Aihole Inscription: In Praise of the Chalukyas of Badami

Most tourists who visit Aihole, a temple town in Karnataka, climb the 100-odd steps to the Meguti Jain temple to catch the spectacular sunset from the hilltop. It never disappoints. But there’s another reason this ancient shrine is important.

Plum in the middle of the wall connecting the mandapa (assembly hall) and the garbagriha (sanctum sanctorum) is a 19-line inscription that speaks of the conquests of Pulakeshin II, one of the most prominent Kings in Southern India in the 7th CE. He presided over the dynasty of the Chalukyas of Badami.