=odile51/><ref name=michell319/> This temple, as others, incorporates 6th-7th century CE Telugu and Kannada inscriptions.
[[File:7th century Svarga Brahma Hindu temple plan, Alampur Telangana India.svg|thumb|Svarga Brahma temple plan.<ref name=michell67>{{cite book|author=George Michell|title=The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ajgImLs62gwC |year=1977|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-53230-1|pages=66–67}}</ref>]]
*Svarga Brahma: Swarga Brahma temple  was built during 681-696 AD or the Vinayaditya era.<ref name=prasad23/> An inscription found in the temple states that Lokaditya Ela Arasa built it in the honour of the queen.<ref name=michell319/><ref name=prasad23/> It is an example of [[Badami Chalukya Architecture]] and sculpture. This temple is the most elaborately ornamented temple.<ref name=michell319/><ref name=prasad23/> Its square plan is simple, and it includes a ''mukhachatuski'', a ''gudhamandapa'', an ''antarala'' and a ''garbhagriya''.<ref name=michell67/><ref name=prasad23/> It has a porch in front with fluted shafts and foliage motifs. It has a pair of dikpalas (directional guardians) in each corner of the temple. The temple shows two [[Nataraja]] (dancing Shiva), one Lingobhava (Shiva emerging from a linga), one Dakshinamurti (Shiva in yoga position as a teacher sitting under a tree). The temple also has common life scenes, as well as amorous couples in various stages of courtship and kama.<ref name=michell319/><ref name=prasad23/> The temple has friezes showing four fables from the ''Panchatantra'', along with a Sanskrit inscription below that summarizes the moral of each fable.<ref>{{cite book|author=Marijke J. Klokke|title=Narrative Sculpture and Literary Traditions in South and Southeast Asia|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fx3mpR4uKmkC |year=2000|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-11865-9|pages=81–82}}</ref><ref name=prasad23>{{cite book|author=B. Rajendra Prasad|title=Chalukyan Temples of Andhradesa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9cxI2KZzekC |year=1983|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-0-391-02853-1|pages=23–27}}</ref> One of its niches has a sculpture narrating the Vamana-[[Trivikrama]] legend of [[Vishnu]].<ref name="Harle1994p185">{{cite book|author=James C. Harle|title=The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent|url=https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl|url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-06217-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl/page/185 185]–187 with Figure 140}}</ref>
{{Gallery
|title=Svarga Brahma temple
|width=160
|height=170
|align=center
|File:704 CE Svarga Brahma Temple, Alampur Navabrahma, Telangana India - 1.jpg|Temple overview
|File:704 CE Svarga Brahma Temple, Alampur Navabrahma, Telangana India - 71.jpg|Mandapa and pillars inside
|File:704 CE Svarga Brahma Temple, Alampur Navabrahma, Telangana India - 02.jpg|Outer walls include reliefs of Vedic and Puranic deities. Above: Indra.
|File:704 CE Svarga Brahma Temple, Alampur Navabrahma, Telangana India - 27.jpg|Amorous couple, kama scene on outer wall
}}
* Padma Brahma is probably the last temple to be built in the group, one with an incomplete tower rather than a destroyed tower structure. It has no entrance porch, but displays the most complex pediment designs.<ref name=michell319/> Padma Brahma temple has a polished stone sculpture of Shivalinga.
* Bala Brahma: The Bala Brahma temple is likely the second oldest here, likely completed by about 650 CE.<ref>Odile Divakaran (1971), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/43484516 Les temples d'Ālampur et de ses environs au temps des Cāḷukya de Bādāmi], Arts Asiatiques, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 72-74</ref> It has Sanskrit inscriptions in early Telugu script, one of which can be dated to 702 CE. The temple has Shaktism themes represented with the sculptures of Saptamatrikas (seven mothers).<ref name=michell319/> It is an active house of Hindu worship in contemporary times. Shivaratri is celebrated in this temple every year.
