Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram

The Mahabalipuram temples are in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, about southwest of Chennai on the Coromandel Coast. The monuments are reachable by the four-lane, divided East Coast Road and Rajiv Gandhi Salai (State Highways 49 and 49A). The nearest airport is in Chennai (IATA airport code MAA). The city is connected to the rest of India through a rail network. Mahabalipuram is known by several names, including Mamallapuram; Mamalla means "Great Wrestler", and refers to the 7th-century king Narasimha Varman I. Other names found in historic texts include Mamallapattana, Mavalipuram, Mavalivaram, Mavellipore, Mauvellipooram and Mahabalipur, all of which refer to a "great wrestler city" or "city of Mahabali". The latter is related to the mythical Mahabali, the demon king defeated by the dwarf Vamana (a Vishnu avatar). According to Nagaswamy, the name is derived from the Tamil word mallal (prosperity) and reflects its being an ancient economic center for South India and Southeast Asia. This theory is partially supported by an 8th-century Tamil text by the early Bhakti movement poet Thirumangai Alvar, where Mamallapuram is called "Kadal Mallai". Seventh-century inscriptions refer to it as "Mamallapuram" or close variants; "Mahabalipuram" appears only after the 16th century, and (with Seven Pagodas) was used in colonial-era literature. == History ==

Although the ancient history of Mahabalipuram is unclear, numismatic and epigraphical evidence and its temples suggest that it was a significant location before the monuments were built. It is speculated that it is the seaport of Sopatma mentioned in the 1st-century Periplus of the Erythraean Sea or Ptolemy's port of Melange in his 2nd-century Geographia. Another theory posits that the port of Nirppeyarvu mentioned in the Perumpanarrupadai from the late 19th century to early 20th century may be Mahabalipuram or Kanchipuram. The medieval Sanskrit text mentions the Mamallapuram monuments, an early tradition of repairs, and the significance of Vaishnavism. When Marco Polo (1271-1295 CE) arrived in India on his way back to Venice from Southeast Asia, he mentioned (but did not visit) "Seven Pagodas" and the name became associated with the shore temples of Mahabalipuram in publications by European merchants centuries later. It appeared in Abraham Cresques' 1375 Catalan Atlas as "Setemelti" and "Santhome", a crude map of Asia but accurate in the relative positions of the two ports; the former is Mamallapuram and the latter Mylapore. According to Schalk, Balbi called it the "Seven Pagodas of China" (a re-interpretation of Henry Yule's reading of Balbi which considered Balbi unreliable, followed by a selective correction that it probably meant Mamallapuram). Since there are now fewer than seven towers, the name has inspired speculation and argument. The December 2004 tsunami briefly exposed the beachfront near Saluvankuppam (now north of Mahabalipuram), revealing inscriptions and structures. Badrinarayanan said in a BBC report that they dated to the 9th century and may have been destroyed by a 13th-century tsunami. The tsunami also revealed large structures on the seabed about a kilometre offshore, which archaeologists speculate may be the ancient Mahabalipuram. According to a Science article, the tsunami exposed rocks with an "elaborately sculpted head of an elephant and a horse in flight", "a small niche with a statue of a deity; another rock with a reclining lion", and other Hindu religious iconography. Marine archaeologists and underwater diving teams have explored a site east of the Shore Temple, one of the monuments, after the 2004 tsunami. This has revealed ruins of fallen walls, a large number of rectangular blocks and other structures parallel to the shore, and the forty surviving monuments. Modern reports European sailors and merchants who pioneered trade with Asia after the 16th century mentioned the site. Early reports, such as those by Niccolao Manucci (who never visited the site, but saw the monuments from a distance and heard about them) conflated Chinese and Burmese Buddhist pagoda designs with the Hindu temples and assumed that the temples were built by the Chinese. Chambers interviewed local residents and linked the monumental art he saw to Hindu texts, calling it remarkable and expressive in narrative detail. A series of 19th-century studies, such as those by Benjamin Babington and William Elliot, contained sketches of the monuments and impressions of the inscriptions. Some stories and speculation in Western literature, nevertheless, continued to be unusual. Francis Wilford suggested in 1809 that the monuments were built in 450 BCE, linking them to Cicero's (1st century BCE) writings about Indians who might have built three ancient Indian temple cities (including Mahabalipuram). After Indian independence, the Tamil Nadu government developed the Mamallapuram monuments and coastal region as an archaeological, tourism and pilgrimage site by improving the road network and town infrastructure. In 1984, the site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. ==Pallava construction==

