Aspirant Academy
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RAS question

The group of temples at Pattadakal (Karnataka) belong to which dynasty?

Correct answer: (B) Chalukyas of Badami.

The group of temples at Pattadakal in Karnataka belongs to the Chalukyas of Badami.

  1. (A)

    Pallavas

  2. (B)

    Chalukyas of Badami

  3. (C)

    Rashtrakutas

  4. (D)

    Hoysalas

Explanation

Pattadakal is identified with Chalukyan architectural activity, so the dynasty being tested is the Chalukyas of Badami. The ASI notes that Chalukyan rulers were major patrons of art and that, in their period, temple building moved from rock-cut work towards structural temples. Pattadakal’s importance also lies in style: its temples show a blending of Rekha, Nagara, Prasada and Dravida Vimana forms, matching the standard explanation that the site combines northern and southern temple traditions. The group is dated mainly to the 7th-8th century, includes ten temples, and is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Virupaksha Temple is linked in the explanation to Queen Lokamahadevi and Vikramaditya II’s victory over the Pallavas.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) The Pallavas are associated here as the defeated power remembered by Vikramaditya II’s victory, not as the dynasty to which the Pattadakal temple group belongs.
  • (C) The Rashtrakutas are linked with the Kailasa temple at Ellora, while Pattadakal’s core temple group is described as Chalukyan.
  • (D) The Hoysalas are associated with later temple centres such as Belur and Halebidu, not the Chalukyan group at Pattadakal.

Concept

This tests early medieval temple architecture and dynastic attribution, especially how RAS asks monuments through patronage, style and site-location clues. Pattadakal recurs because it links the Chalukyas of Badami with both Nagara and Dravida traditions in one high-yield World Heritage site.

Source

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