{{Gallery
|title=Bala Brahma temple
|width=160
|height=170
|align=center
|File:7th century Bala Brahma Temple, Navabrahma group, Alampur, Telangana India - 1.jpg|Nagara-style shikara
|File:7th century Bala Brahma Temple, Navabrahma group, Alampur, Telangana India - 49.jpg|Outer covered hall
|File:7th century Bala Brahma Temple, Navabrahma group, Alampur, Telangana India - 39.jpg|Mandapam with original pillar and modern era floor
|File:7th century Bala Brahma Temple, Navabrahma group, Alampur, Telangana India - 4.jpg|Durga on two lions, mid 7th-century
}}
* Garuda Brahma has the same plan as the Vishwa Brahma temple, but it lacks the latter's intricate carving. It includes a flying Garuda, the vahana of Vishnu, suggestive of the likelihood that the temple once included a sculpture of Vishnu.<ref name=michell319/>
{{Gallery
|title=Garuda Brahma temple
|width=160
|height=170
|align=center
|File:7th 8th century Garuda Brahma Temple, Navabrahma group, Alampur, Telangana India - 70.jpg|Temple overview
|File:7th 8th century Garuda Brahma Temple, Navabrahma group, Alampur, Telangana India - 55.jpg|Stone mesh window
|File:7th 8th century Garuda Brahma Temple, Navabrahma group, Alampur, Telangana India - 62.jpg|Gandharvas outer walls
|File:7th 8th century Garuda Brahma Temple, Navabrahma group, Alampur, Telangana India - 21.jpg|Defaced goddess Ganga, entrance
}}
* Kumara Brahma is probably the earliest temple built, and like others stands on a jagati (platform).<ref name="Prasad1983p12">{{cite book|author=B. Rajendra Prasad|title=Chalukyan Temples of Andhradesa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9cxI2KZzekC |year=1983|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-0-391-02853-1|pages=12–15}}</ref> The outer walls provide a perforated screen to let natural light come into the circumambulation path. The pillars and beams in the ceiling are all carved with miniature figures and ''mayura'' (peacock) motifs.<ref name=michell319/> The tower is divided into venukosha, uccheda and madhyalata, with the Sikhara of tribhuni class of design. The pillars inside the mandapa have amorous couples in [[mithuna]] scenes. The sanctum doorway is flanked by Ganga and Yamuna goddesses, as well as two dvarapalas.<ref name="Prasad1983p12"/>
{{Gallery
|title=Kumara Brahma temple
|width=160
|height=170
|align=center
|File:7th century Kumara Brahma Temple, Alampur Navabrahma, Telangana India - 02.jpg|Temple overview
|File:Kumara Brahma Temple, Alampur Navabrahma, Telangana India - 25.jpg|Pillar relief inside
|File:7th century Kumara Brahma Temple, Alampur Navabrahma, Telangana India - 20.jpg|Saptamatrikas and Ganesha monolith, Inscription above them
|File:7th century Kumara Brahma Temple, Alampur Navabrahma, Telangana India - 33.jpg|Mahisasuramardini
}}
[[File:Arka Brahmeswara Swamy Temple.jpg|thumb|Arka Brahma temple is largely defaced and damaged.]]
