The South Fort is inaccessible to general public as the path to the top of the fort has been locked. Unlike the temples and other structures on the North Fort, the south fort does not have much, except for a sentry point and a cannon.
The famous rock cut caves of Badami are located in the South Fort and are the prime tourist attraction in Badami.
Cave 1 – Shiva Cave
Dedicated to Lord Shiva, this cave is probably the oldest of the four caves and contains the imposing sculpture of 18 handed Shiva doing the cosmic dance.
The other important carving are the life size images of Harihara, Ardhanareeshvara & beautiful ceiling carving of Nagaraja.
Cave 2 – Vishnu Cave
Dedicated to Vishnu as Trivikrama, this cave is generaly considered to be a smaller replica of cave 3.
Cave 3 – Vishnu Cave
The biggest and the best of the caves, this caved dedicated to Lord Vishnu was built by early chalukyan king Mangalesha in 578 CE. The larger than life figures of Trivikrama, Paravasudeva, Bhuvaraha, Harihara and Narasimha are the standout features of this cave.
Cave 4 – Jain Cave
Probably built in the 8th century, this cave is primarily a Jain cave with images of various Jain thirthankaras and Mahavira.
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This is a sub post in the Explore Badami post. Please do read the main post for more information.
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