Kan: ಬಾದಾಮಿ bādāmi
‘Vatapi’ [Vatapi,Vatapipura] Town, Karnataka (Kar)
From Skt/Hin: vadāma(m)/bādāmi ‘almond (tree’)/’almond-coloured’; or Vatapi, the asura or demon.
Badami was the regional capital of the Chalukya kingdom in the 6-8thC and Vatapipura as a name first appears in 6thC cave inscriptions. The Chalukyas, under rulers like Pulakeshin I and Pulakeshin II, transformed Badami (then called Vatapi) into a center of art, culture, and politics.
Badami is famous for its Hindu and Jain rock-cut cave temples dating from the 6thC with important historical inscriptions. The caves are carved into a horseshoe pattern of sandstone cliffs overlooking the green Agastya Lake.
After the decline of the Chalukyas, Badami came under the control of various dynasties, including the Rashtrakutas, the Later Chalukyas, the Hoysalas, and eventually the Vijayanagara Empire. In the post-Vijayanagara period, it was briefly ruled by the Adil Shahis of Bijapur and later the Marathas.
The name Badami/Vatapi possibly comes from the Sanskrit/Hindi words for ‘almond’, a reference to the pale ruddy brown colour of these sandstone ridges [Article: The Almond-hued Hillocks – Badami Cliffs].
It is also possible that there is a connection with the wind [Skt: vata, ‘wind’; and āpi, ‘friend’, ‘acquaintance’]: Badami is known for its windy conditions.
But there is a myth too:
In the Ramayana and Mahabharata the asura Vatapi used to transform himself into a goat to trap and consume his unsuspecting guests. His brother Ilvala would invite a hungry traveller to dinner. He would then cook the goat and serve it to the guest. Vatapi would then re-form himself in the unfortunate victim’s stomach and tear himself from the inside out.
The sage Agastya thwarted Vatapi by digesting the goat before he had time to re-constitute himself. Badami was the supposed location for this last feast and the town was named after the villain and its lake after the hero.
For related place names see Indian Place names and Karnataka place names.
Badami Town, Caves and Agastya Lake Rakhee