English: Aihole temples and monuments, also called Aivalli or Ayyavole or Aiholi temples and monuments, are a collection of over 100 temples built predominantly between 6th and 8th century near Malaprabha river in Karnataka. At this point, the river turns northwards towards the Himalayas which likely had significance as a location. Though defaced and damaged after the region was conquered by Muslim commanders of the Delhi Sultanate, the collection is one of the earliest surviving temples and window to ancient Indian arts, religious beliefs, society and architecture. Almost all temples are related to Hinduism, but these co-exist with a few Jain temples of this period and one Buddhist monument. Both north Indian and south Indian styles fuse here, with monuments suggesting experimentation of ideas and building styles under the sponsorship of late Gupta period Hindu kingdoms, particularly the Calukyas and Rashtrakutas. The Durga temple is actually a Surya temple, named as Durga because its ceiling was fortified later with stones and served as a "Durg" or watch / viewpoint. The temple is a rich collection of life size Hindu statues of Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism traditions. The carvings also show Kama and Artha scenes of Indian society from the 2nd half of the 1st millennium CE, while some panels display scenes from the Hindu epic Ramayana.