ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I examine the most prominent rock-reliefs at the site of Badami that are carved on a colossal boulder located at the eastern end of Badami’s Agastya tank. Depicted on this rock are a series of Hindu deities: Varaha, Ganesha, the trimurti (i.e., Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu), Durga Mahisasuramardini, and Narasimha. Nagas (serpent deities) are also carved on this rock, as well as many linga-shrines. Given the plethora of caves and temples at the site, why carve images on a boulder and why carve these specific deities and temple forms? Were these images worshipped in similar ways as enshrined deities at the site, or might they serve other purposes? In contrast to other scholarly approaches to Badami which tend to focus on the roles of the political elite, I am interested in how these rock-reliefs might shed light on the site’s larger cultural and devotional landscapes. In my examinations of these rock-reliefs, I argue that they form a dialogue with other monuments at the site, and that this dialogue reflects the interests of a diverse social base that includes many voices—artists, local residents, ascetics, and agrarian communities.
