Editing Architecture of India (section)

===Vesara Architecture===
The style adopted in the region that today lies in the modern states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh (Deccan) which served in its geographical position as buffer between north and south, that architectural style has mix of both the Nagara and Dravidian temple styles.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Khamesra|first=Manish|date=2021-01-19|title=Ghumakkar Insights: A Gavaksh to the Ancient Indian Temple Architecture|url=https://www.ghumakkar.com/a-gavaksh-to-the-ancient-north-indian-temple-architecture/|access-date=2021-07-15|website=Ghumakkar – Inspiring travel experiences.|language=en-US|archive-date=15 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715110258/https://www.ghumakkar.com/a-gavaksh-to-the-ancient-north-indian-temple-architecture/|url-status=live}}</ref> While some scholars consider the buildings in this region as being distinctly either nagara or dravida, a hybridised style that seems to have become popular after the mid-seventh century, is known in some ancient texts as vesara. In the southern part of the Deccan, i.e., in the region of Karnataka is where some of the most experimental hybrid styles of vesara architecture are to be found.

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| image4 = Lad Khan temple, Aihole, Karnataka.jpg
| caption4 = Lad Khan temple is one of the oldest Hindu temples.
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| caption3 = Pattadakkal Temple, Karnataka
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| caption2 = [[Kailasa Temple, Ellora]]
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An important temple is Papnath temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is one of the best early examples of the South Indian tradition. By contrast other eastern Chalukyan Temples, like the [[Mahakuta group of temples|Mahakuta]], five kilometres from [[Badami]], and the Swarga Brahma temple at Alampur show a greater assimilation of northern styles from Odisha and Rajasthan. At the same time the [[Durga temple, Aihole|Durga temple at Aihole]] is unique having an even earlier style of an apsidal shrine which is reminiscent of [[Chaitya|Buddhist chaitya halls]] and is surrounded by a veranda of a later kind, with a shikhara that is stylistically like a nagara one. The [[Chalukya Shiva Temple|Lad Khan temple]] at [[Aihole]] in Karnataka seems to be inspired by the wooden-roofed temples of the hills, except that it is constructed out of stone.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/kefa106.pdf|title=TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE|website=ncert.nic.in|access-date=3 December 2021|archive-date=24 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124094749/https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/kefa106.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Historians agree that the ''vesara'' style originated in what is today Karnataka. According to some, the style was started by the [[Chalukya dynasty|Chalukyas]] of Badami (500-753AD) whose Early Chalukya or [[Badami Chalukya architecture]] built temples in a style that mixed some features of the ''nagara'' and the ''dravida'' styles, for example using both the northern [[shikhara]] and southern [[Vimana (architectural feature)|vimana]] type of superstructure over the sanctum in different temples of similar date, as at [[Pattadakal]]. However, Adam Hardy and others regard this style as essentially a form of Dravida. This style was further refined by the [[Rashtrakutas]] of [[Manyakheta]] (750-983AD) in sites such as [[Ellora]].

Though there is clearly a good deal of continuity with the Badami or Early Chalukya style,<ref>Michell, 149</ref> other writers only date the start of Vesara to the later [[Western Chalukya Empire|Western Chalukyas]] of [[Basavakalyan|Kalyani]] (983–1195 AD),<ref>Harle, 254</ref> in sites such as [[Lakkundi]], [[Doddabasappa Temple|Dambal]], [[Mahadeva Temple, Itagi|Itagi]], and [[Gadag]],<ref>Harle, 256–261</ref> and continued by the [[Hoysala empire]] (1000–1330 AD).

The Hoysala temples at [[Belur, Karnataka|Belur]], [[Halebid]]u and [[Somanathapura]] are leading examples of the Vesara style.<ref>Harle, 261–263</ref>  These temples are now proposed as a UNESCO world heritage site.