Mamallapuram became prominent during the Pallava-era reign of Simhavishnu during the late 6th century, a period of political competition with the Pandyas, the Cheras and spiritual ferment with the rise of 6th- to 8th-century Bhakti movement poet-scholars: the Vaishnava Alvars and the Shaiva Nayanars. Mamallapuram's architecture is linked to Simhavishnu's son, Mahendravarman I (600-630 CE), who was a patron of the arts. Mahendravarman's son, Narsimha Varman I, built on his father's efforts and most scholars attribute many of the monuments to him. After a brief hiatus, temple and monument construction continued during the reign of Rajasimha (or Narasimhavarman II; 690–728). This chronology has been the subject of scholarly disagreement. Some scholars, such as Marilyn Hirsh in 1987, have said that the earliest temples are traceable to about 600 (under the poet-king Mahendravarman I). Other, such as Nagaswamy in 1962, have said that King Rajasimha (690-728) was the probable patron of many monuments; many temple inscriptions contain one of his names and his distinctive Grantha and ornate Nāgarī scripts. Evidence dating some of the Mamallapuram monuments to the early 7th century includes the Mandagapattu inscription (Laksitayana inscription) of Mahendravarman I. The inscription reads that he "brought into existence a temple without utilizing either timber or lime (mortar) or brick or metal", and the temple was dedicated to "Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva". This was the first Pallava rock-built Hindu temple, and Mahendravarman I and his descendants probably constructed others. According to Mate and other scholars, the inscription implies that the Tamil people had a temple-construction tradition based on the mentioned materials which predated the 6th century. Further evidence is in the form of cave temples (such as the Undavalli Caves) which predate the Mamallapuram cave temples, suggesting that Indian artisans began exploring cave architecture before the Pallava period. The monuments at Mamallapuram are generally dated by scholars to the 7th and 8th centuries. == Description ==

The monuments are a fusion of religion, culture and legend relating to the Hindu religious pantheon. They are expressions through rock or inside boulders, on a grand scale, integrating nature and sculpture. The site has about forty monuments, in varying degrees of completion, categorized into five groups: • Rathas: chariot-shaped temples • Mandapas: Cave temples • Rock reliefs • Structural temples • Excavations There are ten major rathas, ten mandapas, two rock bas-reliefs and three structural temples. The monumental plan is based on a square and circle, or stacked squares (producing a rectangle). The reliefs, sculptures and architecture incorporate Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism, with each monument dedicated to a deity or a character in Hindu mythology. The monuments are a source of many 7th- and 8th-century Sanskrit inscriptions, providing insight into medieval South Indian history, culture, government and religion. Ratha temples The ratha temples, in southern Mahabalipuram, are carved in the shape of chariots. Their artists used naturally occurring blocks of diorite and granite in sand, carving legends in stone. These rathas are dated to the 7th century. Dharmaraja Ratha The Dharmaraja ratha has a square floor plan within a rectangular frame (26.75 ft x 20.67 ft), and is 35.67 feet high. It has an open porch supported by pillars. The temple's pyramidal tower consists of a vimana of shrinking squares, capped by an octagonal shikhara. There is evidence that it had (or was intended to have) a finial. Its pillars have seated lions at the base. It has three levels; the lowest is solid (probably never carved out), and the upper two have shrines. The Somaskanda panel is significant because it dates the temple to the early 7th century. It differs from those created in the Rajasimha period, and resembles those created during the early Pallava era. Unlike the other rathas, the temple has no inscriptions or sculptures. Its vimana is intricately carved on both sides of the roof. The cornice has seven pairs of kudus (Sanskrit: gavaksha). According to Ramaswami, the ratha has an embedded square plan up to the entablature Arjuna and Draupadi Rathas Arjuna Ratha, adjacent to Bhima Ratha, is also incomplete. One of the larger monuments, it is about six times smaller in area than the Dharmaraja Ratha. An elephant