The Mahakuta group of temples

The Mahakuta group of temples is an important place of worship for Hindus and the location of a well-known Shaiva monastery.The temples are dated to the 6th or 7th century and were constructed by the early kings of the Chalukyas.The dating of the temples is based on the style of architecture which is similar.the information in two notable inscriptions in the complex the Mahakuta Pillar inscription dated between 595–602 A.D (written in theSanskrit language and Kannada script) and an inscription of Vinapoti, a concubine of king Vijayaditya, dated between 696–733 CE and written in the Kannada language and script.

The most important temple here is the Mahakuteswara Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. It has a Shiva Linga in the shrine topped by a curvilinear tower. It is built in the Dravidian style. In the temple courtyard, there are several other small temples. There is a Nandi in front. The wall niches are decorated with carvings of various forms of Lord Shiva.

The Mallikarjuna temple on the other side of the tank is very similar to the Mahakuteswara temple. It has beautiful carvings on the walls and on the ceilings.

A natural mountain spring flows within the temple complex and feeds fresh water into a large tank called the Vishnu Pushkarni and an ablution tank called Papavinasha Tirtha . Among the several shrines in the complex,the Mahakutesvara temple, built in the dravida style, and the Mallikarjuna temple are the largest.There is a small shrine in the centre of the Vishnu Pushkarni tank and in it is a Shiva linga  called Panchamukha linga .one face for each direction.

 Inscriptions in  Mahakuta 

The Mahakuta complex has provided historians with two important 7th century inscriptions. The Mahakuta Pillar inscription, dated variously between 595–602 A.D records a grant made by Durlabhadevi, a queen of Pulakesi I.The queen supplemented an earlier grant with an endowment of ten villages, including Pattadakal and Aihole to god Mahkutesvara Natha. In addition, the inscription provides important information about the Chalukyan lineage, their military expeditions, their conquests and early monuments. The pillar goes by the nameDharma-jayastambha  and is on exhibition at a Bijapur archaeological museum. The other inscription, ascribed to Vinapoti, king Vijayaditya's concubine, is inscribed in the porch of the Mahakutesvara temple. It describes a grant of rubies and a silver umbrella to the deity Mahakutesvara in addition to a piece of land.