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Art & CultureNCERT Class 11 · An Introduction to Indian Art

Later Mural Traditions

How Indian mural painting survived and evolved after Ajanta — carried across South India by the Chalukya, Pallava, Pandya, Chola, Vijayanagara, Nayaka and Kerala schools through centuries of royal and temple patronage.

⏱ 7 min readGS-I7 sections5 memory tricks
Why this matters for UPSC

Art & Culture is a high-yield Prelims zone, and 'Later Mural Traditions' is a classic match-the-following bank pairing dynasties, temples, patrons and painting themes (Badami, Sittanvasal, Brihadeswara, Hampi, Lepakshi, Kerala palaces). In Mains it feeds GS-I 'Indian heritage, salient aspects of art forms and architecture' and essay material on cultural continuity and royal patronage. UNESCO and ASI linkages add value across both.

Understand the chapter

Post-Ajanta Context: Murals Move South

After Ajanta, very few painted sites survived, but the cave-excavation tradition continued, with sculpting and painting done simultaneously and even sculptures plastered and painted. The mural tradition shifted into the Deccan and the far South under successive dynasties. Across roughly the 6th to 18th centuries, royal and temple patronage carried wall painting from Badami down to Kerala.

  • Sculptures too were plastered and painted — not an either/or with painting.
  • Continuity, not rupture: Ajanta-style modelling echoes in later faces.
  • Common driver throughout = royal and temple patronage.

Badami: The Chalukya 'Vishnu Cave'

Badami in Karnataka was the early Chalukya capital (543–598 CE), the dynasty that filled the vacuum left by the declining Vakatakas in the Deccan. King Mangalesha — younger son of Pulakesi I and brother of Kirtivarman I — patronised the cave excavations. Cave No. 4's inscription (578–579 CE) dedicates an image of Vishnu and records the patron's Vaishnava affiliation, so it is popularly called the Vishnu Cave.

  • Only a fragment survives, on the vaulted roof of the front mandapa.
  • Theme: palace scene — Kirtivarman with his queen and feudatories watching a dance; Indra and retinue in the corner.
  • Style extends Ajanta murals: sinuous lines, fluid forms, volume from simple lines; half-closed eyes, protruding lips.

Pallava and Pandya Murals (Tamil Nadu)

The Pallavas succeeded the Chalukyas in parts of the South and were keen art patrons. Mahendravarman I (7th century) built temples at Panamalai, Mandagapattu and Kanchipuram, and the Mandagapattu inscription flaunts his art titles. Under the Pandyas, the Jaina caves at Sittanvasal (early Pandya, 9th century) and Tirumalaipuram preserve delicate ceiling, veranda and pillar paintings.

  • Kanchipuram: patron Rajsimha; theme Somaskanda; round, large faces with more ornamentation.
  • Sittanvasal: celestial dancing nymphs, contours in vermilion red on a light ground, bodies in yellow; elongated, protruding eyes.
  • Panamalai: a gracefully drawn figure of a female divinity (Devi, 7th century).

Chola Murals: Brihadeswara

The Cholas ruled c. 9th–13th centuries and reached their zenith in the 11th century, when their greatest art and architecture appeared. The grand temples are Brihadeswara at Thanjavur (Rajaraja), Gangaikonda Cholapuram (Rajendra) and Darasuram (Rajaraja II). Brihadeswara's finest murals run along the narrow passage around the shrine and were found hidden beneath a later Nayak overpainting.

  • Two layers: upper = Nayak (16th century); lower = Chola, revealed after surface cleaning.
  • Themes: Shiva in Kailash, Tripurantaka, Nataraja; portrait of patron Rajaraja with his mentor Kuruvar.
  • Chola murals also occur at Nartamalai.

Vijayanagara Murals: Hampi and Lepakshi

After the Cholas declined in the 13th century, the Vijayanagara Dynasty (14th–16th centuries) ruled the region from Hampi to Trichy, with Hampi as capital. The Virupaksha temple ceiling at Hampi narrates dynastic history and epic episodes, while Lepakshi (in present Andhra Pradesh) preserves glorious Shiva-temple murals. Vijayanagara painters fixed a flat, codified pictorial language adopted across South India.

  • Convention: faces in profile, large frontal eyes, two-dimensional figures, narrow waists, rectilinear compartments.
  • Key panel: Vidyaranya, guru of Bukka Raya, carried in a palanquin procession; also incarnations of Vishnu.
  • Earliest phase: Tiruparakunram murals near Trichy (14th century).

Nayaka Murals (17th–18th centuries)

Nayaka painting is essentially an extension of the Vijayanagara style with minor regional modifications, surviving at Thiruparakunram, Sreerangam, Tiruvarur, Chidambaram and Chengam. Figures stay in profile against flat backgrounds, with slim waists but lighter abdomens than Vijayanagara. Themes broaden to the epics and Krishna-leela.

  • Thiruparakunram has two phases (14th and 17th century); early panels show Vardhaman Mahavira.
  • Chidambaram: Shiva as Bhikshatana Murti, Vishnu as Mohini; Tiruvarur: the Muchukunda story.
  • Chengam (Arcot): 60 Ramayana panels = late Nayaka phase; Nataraja at Tiruvalanjuli.

