Photograph of the Papanatha Temple at Pattadakal in Karnatakal. Dedicated to Siva, the Papanatha is in the nagara style and is one of the largest temples at Pattadakal, built in the eighth century. It is notable for the reliefs depicting scenes from the epics of the Ramayana and Mahabharata on its outer walls.

Together with neighbouring Badami and Aihole, Pataddakal on the Malaprabha river was an important centre of the Chalukya dynasty. Pattadakal is thought to have been the site for the coronation ceremonies of the Early Western Chalukyas (Chalukyas of Badami) who flourished from the sixth to eighth centuries.