Musafir

This place is very famous for its Silk Sarees and the Kanchi Mutt. However, the art and architecture of the temples have not been so much discussed about. Let us know a bit about this place before we move on.

Kanchipuram, Kanchi, or Kancheepuram is a temple town in ancient times it was called Kachi and Kachiampathi. It is said that more than thousand temples existed once, but we can see just more than hundred now. Kanchi is also referred in the greatest epic of all times, the Mahabharata. The rulers of Kanchi were mentioned to have taken the side of Kauravas during the Kurukshethra war.

It is one of the oldest cities in South India, and was a city of learning. Kanchi was believed to be visited by Xuanzang (Hsuan Tsang) in the 7th century A.D. Xuanzang, in his records mentions this city was 6 miles in circumference and that its people were famous for bravery and piety as well as for their love of justice and veneration for learning. He further recorded that Buddha had visited the place.

It was during the reign of Pallava dynasty, from the 4th to the 9th centuries that Kanchipuram attained its limelight. The Pallavas fortified the city with ramparts, moats, etc., with wide and well laid out roads and fine temples. They were a great maritime power with contacts with far-off China, Siam, Fiji, etc., through their chief Port Mamallapuram, the modern Mahabalipuram. The Cholas ruled this town from 10th century to 13th century. Kings of Vijayanagara dynasty ruled from 14th century to 17th century. The founder of Zen Buddhism, Bodhidharma was born here, as was the famous Sanskrit writer Dandin.

Robert Clive, of the British East India Company, who played a major role in the establishment of British rule in India, is said to have presented an emerald necklace to the Varadaraja Perumal (the Clive makarakandi, still used to decorate the Lord on ceremonial occasions).

It was Deepawali, the festival of lights in India. After a strenuous day in Mahabalipuram, i travelled over to a place where i underwent the most spiritual journey of mine ever. Kanchipuram was bustling with festive mood with kids lighting fireworks and men and women dressed in new attire. It was almost 9 AM by the time i reached the town. I immediately hired an auto rickshaw as i knew it would be painstaking to travel to all the planned places. I had a heavy breakfast and moved to my first destination the Kailasanathar Temple. It was quite hot that day i appreciated my decision of hiring a vehicle for travelling inside the town.

The Kailasanathar Temple is one of the oldest temples that we can see in this area, as we can see by the construction and the wear and tear that affected it. It reflects the freshness and simplicity of the early Dravidian style of temple architecture and was commissioned by the Pallava King Rajasimha and completed by his son Mahendra in the 8th century and is dedicated to Lord Siva. There are 58 small shrines situated round the main shrine. Fresco-style paintings adorn the inner walls  of the shrines. Sandstone was used in the construction of this temple.

This is the only temple at Kanchipuram which is not cluttered with the more recent additions of the Cholas and Vijayanagara rulers. Fragments of the eighth century murals which once graced the alcoves are a visible reminder of how magnificent the temple must have looked when it was first built. It can also be described as the worthy successor of the rock temples at Mahabalipuram, which were also built by the Pallava rulers. The bases of the pillars in the temples at Mahabalipuram have seated lions while at Kanchipuram the confident grimacing lions stand on their hind legs, as if ready to pounce on anyone trying to harm the temple. There are a number of small shrines within this temple  dedicated to Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvathi (Lord Shiva’s consort) and their sons Ganesh and Murugan.

The first view of the temple is a series of smaller shrines and lion headed Yalis guarding them. There is a wall that encloses all of the complex and you find pillars on the wall at regular intervals. I walk in through the gopura.  Inside you find eight shrines, two on the south side of the main gate and six on north side. All the shrines are complete temple in themselves, consisting of mukhamandapa, garbhgriha (sanctum sanctorum) & vimana. Each shrine has a shiva-linga inside. The mukha-mandapa is supported on the pillars, adorned with the sitting Yalis. There is a small shrine at the entrance gate. It is a later addition by Pallava king Mahendravarman, son of Rajasimha. As per an inscription on its stair, the name of the shrine is Mahendravarmeshvaragriham. This shrine has recently gone under renovation and repairs.

Let us talk about some of the most amazing sculptures inside.

There are many places where a warrior is shown on a lion which is on its hind legs ready to pounce. It is so remarkable that we can even see the smile of the warrior. Such a great art was prevalent that age that even facial expression was given more importance and each masterpiece is incomplete without them. Also, a statue of Lord Ganesha is found here which is said to be one of the oldest in South India. Even this has undergone much wear and tear and you can see the sandstone peeling off. The Archaeological Survey of India need to be commended for its excellent maintenance of the temple despite the age old sculptures. One of the most interesting and detailed panels is the Samudra Manthan in Cell 12. Vasuki, king of snakes, is coiled around Mandara mountain, which in turn is supported by Vishnu by his left hand. One thing of interest here is that Vishnu is shown in human form supporting mountain instead of his Kurma (tortoise) form. Devatas and Asuras are standing around. One horse is shown just sprung from the ocean, which may be Uchchaisrava Ashva, taken by Indra.