* Arka Brahma temple is a mostly ruined temple.<ref name=michell319/> The temple art has been defaced, with only remnants of Ganga and Yamuna goddesses visible on the entrance of the sanctum. There is an inscription in the Siddhamatrika script which in most cases are likely the names of the artists who worked on specific sculpture (now missing), and these are in Kannada and Telugu languages.<ref name="Prasad1983p16">{{cite book|author=B. Rajendra Prasad|title=Chalukyan Temples of Andhradesa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9cxI2KZzekC |year=1983|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-0-391-02853-1|pages=16–17}}</ref>
* Veera Brahma Temple is a simpler, much damaged temple in the group. It has a gudha-mandapa, antarala and a garbhagriya.<ref name="Prasad1983p17">{{cite book|author=B. Rajendra Prasad|title=Chalukyan Temples of Andhradesa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9cxI2KZzekC |year=1983|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-0-391-02853-1|pages=17–20}}</ref> The outer walls of the temple are sectioned by pairs of pilasters into projecting niches but the artwork in these have not survived. The tower above the sanctum has projections in its center.<ref name=michell319>{{cite book|author=George Michell|title=Southern India: A Guide to Monuments Sites & Museums |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GdBbBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT319|year=2013|publisher=Roli Books |isbn=978-81-7436-903-1|pages=319–320}}</ref>
* Vishva Brahma temple is the northmost and an intricately carved temple with its niches and windows featuring complex designs around them. The foundational platform is also carved with musicians, dancers, foliage, birds, geese and ganas. The temple pillars inside the mandapa have fluted shafts above seated lions, while the capital is ribbed kalasha shaped.<ref name=michell319/> The temple also has sculptural scenes from the Hindu epics as well as the ''Panchatantra''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Marijke J. Klokke|title=Narrative Sculpture and Literary Traditions in South and Southeast Asia|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fx3mpR4uKmkC |year=2000|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-11865-9|pages=78–79}}</ref>
{{Gallery
|title=Vishwa Brahma temple
|width=160
|height=170
|align=center
|File:7th century Vishwa Brahma Temples, Alampur, Telangana India - 3.jpg|Temple overview
|File:7th century Vishwa Brahma Temples, Alampur, Telangana India - 43.jpg|Pillar carvings inside
|File:7th century Vishwa Brahma Temples, Alampur, Telangana India - 25.jpg|Gangadhara in the west portico outside
|File:7th century Vishwa Brahma Temples, Alampur, Telangana India - 50.jpg|Hanuman and the ''Ramayana'' legend
}}

There is an ASI museum near this group of temples. It shows ruins recovered at the site, with remnants of a Durga in Mhishasura-mardini form, a Lajja-Gauri, a Nataraja Shiva which George Michell calls a "masterpiece of refined sculpture", a polished Nandi statue with Shiva and Parvati riding it.<ref name=odile51/><ref name=michell319/> The museum also has ruins of reliefs that narrate Hindu epics and other texts such as the ''Panchatantra''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Marijke J. Klokke|title=Narrative Sculpture and Literary Traditions in South and Southeast Asia|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fx3mpR4uKmkC |year=2000|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-11865-9|pages=94–95}}</ref>

===ASI protection and relocation===
The Alampuram temples are listed as an archaeological and architectural treasure on the official "List of Monuments" prepared by the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] under The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alphabetical List of Monuments - Andhra Pradesh |publisher=[[Archaeological Survey of India]] |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_andhra.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625052615/http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_andhra.asp |archive-date=2014-06-25 |url-status=dead |access-date=2017-11-27 }}</ref> Some temples at the Alampur site came under submergence due to the building of Sri Sailam Hydro-electric Project, the threatened ancient and medieval era monuments along with the Sangameswara temple were relocated to a higher place, west and southwest of the Navabrahma temples.<ref>{{cite book|author=N. L. Batra|title=Heritage conservation: preservation and restoration of monuments|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2OBtAAAAMAAJ|year=1996|publisher=Aryan |isbn=978-81-7305-108-1|page=39}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Government of Andhra Pradesh|title=Alampur, Mahboobnagar District, Andhra Pradesh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NorXAAAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Government of Andhra Pradesh Publications|page=92}}</ref> The latter was transplanted near the [[Alampur Papanasi Temples]].{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}

==Nearby temples==