Kerala Murals and the Living Folk Tradition

Between the 16th and 18th centuries Kerala evolved its own vivid, luminous, three-dimensional idiom, selectively borrowing from the Nayaka and Vijayanagara schools but drawing energy from Kathakali and the ritual floor art kalam ezhuthu. Over sixty sites survive, including three palaces, with narrations from locally popular oral versions of the epics. The chapter closes by noting that domestic wall-painting still thrives across India.

  • Three palaces: Dutch palace (Kochi), Krishnapuram (Kayamkulam), Padmanabhapuram.
  • Mature-phase sites: Pundareekapuram, Panayanarkavu, Thirukodithanam, Triprayar, Trissur Vadakkunathan.
  • Living folk murals: Pithoro (Rajasthan/Gujarat), Mithila (Bihar), Warli (Maharashtra) — often by women.

Key terms

Mural
A painting executed directly on a wall, ceiling or other permanent surface.
Mandapa
Pillared hall or porch of a temple/cave; Badami's surviving fragment is on its front mandapa roof.
Vaishnava affiliation
Religious allegiance to Vishnu, recorded by Badami's patron — hence the 'Vishnu Cave'.
Somaskanda
Iconographic group of Shiva with Parvati (Uma) and child Skanda; the Kanchipuram mural theme.
Tripurantaka
Form of Shiva as destroyer of the three demon cities; a Brihadeswara mural theme.
Kalam ezhuthu
Kerala's ritual floor (powder) painting whose idiom shaped its mural style.
Vichitrachitta
'Curious-minded' — a title of Mahendravarman I signalling his artistic bent.
Chitrakarapuli
'Tiger among painters' — another title of the Pallava king Mahendravarman I.
Vermilion red
The bright pigment used to outline figures in the Sittanvasal murals.

Must-know facts exam-ready

  • Badami (Karnataka) was the early Chalukya capital; the dynasty ruled 543–598 CE after the Vakatakas declined.
  • Mangalesha — younger son of Pulakesi I and brother of Kirtivarman I — patronised the Badami cave excavations.
  • Badami Cave No. 4's inscription is dated 578–579 CE and dedicates a Vishnu image, hence the 'Vishnu Cave'.
  • The Badami mural shows Kirtivarman with his queen and feudatories watching a dance; Indra and his retinue are in the corner.
  • Mahendravarman I (Pallava, 7th century) bore the titles Vichitrachitta, Chitrakarapuli and Chaityakari; he built Panamalai, Mandagapattu and Kanchipuram.
  • Kanchipuram murals were patronised by the Pallava king Rajsimha; the theme is Somaskanda.
  • Sittanvasal = Jaina caves, early Pandya period, 9th century CE; figures are outlined in vermilion red.
  • Cholas ruled 9th–13th centuries, peaking in the 11th; Brihadeswara (Rajaraja), Gangaikonda Cholapuram (Rajendra), Darasuram (Rajaraja II).
  • Brihadeswara has two mural layers — upper Nayak (16th century) over lower Chola; themes include Tripurantaka, Nataraja and Rajaraja with guru Kuruvar.
  • Vijayanagara (14th–16th centuries) ruled from Hampi; the Virupaksha ceiling shows Vidyaranya (guru of Bukka Raya) and epic scenes; Lepakshi lies in present Andhra Pradesh.
  • Kerala murals (16th–18th centuries) drew on Kathakali and kalam ezhuthu; 60+ sites include the Dutch (Kochi), Krishnapuram and Padmanabhapuram palaces.
  • Static link: Brihadeswara, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Darasuram form UNESCO's 'Great Living Chola Temples' and Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, all protected by the ASI (Ministry of Culture) under Article 49 (DPSP) and Article 51A(f) (Fundamental Duty).

Timeline

  1. 543–598 CEEarly Chalukya rule centred at Badami in the Deccan.
  2. 578–579 CEBadami Cave 4 inscription; Vishnu image dedicated (the Vishnu Cave).
  3. 7th century CEPallava Mahendravarman I builds Panamalai, Mandagapattu and Kanchipuram.
  4. 9th century CEPandya-period Jaina murals at Sittanvasal.
  5. 9th–13th centuryChola rule; artistic zenith in the 11th century (Brihadeswara).
  6. 14th–16th centuryVijayanagara murals at Hampi (Virupaksha) and Lepakshi.
  7. 16th centuryNayak overpainting laid over the Chola murals at Brihadeswara.
  8. 16th–18th centuryKerala mural school flourishes alongside Nayaka painting.