One more is the Narasimha in Cell 9. Narasimha shown here slaying demon Hiranyakshipu. There is a pillar in between the two figures, as according to a story, Narisimha came out of the pillar when Hiranyakashipu kicked the pillar and asked Prahlada that can his god come out of the pillar. Presence of this sculpture is rather interesting as Shiva is the main deity here. Another is Kiratarjuniya, where Arjuna is shown preparing to fight with Lord Shiva, in disguise of a hunter, over the killing of a boar. When Arjuna saw that none of his weapon were able to reach to the hunter then he realized that this is Lord Shiva himself in disguise of a hunter. This is so detailed that even the boar is depicted behind Arjuna.

I then go inside the main shrine. The sanctum is spacious and there is a big, black Linga inside. One interesting this is that the sanctum is surrounded by a small corridor and one can actually go around for a pradakshina. There is a catch. The starting point to the corridor is blocked and one need to kneel on all fours and enter it. It would the same when to come out of it. I thought i would try it but abstained as i am a little overweight and was afraid of getting stuck. There were not too many visitors then and i had a nice darshan of the lord.

There are hundreds of sculptures in this temple complex and one may take more than a day to see each of them. Each sculpture has a story to tell there are many blogs one can refer to know each of them. However, my intension is just to introduce these places to others and not to be an authority of it. So i will not describe all. I would seriously recommend 2 days for visiting this temple complex if you are on research. Otherwise half an hour would be enough.

After spending almost an hour here, i move towards one of the most beautiful temples in Kanchipuram, the Ekambareshwara Temple.

References:

1. http://picasaweb.google.com/Tamilnadu.Explored/KanchipuramPart1#

2. http://swamisblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/pallava-architecture-kailasanatha.html

After roaming around Mahabalipuram for almost 8 hours, i was damn tired and  desperately wanted an end to the day’s trip. However, there was one place still left to visit and that is the one i am writing about. I hired an auto rickshaw and moved to this place which is at a distance 15 kilometres from Mahabalipuram.

I reached the place and what i see.. A hill with almost 300 steps to the top on which, a very famous temple is situated. I was tired, but adamant. I started off ascending. Thirukazhukundram is an ancient town in Kanchipuram district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is famous for its Hindu temple, Vedagiriswarar temple, popularly known as Kazhugu koil (Eagle temple). The word Thirukazhukundram comes from the Tamil words Thiru (Respectful), Kazhugu (Eagle), Kundram (mount). The town is also known as Pakshi theertham. It has also been known as Uruthrakodi, Nandipuri, Indrapuri, Narayanapuri, Brahmapuri, Dinakarapuri, Muniganapuri in the past. The main attraction here is the large temple located atop the mountain which houses the deity of Vedagiriswarar. There is a temple at the foothills which is dedicated to Thirupurasundari Amman.

There is a very interesting legend here. It is said that eight rishis of the Hindu pantheon were cursed by Lord Shiva to be reborn as eagles. The worshippers begged forgiveness and Lord Shiva showed them some mercy. They were to be reborn as holy eagles, two in each yugam (an epoch of the Hindu calendar) and attain Sayujya mukti by worshipping Lord Siva sincerely. Locals believe that out of  the eight rishis, six have already attained their wish by being born as eagles and worshipping the Lord. The remaining two are said to be the two eagles that have visited Thirukazhukundram daily since time immemorial, in order to worship Shiva and obtain salvation from the curse. It is said that after a bath in the Ganges in the morning, they come to the site at noon for food, reach Rameswaram in the evening for darshan and return to Chidambaram for the night.

I spoke to the priest and he mentioned that both the eagles died at this very same location and attained Mukti. Also it is said that the eagles moved around with the devotees and never harmed any. They just ate what the devotees offered and flew away. We can have an entre view of the surroundings once we reach to the top. Also we can see the entire complex and the 4 gopurams of the Amman temple  below.

The temple is old but the outer construction is new and painted. The pillars and the sculptures inside date the temple to the 14th century AD. Black stone is used entirely inside the temple and the pillars shine in the electric bulbs. Hundreds of devotees throng the temple everyday from all places in Tamil Nadu to offer prayers to the Linga form of Lord Shiva. I attended the evening Aarti of the Lord and came down to the Amman Temple.

There are four inscriptions on the strong room of the Vedagiriswarar Temple. That part of the wall where these inscriptions are found, is disfigured by a number of mason's marks, which are noticed in the footnotes to the texts. These marks consist, in most cases, of Tamil numerals, engraved probably before attempting to pull down the wall with a view to repair the temple. The numerals would indicate the order in which the stones had to be arranged while rebuilding the wall. This custom of marking is still prevalent in Southern India. An example would be the Ekambareshwara Temple at Kanchipuram. At this place the numerals are not cut with the chisel as at Thirukazhukundram, but painted on the stones with tar or chunnam. The alphabet and language of the four subjoined inscriptions is Tamil; but a number of words of Sanskrit origin are written either wholly or partially in Grantha characters.