Alampur was an important pilgrimage site for the Hindus well after the 8th century as evidenced by the inscriptions and nearby major complex of temples. The Papanasam group of Hindu temples built in the 9th and 10th centuries are about {{convert|1.5|km}} southwest from the Navabrahma temple site.<ref name=odile51/><ref name=michell319/> There are other temples like Suryanarayana temple dating back to 9th century. The Narasimha temple has inscriptions from the Sri Krishna Devaraya (Vijayanagar Empire) era.<ref>{{cite book|author=B. Rajendra Prasad|title=Chalukyan Temples of Andhradesa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9cxI2KZzekC |year=1983 |publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-0-391-02853-1|pages=17–29}}</ref>

==See also==
{{commons category}}
*[[Alampur Museum|Alampuram Museum]]
*[[Alampur Papanasi Temples|Alampuram Papanasi Temples]]
*[[Aihole]]
*[[Pattadakal]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
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*{{cite book|author=Adam Hardy|title=The Temple Architecture of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ofUVAQAAIAAJ |year=2007|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-0470028278}}
*{{cite book|author=Adam Hardy|title=Theory and Practice of Temple Architecture in Medieval India: Bhoja's Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra and the Bhojpur Line Drawings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_oADrgEACAAJ|year=2015|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts|isbn=978-93-81406-41-0}}
*Harle, J.C., ''The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent'', 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, {{ISBN|0300062176}}
*{{cite book|author=Monica Juneja|title=Architecture in Medieval India: Forms, Contexts, Histories|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7N7VAAAAMAAJ|year=2001|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-8178242286}}
*{{cite book|author=Stella Kramrisch|title=The Hindu Temple Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NNcXrBlI9S0C|year= 1976|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass (Reprinted 1946 Princeton University Press)|isbn=978-81-208-0223-0}}
*{{cite book|author=Stella Kramrisch|title=The Hindu Temple Volume 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8-aS52MgIkMC|year= 1979|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass (Reprinted 1946 Princeton University Press)|isbn=978-81-208-0224-7}}
*{{cite book|author1=Michael W. Meister|author2=Madhusudan Dhaky|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian temple architecture|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=DRY3AQAAIAAJ|year=1986|publisher=American Institute of Indian Studies|isbn=978-0-8122-7992-4}}
*{{cite book|author=George Michell|title=The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ajgImLs62gwC|year=1988|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-53230-1}}
*{{cite book|author=George Michell|title=Hindu Art and Architecture|url=https://archive.org/details/hinduartarchitec00mich|url-access=registration|year=2000|publisher=Thames & Hudson|isbn=978-0-500-20337-8}}
*{{cite book|author=T. A. Gopinatha Rao|title=Elements of Hindu iconography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MJD-KresBwIC |year=1993 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0878-2}}
*{{cite book|author=Ajay J. Sinha|title=Imagining Architects: Creativity in the Religious Monuments of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WvqLzaSUGi8C |year=2000|publisher=University of Delaware Press|isbn=978-0-87413-684-5}}
*{{cite book|title=South Indian Temples|author=Burton Stein|isbn=978-0706904499|publisher =Vikas|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Hq5BngAACAAJ| year=1978}}
*{{cite book|author=Burton Stein|title=The New Cambridge History of India: Vijayanagara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OpxeaYQbGDMC|year=1989|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-26693-2}}
*{{cite book|author1=Burton Stein|author2=David Arnold|title=A History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QY4zdTDwMAQC|year=2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-2351-1}}
*{{cite book|author=Kapila Vatsyayan|title=The Square and the Circle of the Indian Arts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vwLJc3pBzzUC&pg=PR10|year=1997|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-362-5}}

==External links==
*[https://www.jstor.org/stable/44145180 Ten Mahishasuramardani Icons from Alampur], M Radhakrishna Sharma
*[https://www.jstor.org/stable/3250134 Doorframes on the Earliest Orissan Temples], Thomas Donaldson
{{Hindu Temples in Telangana}}{{Hindudharma}}
{{Hindu inscriptions and arts|state=autocollapse}}

[[Category:Hindu temples in Mahbubnagar district]]
[[Category:Indian architectural history]]
[[Category:Shiva temples in Telangana]]
[[Category:Hindu pilgrimage sites in India]]
[[Category:Chalukya dynasty]]
[[Category:Hindu temple architecture]]
[[Category:Rock-cut architecture of India]]
[[Category:Hindu temples sacked in the Muslim period in the Indian subcontinent]]
[[Category:Monuments of National Importance in Telangana]]