Pattadakal, Karnataka · 15.9480°, 75.8168°
Crowning monument of Pattadakal, the Chalukya coronation city where northern Nagara and southern Dravida temple styles were built side by side — a laboratory of Indian architecture, UNESCO-listed since 1987. Built by queen Lokamahadevi to celebrate Vikramaditya II's triple victory over the Pallavas of Kanchi.
The temple deliberately answers Kanchipuram's Kailasanathar, whose builders' guild the victorious Chalukyas are believed to have brought north — conquest expressed as architecture rather than destruction; it later served as the model for the rock-cut Kailasa at Ellora.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Chalukya (Badami)