There is a big mantapa to the left of the temple. Its an old construction and the most beautiful thing is the ceiling of it, where old paintings still awe the visitors. The temple chariot is placed inside this mantapa and even the pillars of this are carved with various forms of gods and goddesses. The construction of the mantapa clearly mark the temple to be one that was commissioned by the Vijayanagara kings.

I then moved inside the temple. The inside of the temple is amazing. Unfortunately, i was not allowed to take any photographs inside as i was carrying my Video Camera. The temple has a long mukha mantapa which leads to an antarala. There are sculptures of warriors on horses on both sides of the mukha mantapa which gives an extra ordinary look to the temple. The garbha griha is big with the Amman shining bright in the lamps as well as electric bulbs.

There is a fresh water pond beside the Amman temple. A conch pops out of this  pond every twelve years and this has been happening ever since the temple has been constructed. All these conchs are stored inside a small room in the Amman temple complex and the visitors are offered to see them for a small fee. It is really amazing to even think that a conch pops out of fresh water.

It was almost 8 in the night by the time i had a darshan of Amman. I went back to my hotel in Mahabalipuram for a nice hot bath, had nice dinner with chilled beer and signed off for the day. I started off early next morning to my next destination, Kanchipuram.

References: Wikipedia and Epigraphia Indica Vol. 3

The Pidari Rathas are two incomplete rathas and similar in style with Pancha Pandava Ratha group, hence could be assigned to the same period. One of these faces east and another faces north. Both are two storeys design where the upper part of the ratha is complete but the lower portion is very little done. Both of them are carved in different profile, one has a square roof and another has an octagonal roof. On the ridges of the roofs is seen floral creepers, similar to Draupadi Ratha. Regular arrangement of mini shrines over the cornice is also found here. In one of the ratha we also see pilasters supporting the cornice, however the other one has not still reached to that state of completion.

The Atiranachanda Mandapa is located at Saluvankuppam, about 4 km from Mahabalipuram on Chennai route. This is an east facing mandapa measuring 28 feet long, 6 feet wide and 6.5 feet high. The façade of the cave is supported on two pillars and two pilasters. Above the cornice we see incomplete horizontal frieze of mini shrines. Inside the are seen three cells, however only the central cell is excavated as a square of 3.5 feet, the rest of two cells are just the wall portions separated by the middle cell. Inside the middle cell is placed a black polished multi faceted lingam, which is seen as a characteristic style of Rajasimha. Another proof to support this cave excavation to Rajasimha is Somaskanda panel on the back wall inside the shrine. Shiva is shown seated with Uma and baby Skanda under a parasol. They are flanked by Vishnu and Brahma on either side. Outside this cell, in the sunk niches, are carved two dvarpalas. Two similar Somaskanda panels are seen carved on the back wall of the mandapa on either sides of the central cell. From the pillars and corbel, it looks that the cave might have been executed during Mahendra/Mamalla’s time however black polished fluted linga and Somaskanda panel inside the central cell suggests the creation to Rajasimha. It would be wrong to assume that the excavation was started during Mahendra/Mamalla’s time and completed by Rajasimha as the cave is still incomplete and also to complete such a simple excavation would not require this much time such as between Mamalla and Rajasimha. We see a long stone Lings outside the Mandapa. Some historians suggest that the current granite was placed inside recently and the the Linga outside was the one that was originally inside the cell.

We have two inscriptions, one on northern wall and another on southern wall, in  this temple. Both are similar inscription, only difference is in their script, one written in Sanskrit and another in Pallava Grantha script. From the inscriptions, we found that this temple was called as Atiranachanda-Pallaveshvara-Griham – Ishvara temple of Atiranachanda Pallava. It is clearly stated that this was excavated as an adobe for Shiva, Uma and Skanda with the ganas. Pallava Grantha inscription runs for seventeen lines while the Sanskrit inscription runs for sixteen lines. In the additional line of Pallava Grantha script talks about the musical talents of Kalakala, another title of Rajasimha. Few verses of the inscriptions are similar to Dharmaraja and Ganesha Ratha inscriptions of Parameshvaravarman I. From the inscription, it is clear that this cave can be assigned to Rajasimha.

Yali Mandapam (Tiger Cave) – This structure is quite different and unique from the other cave shrines of Mahabalipuram. This south-east facing structure is located near Atiranachanda Mandapam. This cave is refined, cut at a height of 6 feet from the ground level and the pavilion is closed on three sides and a 4 feet deep and 6 feet high cavity is excavated in the front. The staircase, to reach the high raised platform, is supported by lion parapets on either sides.

