📄 Abstract
The temples of the Badami Chalukya period (c. sixth to eighth centuries CE) have generally been studied as monuments of architectural innovation, royal patronage, and religious devotion. Their economic significance, however, deserves equal attention. This article examines the role of temple institutions in the economic life of Chalukyan towns through inscriptions and archaeological evidence, with particular emphasis on land grants, endowments, agricultural resources, and the relationship between sacred institutions and urban settlements. Epigraphic records from centres such as Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal, and Mahakuta demonstrate that temples were recipients of land, villages, revenues, and other forms of endowment. These grants linked temples to agricultural production in the surrounding countryside and provided a material basis for ritual, maintenance, and associated personnel. Archaeological evidence from major temple complexes further suggests that such institutions were embedded within settlements characterized by specialized construction activity, craft production, water-management systems, and sustained royal investment. The article argues that temples should not be regarded merely as passive recipients of royal generosity. Rather, they functioned as institutions that organized and redistributed resources within local society, while their economic influence depended upon the agrarian surplus and political authority that sustained them. By integrating epigraphic and archaeological evidence, the study highlights the importance of temple institutions in connecting the urban centres of the Badami Chalukya kingdom with their rural hinterlands.
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📚 How to Cite:
Basavaraj Hullur , BEYOND SACRED SPACE: TEMPLE ECONOMY, LAND GRANTS, AND THE ECONOMIC LIFE OF BADAMI CHALUKYA TOWNS , Volume 12 , Issue 8, August 2026, EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR) , Pages: 328 - 333 , DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra31223