Mahabalipuram - also known as Mamallapuram is a town located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal in the Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu. It is situated around 60 kms south from the city of Chennai and is an ancient historical town. During the 7th century it was the port city of the Pallava dynasty. The Pallava Dynasty ruled the southern parts of India for almost 500 years. It conquered the region of Thondai mandalam located at Pallavapuri. The Pallavas established their capital at Kanchi which gradually became popular and famous for its temples and as an epicentre of Vedic learning. The Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram was built during the reign of the Pallava King Rajasimha in the 7th century. It is dedicated to the Hindu Gods Vishnu and Shiva. The temple is listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO. The Shore Temple comprises of three shrines, with the prominent ones dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. In one of the three shrines, the idol of Lord Vishnu is shown to be reclining on 'Seshanag' the serpent, a symbol of consciousness in Hinduism. Another monument of Pallava architecture is Arjuna’s penance or descent of the Ganges. It depicts the story of Arjuna’s penance and the story of Bhagirath, who brought down the River Ganges to earth from the heavens. Arjuna's penance is a story from the Mahabharata of how Arjuna, performed great penance in order to obtain Shiva's weapon while the Ganges story is of a similar kind, in which the sage Bhagiratha meditated in order to bring the Ganges down to earth. Lord Shiva had to consent to soften her impact on Earth by capturing her in his hair, or else the force of the river would have been too great for the earth to contain. Both stories were interpreted in a manner flattering to the Pallavas; the heroic Arjuna as a symbol of the rulers, and the Ganges as a symbol of their purifying power. The Pallavas also built the beautiful monolithic rock-cut structure known as Pancha ratha or the Five Chariots. Most of the temples found in Mahabalipuram were built by King Rajasimha. The Five Rathas are named after five Pandavas and their wife. The five Pandava rathas are the Dharma raja Ratha - a pyramidal three storied structure and the largest among all the chariots, the Bhima Ratha - built to a rectangular plan and with lion mounted columned galleries on both sides, the Arjuna Ratha, the Nakul-Sahadev Ratha with a monolithic sculpture of an elephant next to it and the Draupadi Ratha - the smallest of the chariots and with an interesting thatch-like roof. A free standing statue of lion resides in front of Draupadi ratha. The Chariots at Mahabalipuram are constructed in the style of the Buddhist viharas and chaityas. The cave temples or mandapas are another example of monolithic rock cut architecture belonging to the Pallava dynasty. Some of the notable known cave temples in Mahabalipuram are the Varaha cave, the Mahisasur mardini cave, the Krishna Mandapa, the Raya Gopuram, and the Tiger caves. In
Be the first to comment