There are two rampant lion pilasters at the corners of this cavity. There is a female rider sitting over the rearing lion. This is the first instance of rearing lion pillar style in a Mahabalipuram cave which suggests that it was excavated during Rajasimha’s time. Also the proximity of this mandapam to Atiranachanda Mandapa also supports Rajasimha as its creator. There are two small niches carved on the either side of  this central cavity, the niches are empty. Around this central cell and the two niches is a surrounding garland like arrangement of eleven vyalas (mythological lion-shaped animal). On the same rock, south of this pavilion, are carved two large elephants heads, above which is a horse-show cavity representing a howdah. If we compare the elephants of Arjuna’s Penance then these elephants heads are very inferior in craftsmanship, even if we take account of the damage done due to saline air. The ears of the elephants are  carved with  Inside these are carved four-armed seated figure carrying what seems like a vajra (thunderbolt) in one of their hands. One figure could be identified with Indra as elephant is his mount. There is a pillar (dhvaja-stambha) in between two elephants. On south of the elephants is a figure of horse, approaching towards the elephants. However that figure is not complete and quite worn out due to the saline air.

On northern face of the same rock is carved a huge lion. In its stomach is carved out a cavity. Some figure was planned inside this cavity, as can be seen from what’s left behind,  however it was left unfinished. This lion is similar to the standing lion inside Shore Temple, in whose chest is carved a cavity and inside is a relief of  Mahishasuramardini.The lion head is quite identifiable however In whole it looks like a crude carving. From all above elements of this rock boulder, it can be inferred that this cave was thought to be dedicated to Durga. This surmise is totally dependent upon the presence of so many lions, who is the mount of Goddess Durga. As stated earlier, this creation is assigned to Rajasimha by most of the scholars.

Mukunda Nayanar Temple:

This temple was buried under 12 feet of sand and was excavated at the same time when Sulvankuppam excavations were carried out. This lies little far from town, on the way towards Sulvankuppam. This is a small temple which is very similar to Dharmaraja Ratha in its architecture and design. This east facing double storey temple, thought assigned to Rajasimha’s period, does not have rampant lion pillars, which are very characteristic features of his style and are found in all the temples attributed to him. The temple has a ardha-mandapa supported on two pillars and two pilasters. The pillars are circular in shape with diminishing diameter towards the upper end. Above the cornice is seen regular arrangement of mini shrines interconnected via cloisters. The corner shrines are with square roof however the middle one is with oblong roof. These mini shrines separates the first storey with the ground one. On the first storey are seen niches on all four sides, however all are empty. The ardha-mandapa leads into a square  garbha-griham. On the back wall of this sanctum is a Somaskanda panel. Shiva is shown seated with Uma and baby Skanda, while Vishnu and Brahma are shown standing behind them. Skanda is shown seated in Parvati’s lap. The style is very similar to the other such panels of Rajasimha’s time. The presence of this panel supports the theory of its assignment to Rajasimha. There is a Shivalingam installed in front of this panel, however it seems to be a later addition.

We have come to the end of the wonderful journey of Mahabalipuram. This place would always have a special place in my trips as this is the first time i ventured into Tamil Nadu. I bid adieu to the land where stones speak history and move to my next destination, Thirukazhukundram.

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This is perhaps the monument which gave this town the name of ‘Seven Pagodas’ by earlier mariners. This high rising monument is located at the sea shore, hence the name Shore Temple, and is visible from quite a distance across the ocean. This monument would have acted as a landmark for the ships to get the right directions to safely dock at nearby shore. First look of the monument gives the feeling of a pagoda, which European mariners were quite familiar with hence they gave the name ‘Seven Pagodas’ to this town. It was indeed earlier thought as the work of Chinese or Egyptians, which was only later clarified with extensive study of various monuments of the town. The local villagers tells about stories of seven such monuments with gilded top crowns which they were able to see just above the water level, however all were submerged soon. ASI took up the task of underwater archaeology however nothing much was found to support the existence of those monuments. It is quite clear that the sea has encroached much of the ground of the temple, as ASI did a wonderful job to clear out the debris from 8 feet sand accumulated by continuous drift from the sea and constructed break-water wall all around the sea shore to save the temple from further damage.

This temple complex consist three different temples, raised above the same platform. Towers of the two temples have survived, but of the one is missing. Temple with smaller tower faces west while temple with large tower faces east towards the sea. Both the towers are pyramidal stepped structure which is topped with an octagonal sikhara above. The octagonal sikhara puts this into Dravidian style of temple architecture.

