Pappanatha Temple was built by the Chalukyas of Badami and according to inscriptions seems to have been completed around 740 A.D. There is a slight change in the architectural style. This is visible in its narrow circumambulatory path whose floor slabs conceal the external moulding of the Garbhagriha walls and the buttress like projections of the north and south garbhagriha walls into the ardha-mandapa. Initially it was started in Nagara (Indo-Aryan) style however later it changed to Dravidian style.

The sculptures made here are from Hindu epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. There are many similarities to Navabrahma temples in Alampur in Andhra Pradesh. This temple was an attempt to develop the northern style of architecture which was however abandoned in favour of Dravidian or Pallava style.

This article is a stub. You can enrich by adding more information to it. Send your Write Up to content@indianetzone.com