Which of the following temples has/have a Nagara-style shikhara?
- 1.Malegitti Shivalaya, Badami
- 2.Huchimalligudi Temple, Aihole
- 3.Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh
- 4.Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal
Select the answer using the code given below:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 2 and 3
A Nagara shikhara is the northern, curving (rekha) tower. The Huchimalligudi at Aihole has a northern rekhanagara tower and the Deogarh temple has an early curvilinear latina shikhara, while the Malegitti Shivalaya and the Virupaksha temple carry southern Dravida towers.
- ✗ 1. The Malegitti Shivalaya on the Badami hill, an early Chalukyan temple, is built of finely jointed stone and topped by a Dravidian tower.
- ✓ 2. The sanctum of the Huchimalligudi at Aihole has a northern-style rekhanagara tower; it is also the temple where a vestibule before the sanctum first appears.
- ✓ 3. The early sixth-century Gupta-period temple at Deogarh (Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh) has a tall curving rekha-prasada shikhara, an early example of the classic Nagara style.
- ✗ 4. The Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal, built by Queen Lokamahadevi (c. 740), is in the southern Dravida style and is the largest temple in the group.
Remember · Chalukyan sites mix styles: Aihole's Huchimalligudi and Durga temples have rekhanagara towers; Badami's Malegitti Shivalaya and Pattadakal's Virupaksha are Dravida.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Ch 6 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 11 · An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Chapter 6 “The presence of this curving latina or rekha-prasada type of shikhara also makes it clear that this is an early example of a classic nagara style of temple.”
- Bagalkot District (Govt. of Karnataka), Aihole ↗ “The sanctum has a northern style “Rekhanagara” tower over it. The vestibule in front of the sanctum was introduced for the first time here.”
- Bagalkot District (Govt. of Karnataka), Badami ↗ “Placed on the summit of a rocky hill, the temple is built of stone, finely joined without mortar, & with Dravidian tower.”
- Bagalkot District (Govt. of Karnataka), Pattadakal ↗ “Built in the southern Dravida style, it is the largest temple in the enclosure.”
Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·