The large temple tower has three recessed storeys. The cornice of each storey has regular arrangement of kudus(horseshoe dormer windows) as seen in the cave temples. Octagonal sikhara is mounted over a circular griva. This sikhara is topped  with a kalasa and finial. The inner cell, garbhagriha, is a square of 12 feet sides and 11 feet high. There is a somaskanda panel at the back wall of this cell, while two similar panels are there in the porch of the temple. The enshrined Shivalinga is of typical Rajasimha style, made of black basalt stone with multi-faceted sides, sixteen in this case, and slightly fluted at the top such as to form the crown above the top. The upper part of the linga is broken. The total height of the linga would have been six feet out of this one feet is buried in the ground to fit in the hole to support the vertical shaft. The garbhagriha is preceded by a ardha-mandapa, in which south wall is sculpted Brahma and north wall is depicting Vishnu. On outer northern wall of the sanctum, we find two sculptures of interest, Shiva as Tripurantaka and Durga. There is an open circumambulatory path around this shrine. Many of the sculptures on the external walls are in much ruined condition.

The middle shrine, without any tower, is sandwiched in between small and large Shiva temples. This is a rectangular shrine to enshrine Anantasayana (Sleeping posture of Vishnu over Sesha) image of Vishnu. This image is very mush ruined and the attributes in his hands are beyond recognition. There is an inscription in Pallava Grantha script on the  lintel of this shrine which suggests that this is perhaps the earliest shrine of the complex. The smaller Shiva temple is sculpted in similar design as that of large temple or Dharmaraja Ratha. The tower is stepped pyramidal in design, topped with an octagonal sikhara mounted on a circular griha. The sikhara is topped with a kalasa and finial above that. The cell has a somaskanda panel at the back wall. There would have been a mandapa in front of this temple, however this is missing now.

In recent excavations, a compound is found near the main shrine, within the complex. This compound has a circular shrine in the middle which has rampant lions on its pilasters. It has a circular sikhara. Inside is shown a figure of Ganesha. There would have been a kalasa above this sikhara however it is missing now. Another interesting discovery is an image of Varaha (boar) placed within this compound. We have seen similar Varaha images at Khajuraho and Eran, however those images are shown representing varaha coming out of the ocean carrying Bhu-devi. This Varaha at Mahabalipuram is in different posture, it is shown with its head down and pressing its hind legs with force such as to plunge into the ocean. There is no figure of Bhu-devi hence it is assumed that the scene represented here is of the start of spectacle of getting Bhu-devi from the depths of the ocean. As the shrine and the Varaha are constructed at the base of the compound, hence when it would have been filled with water, this would have presented a marvellous fascinating scene of Varaha submerged in waters to get Bhu-devi from its depths.

Within the compound of this temple, is a monolith sculpture of a lion. This is partly  carved out of rock and partly sculpted. This majestic lion is seated majestically with a hole in its torso. This hole in its torso is perhaps a representation of a cave shrine. Inside the back of the hole, is carved a miniature image of Durga in Mahishasurmardini posture. Creation of this space near the heart of the lion also represents that concept of most loved person residing with your heart, viewers can recall a famous story from Ramayana where Hanuman opened up his heart to shown that Rama with Sita live within his heart. In similar fashion, for lion, being the mount of goddess Durga, it is quite appropriate to carve her image near its heart. A female guardian is shown sitting on lions leg, carrying a bow.

Hundreds of sculptures are found in this vicinity and are displayed as an open air  museum. There are few inscriptions found in this temple. Some of those are listed below.
1. On the lintel of Vishnu shrine is an inscription which refers this temple as Narapatisimha Pallava Vishnu Griha. Narapatisimha is a title of Rajasimha, as seen among his list of titles from Kailasanatha Temple at Kanchi.
2. On the plinth of two balipithas excavated in the courtyard of this temple, there is found a damaged Sanskrit record of six verses written in Pallava Grantha script. This inscription praises Pallava King Atyantakama, a title of Rajasimha.
3. In the slab of smaller Shiva temple, which is now inserted in the base, are found two inscriptions of Rajaraja Chola I dated in his twenty-fifth year of reign, 1010 CE. The names of the three temples mentioned in these inscriptions are,Kshatriyasimha Pallaveshvara-griham, Rajasimha Pallaveshvara-griham and Pllikondaruliya-devar. The whole complex is referred as Jalashayana. These inscriptions also indicates that the Vishnu shrine was executed first among all the shrines.

We now move on to the last leg of the trip to Mahabalipuram, the Tiger Cave.

The Bhima Ratha is the third ratha in line after Draupadi and Arjuna Rathas. As this seems to be the bulkiest one among the group hence name Bihma seems quite appropriate however keep in mind that these buildings had nothing to do with Pandavas. From the architecture style, this building resembles the early Buddhist building. This is oblong in plan and topped with a wagon vaulted roof with gabled ends. It is 42 feet long, 25 feet wide and 25 feet high. This is two storey building, where the ground floor is left unfinished. A circumambulatory path was planned around the oblong shrine, all around supported by the pillars. The corners were to be transformed into lion-base pillars but the work on those is left unfinished. From the oblong shrine in middle, we may deduce that this ratha was constructed to house Anantasayana (sleeping Vishnu) icon of Vishnu, however there is no proof to support this deduction. The pillars supporting the wagon roof of these shrines are supported on rampant lion pillars.