stands northwest of Arjuna Ratha. Nakula Sahadeva Ratha The unfinished Nakula Sahadeva Ratha is an apsidal temple, a relatively-uncommon Hindu design found in Aihole and elsewhere in India. The two-storey, Vesara-style temple is high and long. It has kutas and salas style aediculae like the others, but is unique in also having panjaras (an apsidal aedicula). The deity to whom it may have been dedicated is theorized to be Kartikeya, Brahma, Ayyappan or Indra. One kilometre from the pancha rathas, it is adjacent to (and north of) the Descent of the Ganges bas-relief and south of Krishna's butter-ball monument. The two-storey, relatively undamaged Ganesha Ratha, similar to Bhima Ratha, In the west of the town, there are two Pidari rathas and a Valayankuttai ratha (unfinished, two-storey monuments). It was a space for people to gather socially, usually for ceremonies and rite-of-passage rituals. Cells or sanctums would often be included, creating a vihara. Mandapas also refer to rock-cut cave temples or shrines, built according to the same concept, and Mamallapuram has many mandapas Varaha The Varaha cave was excavated from a vertical wall on the west face of the main Mamallapuram hill. Its architecture is simple; a Vaishnavism-related cave temple, it is known for its four sculptures depicting Hindu legends: the Vamana-Trivikrama legend, the Varaha legend, the Durga legend and the Gajalakshmi legend. Srinivasan and other scholars date it to the 7th century. The temple facade consists of two pillars and two pilasters recessed about from the rock front. She sits near his raised knee, and the demon who created the chaotic waters is trampled by Varaha. The other characters in the panel include Brahma, the Vedic sage Narada, Surya (the sun), Chandra (the moon) and others in the legend. The closest narration of the panel is the vaikhānasāgama. inscription in the Grantha alphabet with an epithet. Ramanuja One of the most sophisticated and complete cave temples, Ramanuja had three cells. It was excavated in the center of the main Mamallapuram hill, on its eastern scarp. The temple was partially renovated centuries after its construction into a shrine for the Vaishnava scholar, Ramanuja. The later artisans added the six crudely-cut, free-standing pillars in front, probably to extend the mandapa. The Ramanuja cave consists of a rectangular ardha-mandapa, marked with a row of pillars. and is named for the Koneri-pallam tank in front. Carved into the western side of the main hill in Mamallapuram, its facade has an entablature. Its cornice has ten kudus, with five interconnected salas above it. The temple has two rows of four pillars and two pilasters. The front row is considerably simpler than the row near the shrines, which is intricately carved. The temple is near the Descent of the Ganges bas-relief. Its facade consists of four leonine mythical figures vyala, holding pillars, and two pilasters. Behind them is another row of pillars. The walls of the pillared hall depict village life woven into the story of Krishna. Krishna holds Goverdhana Mountain, under which are people, cattle and other animals, in one section. In another section, a young man holds the hands of his beloved and pulls her in the direction he is going; although she resists slightly, she is willing. The panel then depicts a milkmaid carrying stacks of milk containers and a bundle of cattle feed on her head. Next to her is a man milking a cow. The cow has a calf, which she licks with a curved tongue. Above, Krishna plays the flute while people and animals listen intently. Atiranachanda The 7th-century Atiranachanda cave temple is in the village of Saluvankuppam, north of Mamallapuram. It has a small facade, with two octagonal pillars with square sadurams (bases) and two four-sided pilasters. Behind the facade is an ardha-mandapa and a small, square sanctum. In front of the facade are empty mortise holes, probably later additions to a now-missing mandapa. and the temple and reliefs have been dated to the early 8th century. (Shaktism), Gangadhara (Shaivism), Harihara (Vaishnavism-Shaivism fusion) and Gajalakshmi (Vaishnavism). The temple is at the northern end of the main Mamallapuram hill, on its western side. Similar to the Varaha mandapa, both have been dated to the 7th-century Narasimha Varman I era. Although it has later inscriptions consecrating the temple, its style suggests that it was built earlier. Although the Adivaraha mandapa panels of the Gajalakshmi and Durga Mahishamardini legends have the same (or similar) quality as the Varaha temple, Varaha- and Vamana-Trivikrama-legend panels are absent from Adivaraha. The north side has a standing Vishnu sculpture with two devotees, and the south side has a standing Harihara (half Vishnu, half Shiva). According to Ramaswami, the temple is unfinished but what has