Memory tricks remember it for good

'Chai Pe Pakoda Chahiye, Very Nice Khao'
Chalukya → Pallava → Pandya → Chola → Vijayanagara → Nayaka → Kerala.
💡 Fixes the chronological order of South Indian mural patrons/schools, Badami to Kerala.
Mahendravarman's 'VCC' titles
Vichitrachitta (curious-minded), Chitrakarapuli (tiger among painters), Chaityakari (temple builder).
💡 Recalls the Pallava king's three art titles from the Mandagapattu inscription.
Chola temple ladder: 'B-G-D'
Brihadeswara–Rajaraja; Gangaikonda Cholapuram–Rajendra (son); Darasuram–Rajaraja II.
💡 Matches each Great Living Chola Temple to its royal builder, in order.
Kerala's 'DKP' palaces
Dutch palace (Kochi), Krishnapuram palace (Kayamkulam), Padmanabhapuram palace.
💡 The three palaces among Kerala's 60+ mural sites.
Vijayanagara = 'Flat and Sideways'
Faces in profile, two-dimensional figures, still-but-fluid lines, rectilinear compartments, narrow waists.
💡 Distinguishes flat Vijayanagara/Nayaka style from the volume of Ajanta–Badami.

Traps to avoid

  • At Badami, Mangalesha patronised the caves, but the surviving mural depicts his elder brother Kirtivarman watching the dance — don't swap the two.
  • Sittanvasal is Jaina (not Hindu or Buddhist) and belongs to the early Pandya period, 9th century CE — not Pallava; its marker is the vermilion-red outline.
  • Brihadeswara's upper mural layer is Nayak (16th century) and the lower is Chola — the famous Chola murals stayed hidden until cleaning; not all of it is Chola.
  • Keep temple-theme pairs straight: Kanchipuram (Pallava, Rajsimha, Somaskanda) vs Brihadeswara (Chola, Tripurantaka/Nataraja).
  • Lepakshi is Vijayanagara art but lies in present-day Andhra Pradesh, not Karnataka or Tamil Nadu.
  • Nayaka is not a fresh style — it is an extension of Vijayanagara; e.g., the Nataraja at Tiruvalanjuli is Nayaka, not Chola.

Exam focus

🧠 Prelims angles

  • Match dynasty–site–patron: Chalukya/Badami/Mangalesha, Pallava/Kanchipuram/Rajsimha, Pandya/Sittanvasal, Chola/Brihadeswara/Rajaraja, Vijayanagara/Hampi-Lepakshi, Nayaka/Chidambaram.
  • Identify temple from theme: Somaskanda → Kanchipuram; Tripurantaka and Nataraja → Brihadeswara; Ramayana–Mahabharata ceiling → Virupaksha, Hampi.
  • Sittanvasal one-liner: Jaina caves, early Pandya, 9th century, vermilion-red figures.
  • Kerala murals: Kathakali + kalam ezhuthu influence; three palaces (Dutch/Kochi, Krishnapuram, Padmanabhapuram).
  • Folk mural mapping: Pithoro (Rajasthan/Gujarat), Mithila (Bihar), Warli (Maharashtra).
  • Heritage tags: Great Living Chola Temples and Hampi as UNESCO World Heritage Sites; ASI as the protecting body.

✍️ Mains angles GS-I

  • Trace the continuity and regional evolution of the Indian mural tradition from Ajanta to Kerala.Show the thread — Ajanta-Badami volume, then flat profile/2D Vijayanagara-Nayaka, then luminous 3D Kerala; use patron-dynasty milestones as the spine.
  • Royal patronage was the lifeline of Indian mural painting. Discuss.Marshal Mangalesha, Mahendravarman I (Chitrakarapuli), Rajaraja and Vidyaranya/Bukka Raya; link art to bhakti and political legitimacy.
  • South Indian temples served as canvases of religious narration.Use Shaiva (Tripurantaka, Nataraja, Somaskanda), Vaishnava (Vishnu's avatars, Mohini) and Jaina (Mahavira) themes; connect murals to the epics and oral traditions.
Practice Art & Culture questions from this syllabus →

Last-minute revision tick as you recall

  • Badami = Chalukya 'Vishnu Cave', Karnataka; Cave 4 inscription 578–579 CE; patron Mangalesha; mural shows Kirtivarman at a dance.
  • Pallava Mahendravarman I (7th c.): titles Vichitrachitta, Chitrakarapuli, Chaityakari; Kanchipuram (Rajsimha) shows Somaskanda.
  • Sittanvasal = Jaina, early Pandya, 9th c.; vermilion-red dancing nymphs.
  • Cholas 9th–13th c., 11th-c. zenith; Brihadeswara (Rajaraja, guru Kuruvar) — Tripurantaka, Nataraja; upper layer is Nayak.
  • Vijayanagara 14th–16th c., capital Hampi; Virupaksha ceiling (Vidyaranya, epics); Lepakshi in Andhra Pradesh.
  • Nayaka 17th–18th c. = Vijayanagara extension; Chengam's 60 Ramayana panels = late phase.
  • Kerala murals 16th–18th c.: luminous, 3D; Kathakali + kalam ezhuthu; Dutch/Krishnapuram/Padmanabhapuram palaces.
  • Living folk murals: Pithoro (Raj/Guj), Mithila (Bihar), Warli (Maharashtra).
  • Heritage: Great Living Chola Temples and Hampi = UNESCO; protected by ASI under Articles 49 and 51A(f).

Distilled from NCERT Class 11 · An Introduction to Indian Art for UPSC. Always cross-check facts with the original NCERT.