The first storey has wagon vaulted roof supported a rectangular structure with niches carved at regular intervals. In some of the niches are seen unfinished human figures. The gable ends of this roof are very interesting, northern one is more finished than the southern one. In these is shown a shrine with octagonal vimana topped with a spherical roof. If you compare the style of this shrine, inside the gabled end, then for sure it resembles with the Buddhist stupas however, there are many differentiating factors which suggests that this is one of the temple tower style tried out by the Mahabalipuram artists. If we count all the rathas, then we have total of twelve tower styles seen altogether, ten of the rathas and one shrine each in the gabled ends of Bhima and Sahadeva Ratha. It can be assumed that the artists there tried to show various kinds of tower styles so that the appropriate styles can be taken up for further refinement. The vaulted roof of this ratha would have many finials along its ridge however none can be seen now except their bases.

The Dharmaraja Ratha is the south-most shrine in the series and the highest one as well. Being the biggest one among the group, the name Dharmaraja, the eldest among the Pandavas, justifies it pretty well. On plan and architecture it looks very similar to Arjuna Ratha, however here we see a three storey building instead of two. The ground floor is a square of 28 feet side and the tallest among the all floors. This is more than 35 feet high from the ground to its domed roof. As in most of the other rathas, this ratha is also incomplete as can be seen from the left work on the ground floor. This west facing ratha is open on all the sides, each side supported on two pillars and two pilasters. The corners on each side are left such as forming piers supporting the roof. Initially the plan was to excavate the cell in the middle however the rock gave in due to the weight of above structure as the fissure seen in the middle. Initial travellers and scholars took this fissure as the result of an earthquake however, there seems to be no such incident of this nature happening in the past.

This ratha is very important from iconography perspective as here we see many icons for the first time in Pallava history and of south India as well. All of the three floors are carved extensively all around hence we see various icons. There are total of eight niches on the external sides of the ground floor. Some of the niches bear the inscriptions, which were first thought as the names of the artists but later on clarified as the titles of some Pallava king.

One of the niches has a very important image, Pallava king Narasimhavarman I Mamalla. This theory is dependent upon the inscription above the niche. The figure as such depicts all the features of a royal personage. Long ear rings are in his both ears. He is shown wearing a short lower garment which is tied in front of his waist. He is also shown wearing a yajnopavita. Another feature to distinguish him from other celestial deities is that he is depicted with two hands only. The inscription above the niche gives two titles, ‘Atyantakama (boundless desires)’ and ‘Anekopaya (many expedients)’.

The first floor of this ratha has many images however it’s not easy to reach there as there is no provision in this monument to go to this storey. You need a stair to reach up however it’s not easy as I think you will need permission from ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) and also to arrange for such a stair. The second storey is the most finished floor of the ratha. There is a cell excavated with niches on either side having dvarpalas installed. In the cell of this floor we find the earliest representation of Somaskanda panel. In this panel Parvati is shown seated facing Shiva. In later stages we see the face of Parvati turns towards us. In this floor we found two inscriptions, which gave us information about the creator of the monument. The inscription ‘Atyantakama-Pallaveshvara-Griham’ suggests that this temple was constructed by Atyantakama, which according to E Hultzsch it is the title of Narasimhavarman I Mamalla, while K R Srinivasan suggests that this is the title of Parameshvaravarman I and R Nagaswamy says that this title is of Narasimhavarman II Rajasimha.

The Sahadeva Ratha is standing away from the group, carved out on a separated boulder, just opposite to Arjuna Ratha. Not only this is separated from the group but its architecture style also puts it standing out among the others. Some historians suggest that this ratha was probably dedicated to Indra on account of elephants on the doors as the guardians and a life size elephant figure standing  near this monument. This west facing shrine has it façade supported on two pillars which are with regular lion-base theme. This façade forms a kind of mukha-mandapa which leads to the main cell. This cell has two pilasters on outside with elephants carved on the base such as forming the guardians of the shrines. There are two storeys above the ground floor. Above the cornice of the ground floor, we witness the regular arrangement of oblong gabled shrines and square corner shrines interconnected by a cloister all around the edge. The gabled end at the west is very interesting in style. We see three gates carved out, the central gate is bigger than the other two. Inside the central door is carved a shrine with square tower topped with a finial.

The side life-size elephant is carved with not very sharp features but rather little crude in craftsmanship. Also this figure in not  complete as the space between front and rear legs is not removed and feet are not carved in complete. The trunk is rather very straight and very raw in features. There are holed space for the tusks however these are empty now. Probably these holes were adorned with real tusks but it’s just a theory nothing to substantiate this.

So these are the various monuments under the group 'Pancha Pandava Rathas'. Understanding the story and the architecture behind these monuments has been a really great experience with the amount of reading that i had done before writing this article.