been carved represents the ultimate in Tamil temple rock art. Panchapandava mandapam Just south of the ''Arjuna's Penance'' bas-relief is the Panchapandava mandapam, the largest (unfinished) cave temple excavated in Mamallapuram. and largely unfinished, deep side halls also contain pillars. Evidence of work in progress suggests that the cave was intended to have a walking path and large wall reliefs. Other mandapas The Mamallapuram site includes a number of other unfinished cave temples. Among them are the Trimurti temple, dedicated to Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu; the Panchapandava mandapa, named for characters in the Mahabharata; Pulipudar and adjacent cave temples near the Konerippallam tank and the Tiger Cave, also known as the Yali mandapa, dedicated to Lakshmi (the goddess of prosperity, an aspect of Durga). Structural temples The structural (free-standing) temples at Mamallapuram have been built with cut stones as building blocks, rather than carved into a rock (cave temples) or out of a rock (ratha temples). Surviving examples, fewer in number and representing a different stage, style and sophistication than the other monuments, are some of best examples of early medieval Tamil Hindu-temple architecture. These temples (like other monuments in Mamallapuram) were dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Durga, although more Shiva iconography has survived. The main temple is within a two-tier, compound wall with statues of Shiva's vahana (vehicle), Nandi, surrounding it. The -high temple has a plan. It is a stepped pyramidal tower, arranged in five tiers with Shiva iconography. The temple includes a path around its main sanctum and a large, barrel vaulted roof above its doorway. Pilasters on the outer wall divide it into bays. The temple is steeper and taller than the Arjuna and Dharmaraja rathas, with a similar design in which the superstructure repeats the lower level in a shrinking square form. An octagonal shikhara and kalasa- (pot)-shaped finials cap the tower. The Shiva temples have been dated to the early 8th century and are attributed to the reign of the Pallava king Rajasimha (700-728). The Vishnu temple, with an image of a reclining Vishnu discovered after excavations, has been dated to the 7th century. It is severely damaged, and its superstructure is missing; what remains is a square building with its west entrance flanked by dvarapalas. The walls of the temple depict the Ravananugraha legend from the Ramayana and a relief of Dakshinamurti (Shiva as a yoga teacher). Its name is modern, based on the "ollock of oil" per day which was burnt by local residents to keep the temple flame lit. Rock reliefs Reliefs are carved on rocks or boulders. These include the wall of the Krishna mandapa, where a superstructure was added in front of the relief. The best-known rock relief in Mahablipuram is the Descent of the Ganges (also known as ''Arjuna's Penance or Bhagiratha's Penance''), the largest open-air rock relief. The Descent of the Ganges is considered one of the largest bas-relief works in the world. There are two primary interpretations: the effort needed to bring the Ganges from the heavens to earth, and the Kirātārjunīya legend and the chapter from the Mahabharata about Arjuna's efforts to gain the weapon he needed to help good triumph over evil. Other rock monuments Butterball rock Krishna's Butterball (also known as Vaan Irai Kal)) is a gigantic granite boulder resting on a short incline in the historical coastal resort town of Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu state of India. Due to the optical illusion it seems to barely rest on the rocky plinth. Butter well is located 40 metres north of Krishna's Butterball, excavated deep into the eroded rocky plinth. == Influence ==

The architecture of the rock-cut temples, particularly the rathas, became a model for south Indian temples. Architectural features, particularly the sculptures, were widely adopted in South Indian, Cambodian, Annamese and Javanese temples. == Conservation ==

After a roughly 40-year delay, a master plan to beautify Mahabalipuram was implemented in 2003. The Union Ministry of Tourism and Culture is financing the multi-crore-rupee Integrated Development of Mamallapuram project. The area around the monuments was cleaned up with fencing, lawns, paths, parks and the removal of hawkers and encroachments. During a son et lumière show, the monuments are illuminated at night. The Archaeological Survey of India has laid the lawns and pathways around the monuments, and the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) has designed parks on both sides of the roads leading to the Shore Temple and the Five Rathas. A path from behind the Shore Temple to the Five Rathas and the conservation of more monuments are planned. == See also ==