Cave 2 of Badami cave temples has several sculptures of Lord Vishnu. At the entrance there are two door keepers Padma-nidhi (to the east, with lotus) and Skanda-nidhi (to the west, with conch). East and West walls have large images of Bhuvaraha and Trivikrama. On the ceiling there are images engraved Ananthashayana, Bramha, Vishnu, Shiva and Asthadikpalakas.
Each of the doormen wears snake-bracelets. On the western wall stands Vishnu in Vamana avatar - The Dwarf who had approached King Bali for a gift of land. Below that image we see a Brahman who pours water. Lord Vishnu appears with eight arms when assistants of Bali`s try to attack him.
On the eastern wall there is sculptural relief of Vishnu in Varah avatar. When asura Hiranyaksha had taken the goddess Earth to the netherworld, Vishnu wanted to bring her back. Here Goddess Earth is shown standing on a lotus in left hand of Vishnu. Vishnu is shown here in a typical pratyallah pose, walking to the left, making the scene quite dynamic. Below that there is a five-hooded snake who is shown worshipping Lord Vishnu. The sculptural reliefs with scenes from the life of Krishna, on the top-sections of the pillars are noteworthy. Their architecture is a mixture of North Indian Nagara Style architecture and South Indian Dravidian style architecture.
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