There are quite a good number of references which includes other blogs. Some of the ideas expressed are taken directly from the other blogs. However, i tried to make this original as much as i could.

We are already on the last leg of the trip to Mahabalipuram. We just have to visit a couple of places more. I next moved to one of the masterpieces in Mahabalipuram, the Shore Temple.

Till now we have seen the rock-cut temple where a rock face is excavated deep to form a verandah and to accommodate one or more cells on the back wall. Also well known is the fact that Mahendravarman I started this rock-cut shrine fashion in South India. As all the cave temple only show the two dimensional representation of your thoughts what if someone wants to represent his ideas in three dimensions and keeping the long lasting characteristic of rocks. This is where we see the brilliance of Mahendra's successor Narasimhavarman I Mamalla when he started a new style, carving the temple out of a monolith, locally called as Rathas. The freshness of these rathas are still the same as it looks that these were finished very recently. A Ratha literally meant a car or chariot. In old times, as well as in present, the temples used to have their cars in which the main deities were put during the processions. However these carved monoliths do not look like a chariot but a full blown temple itself. The sculptors started from the top as noticed from their incomplete state at the bottom. There are total of ten such rathas at Mahabalipuram. We have already see the Ganesha Ratha earlier. We will visit the others now.

The Pancha Pandava Rathas actually have nothing to do with the Pandavas. It was a custom in the earlier period to associate a construction to a mystical figure and moreover the number of constructions are five. Four out of five rathas are carved out of a single whale-back rock which has a gradual increase in height from north to south. This rock is utilized in its fullest and from it came out four magnificent specimen of Pallava architecture. Most of the scholars assign these constructions to Narasimhavarman I Mamalla, however some of these might have been completed by his successor Parameshvaravarman I.

The Draupadi Ratha is the smallest of the group and located on the northern most end of the rock. Being the smallest and dedicated to female goddess, this is named so. In architectural style, this looks like a thatched roof of Bengal where curvilinear roof is usually topped upon the structure. This kind of huts would have been quite in use not only in Bengal but other parts of India, such as in present time also we see such huts in our villages. The finial would have been placed in old time, however now it is missing. This west facing ratha is constructed on a high rise platform, which is supported on a large alternating elephant and lion heads frieze. The front facade has two female dvarapalas, proper right one holding a sword and proper left one holding a bow. At the corners of the roof is seen beautiful creeper designs.

On the back wall of the cell inside, is a magnificent image of Durga. She is shown standing on a lotus. Depicted with four hands, she is carrying a sankha and chakra in her upper hands while her one lower hand is in abhaya mudra and another lower hand is resting on her waist. There are two devotees, left one trying to cut his head in offerings to the goddess while the right one is offering flowers. The devotee on the left is shown with long tresses and he is holding those in order to keep his neck tight to accommodate smooth cutting. We also see four ganas (goblins) on the upper side of the panel, two on either side of the goddess. Two, at extreme ends, are shown holding a small sword while the two inner ones are shown with one hand raised in adoration.

There are three niches carved at the three walls of this ratha. The niches are carved within two pilasters and are shown an icon of Durga who is standing on a buffalo head, which represents Mahishasura, the buffalo demon. In her upper hands she carries sankha and chakra while her one lower hand is in abhaya mudra and another resting on her waist. In front of this ratha is carved a 6 feet high lion out of a boulder. As the ratha is dedicated to Durga hence her lion in front and this shows the utilization at the maximum, simply outstanding.

The Arjuna Ratha is west facing and measures 11.5 feet by 16 feet and 20 feet high. It shares the platform with the Draupadi Ratha. This is a two storey complex with a octagonal dome like structure on the top. This top would have been adorned with a finial, as this finial can be seen on the platform near this shrine. The front facade is supported on two pillars and two pilasters on the front. The pilasters are supported by lions, which are shown facing each other. The second storey (first floor) has eight niches adorned with couples, two on each side. There is a small mandapa in front which leads into the garbha-griha which is a almost square cell of 4.5 feet by 5 feet in size. The Garbha-griha is empty now, but it was  reported by earlier historians that they found a head with trisula prongs. Hence this structure seems to be dedicated to Shiva. The niche images on external  walls also supports this deduction.There was not much space for dvarpalas inside the cell or in mandapa hence those are carved on external walls.

