Monuments at Mahabalipuram near Chennai

Monuments. By cruisingindia.com on Mar 25, 2006.

Monuments at Mahabalipuram Images

Mahabalipuram or Mamalapuram is a 7th century port city of the Pallava rulers of South India, around fifty-eight kilometers from Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu. It was named after King Narasimhavarman I, or Mamalla as he was known, the greatest of the Pallava kings. Mahabalipuram has hundreds of ancient monuments built between the 7th and 9th centuries and is a World Heritage site. The monuments are mostly rock cut and monolithic, reflecting the early Dravidian style of architecture, with a bit of Buddhist influence. The cave and structural temples, the monolithic rathas or chariots, and the pillars are all typical of Pallava art. Combined with the golden beach sand, the romantic past of kings and queens, the sanctity of artistically hewn temples, and the palaces and sanctums make Mahabalipuram a major tourist attraction in India.

Mahabalipuram History

Mahabalipuram was already a center of pilgrimage in 7th century when Mammalla turned it into a seaport. It was through Mahabalipuram that thousands of Indian colonists, sages and artists migrated to the Far East, transforming the port into a cultural, religious and political center within the course of a century. It was a thriving seaport since the days of Periplus and Ptolemy.The foundation for several of the cave temples was actually laid by Mamalla’s father, King Mahendravarman (600-630 AD), although Mamalla built the majority of the monuments, including Arjuna’s penance and the Govardhanadhari cave temple. Mamalla is credited with starting a new form of architecture, consisting of freestanding monolithic structures.

The Five Chariots

Among the monuments at Mahabalipuram, the Five Chariots, or rathas, are really outstanding, and are the precursors of south Indian temples. The five rathas are carved on a hill about two-hundred meters to the south, along with three sculptures of a lion, an elephant, and Nandi, a bull. These rathas are not truly chariots as the name implies, but instead Vimanas, which are actually flying machines in Hindu Mythology. Each ratha is named after the five Pandavas of the Mahabharat – Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Draupadi and one for the twins, Nakula and Sahadeva.The largest part was used to make the Yudhishtira ratha. Then proceeding north in descending height are the Bhima, Arjuna and Draupadi rathas. The Nakula and Sahadeva ratha was made to the left of the Draupadi ratha.Two small rocks in front of the Draupadi ratha were fashioned into a lion and an elephant. Behind the Arjuna ratha and the Draupadi ratha, which stand on a common base, is the Nandi.The rathas are embellished with beautiful sculptures and pictures of kings, queens, gods and goddesses. The idea behind these rathas was probably to preserve the prevalent art forms for posterity in sturdy rock faces. These are the finest examples of Pallava art in Indian history. There are four other rathas in Mahabalipuram making nine in total. They are of four styles – apsidal, barrel vaulted, domical and hut.

The Shore Temple

The Shore Temple is the next monument that commands one’s attention, and is a beautiful example of Dravidian architecture. It was built by Narasinmhavarman II, who also built the Kailasnath temple at Kanchipuram, and is the earliest example of masonry temples in Tamil Nadu. Standing at the edge of the Bay of Bengal its compound is washed by the sea waves, although it has withstood the test of time and erosion. There are three shrines in the temple. Two are dedicated to Shiva, with one facing the sea and the other facing the township. In between the two is a Vishnu shrine. The Shiva Shrines are blessed with Vimanas. The Shiva shrines contain images of Somaskanda or Shiva-Parvati. A dwijasthamba or flagstaff stands in the eastern end of the shrines, serving probably as a lighthouse for immigrants to South Asia. The Shore temple has stood since then in danger of the turbulent sea waves. Part of the city was buried under sand only to be excavated by Captain Mackenzie an officer of the East India Company in the eighteenth century. There is a romantic tale that Shore temple is just one of seven such temples, the six others being submerged under the ocean.The Shore temple was the last work of the Pallavas. Mahabalipuram is also the site of the biggest bas-relief monument in the world. It is an amazing rock cut monument 29x7 meters in size, embellished with a fine and florid style of carving. The subject of the monument is either Ganga’s Descent or Arjuna’s Penance. Ganga’s Descent refers to the legend of King Bhagiratha who had to bring to earth the celestial river goddess Ganga to purify and redeem the cursed souls of his ancestors. But the torrential river would flood the earth’s surface and so he had to undergo a penance to propitiate Lord Shiva who finally let it trickle down from his locks of hair. Arjun’s Penance refers to Arjuna, hero of the epic Mahabharat doing penance to Lord Shiva to obtain from him a celestial weapon for the impending war with the Kauravas. The monument also features numerous other interesting carvings. On the north face there are huge carvings of elephants, which are among the finest carvings in the world. There is a carving of a cat pretending to do penance but waiting to pounce on rats. There are also a lion, a tiger, and a boar. Nearby is a second bas-relief with serpent gods and goddesses. A third bas-relief depicts Lord Krishna protecting his citizens from the wrath of Indra, king of Gods.

The Mahishamardhani and Adivaraha Mandapas

Of the many rock cut cave temples or mandapas in Mahabalipuram, the grandest are the Mahishamardhani and Adivaraha mandapas. The Mahishamardhani temple has been excavated on the eastern side of the hilltop and has three shrines. On its northern and southern walls are great sculptural reliefs of Goddess Durga fighting a demon, and one of Lord Vishnu in His cosmic sleep. They are two great images reflecting contrasting energies – one attacking, the other retreating. Both these are the best relief’s known to Indian art.The Adivaraha temple also has two royal sculptures facing each other. In one a king is seated with his queens, in another a king is standing beside his consorts. Both are identified with two Pallava kings, Simhavisnu and Mahendravarman. In the Northern hill is the Perumal Sthalasayan temple where worship continue to this day.Mahabalipuram’s present is connected inexorably with its glorious past and the town is a bustling tourist center. The sculpture museum in East Raja Street contains more than 3000 sculptures by local artisans, made in wood, brass, metal and cement. The Tamil Nadu govt. organizes a dance festival here starting every Christmas day annually. The city is just a one-hour drive from Chennai.

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