Mahabalipuram Temples

History of Mahabalipuram Temples

Situated at a distance of 58-km from Chennai, Mahabalipuram has everything that creates a site memorable; tradition, history, piety, western annals, and current importance as a centre of tourism.

Mahabalipuram is situated near to Chennai (Madras) on the shoreline of the Bay of Bengal, along the Indian eastern coast. Known for its stones designs and monolithic statues it has the popular shore temple, the only one to have live through the problems of characteristics. Also known as the Seven Pagodas (temples), six now lie engrossed in the sea. Mahabalipuram temples whose structure was motivated by the Pallava Art were designed during the interval 830 - 1100 AD.

Mahabalipuram contains nearly 40 monuments of different kinds such as an "open air bas relief" which is the biggest in the world. For hundreds of years it has been a center of pilgrimage, and even today it attracts devotees and foreigners in large numbers.

There are two low mountains in Mahabalipuram, about 400m from the sea whose both factors have 11 excavated temples, known as Mandapas. Out of a big stone status no cost close by there is a "cut out" temple, known as a "Ratha". This type is unique to Mahabalipuram.

Out of the other mountain, much smaller and status about 200m to the south, are created five more rathas, and three big statues of a Nandi, a Loin and an Elephant. On the top of the larger mountain there is a architectural temple, and a little distance the spectacular origins of a Vijayanagar Gopura and also survivals of what is believed to be a palace.

The Five Rathas

The five Rathas consist of The Dharmaraja, The Bhima, The Arjuna, The Draupadi and The Sahadeva. The Five Rathas, about 200 m south of the primary mountain, were created out of less sized mountain sloping down from the southern. From the greatest aspect was created the biggest of the five rathas, the Dharmaraja. Then followed onwards north, in the descending order of height, the Bhima, the Arjuna and the Draupadi.

A little to the west of Draupadi there was a comparatively large rock and out of it the Sahadeva Ratha was made. Instantly at the front side of the Draupadi again two small stones were created into an elephant and a lion. Behind the Draupadi and the Arjuna, which stand on a common base, there is a Nandi.

The Shore Temple :

The Shore Temple occupies a most outstanding site at the very edge of the Bay of Bengal so that at high tide the waves sweep into it and the walls. Because of this their statues, have been eroded by the winds and waves of thirteen centuries.

The Shrines In The Shore Temple :

There are 3 shrines in the Shore Temple. Two of them are of Saiva and the third is of Vaishnava, with an picture of Lord Anantasayi created of live rock. There are Vimanas over the Saiva (also spelt as Shaiv or Shaiva) shrines, but none over the third; it seems to have disappeared with time. Designed by Narasimha Varman II Rajasimha, the maker of the Kailasanatha temple in Kanchipuram in the 8th century, this is one of the first architectural temples in Tamil Nadu.

Temple Of Sthalasayana Perumal :

To the north of the bigger hill there is the temple of Sthalasayana Perumal. To the west of the five Rathas there are three more rathas, two side by side. About 600 m north of Mahabalipuram, along the shore, is Saluvankuppam, where there are spectacular excavated temples and, near it, a stone Mandapa with competition leads along its outside, known as the "Tigers Cave". Between Saluvankuppam and Mahabalipuram, less than 200m from the sea, appears another architectural temple, the Mukunda Nayanar.

Each and every one of these monuments of different kinds, architectural temple, excavated temple "cut out" temple, "open air bas relief", in addition to statues and Mandapas to be found here and there, is important and exciting. The Coast temple, the famous "open air bas relief" known as "Arjuna's Penance", the Mahishamardhani and the Adivaraha "Cave" temples and the Five Rathas are the especial rewards of the visitor. All the monuments are Pallava except that the unique Sthalasayana Perumal temple was extended in Vijayanagar periods. To the Chola periods connected a Mandapa at the entrance to the township.

Mahabalipuram is one of the beautiful places in south India. It has dream world of tamil arts.Mahabalipuram was a 7th century port city of the South Indian dynasty of the Pallavas, 60 km south from Chennai in Tamil Nadu.