On north niche is shown Vishnu on Garuda. Vishnu is shown carrying sankha and chakra and shown in the act of mounting on to Garuda. On proper right to this niche is shown a couple and proper left niche is empty. On the corner niches are shown two dvarpalas, with one hand raised in adoration. On east wall is shown Subramanya on his mount, elephant in the central niche. As Indra is also depicted with his elephant so this could be Indra as well, however as the monument is dedicated to Shiva hence Subramanya seems to be better fit. Also his headdress is similar to the Subramanya image of Trimurti Cave, hence this image on this ratha can be treated as of Subramanya. On its proper right niche are shown two female figures, in which one figure is of great beauty and grace. On proper left niche is shown a sage with his disciple. On corner niches are shown dvarpalas, in which the proper right one is shown holding a bow and other one with one hand raised in adoration. On southern wall, in middle niche, is shown Shiva where he is shown leaning against his mount, Nandi, the bull. On the either side of this niche are shown two couples, one in each niche. On corner niches are shown dvarpalas, with one hand raised in adoration. On the east of the ratha is a figure of Nandi, the mount of Shiva. As there was no rock found in front of the ratha hence the artists carved this out in the rock at the backside of the monument. In such a case, the artists were able to carve the face of Nandi facing the shrine, as seen in orthodox style.

We will see the other three Rathas in the following article…

The Ganesha Ratha is located on the backside hill of Arjuna’s Penance and is one of the most complete ratha at the site. As this is the most complete ratha hence it might be that it was started earliest among all however there is no evidence to support this. Though the shrine is meant to be dedicated to Shiva, but a Ganesha image is housed inside. This image was placed by the villagers in about 1880s with  the permission of the then District Collector.The original Shivalinga however was installed later below a nearby tree. This west facing ratha has two upper storeys with a wagon roof and is 20 feet long, 11.5 feet wide and 28 feet high, in proportions. There is cell excavated in the centre, measuring about 7 feet by 4 feet and 7 feet high. The west frontal façade is supported on two lion-base pillars and two lion-base pilasters. The lions of the pillars faces front and those of pilasters faces each other, as per the regular arrangement seen in other similar monuments.

There is seen a human face peeping out of the cornice. Above the cornice is seen regular arrangement of oblong and square mini shrines, interconnected by a cloister. This horizontal frieze of shrines separated the first storey with the ground floor. The gabled ends are very interesting in design, east side end is fully survived. These horse shoe shaped windows have three doors carved out, where the central one is shown containing a high Shivalinga like structure. Many scholars suggests that this design is taken from Buddhist style where a stupa is carved or placed under the  central door. The deign does show some affinity with Buddhist style however if such an influence is there then it would have come from Amaravati artists. On the west portico is a Sanskrit inscription, similar to that of Dharmaraja Mandapa. There are total of fourteen verses in this inscription and the twelfth verse  states that this temple is founded by a Pallava king named Atyantakama, Atyantakama-Pallaveshvara-Griham. The other verses eulogized Shiva.

The Mahishasura Mardhini Cave is one of the important monuments in Mahabalipuram and a must visit for its beautiful architecture. This cave temple is below the Olakkaneshwara Temple. This is a three celled shrine, 32 feet long, 15 feet wide and 12.5 feet high hall, where the central one is projected forward compared to the two subsidiary cells. The front facade is supported in four pillars and two pilasters. The central cell has a small mukha-mandapa in front of it which is supported in two pillars with seated lion bases.

The middle sanctum is flanked by dvarapalas (guardians) on either side, and inside it has a panel on the back wall. In this panel Shiva is shown seated majestically on a platform with Parvati. Baby Skanda is shown seated on Parvati’s lap. Shiva’s mount Nandi is shown seated near Shiva’s feet on the ground. Shiva and Parvati are shown  wearing various ornaments such as necklaces, bracelets, ear-rings etc. There is a devotee shown on right side corner. Brahma and Vishnu are shown standing behind Shiva-Parvati. Brahma is shown standing on left side with four heads and four hands. He is shown holding a water vessel and akshamala in his upper hands. Vishnu is also shown with four hands, carrying chakra and sankha in his upper hands. Surya is seen on top, between Brahma and Vishnu.

This cave is with so much detail that once can take even an hour to completely explore each part of it. Let us see the other panels and the sculptures in this beautiful Mandapa.

The most astonishing features of this cave are the two side panels, which are very exquisite in sculpture art. The north wall depicts Durga as Mahishasura Mardhini fighting with demon Mahishasura. This panel is simply put as one of the most elegant example of the Pallava art. Because of this panel, this shrine is named accordingly. If we can divide this panel in two parts with a vertical line, then left part shows the army with Goddess Durga while the right part shows the army of the  buffalo-demon Mahishasura. Durga is shown mounted on prancing lion and carrying weapons in her eight hands. She is shown holding khadga (sword), dhanush (bow), bana(arrows), ghanta (bell) in her right hands while pasa (rope), sankha (conch), dagger in her left hands. Durga is shown getting ready to fire an arrow towards the demon. One chatra(parasol) is held above her head by one of her companion. She is accompanied with her female warriors and ganas(dwarfs). On right is shown retreating army of the demon. Mahishasura is shown in retreating himself back and trying to save himself from falling. He is holding a gada (club) whose heaviness can be felt in his posture. One of his companion is trying to hide himself behind another so to escape from death. One of his soldier is shown falling head down. Another is shown fell on the ground and looking above in fear. The panel depicts the victory of divine power over the evil forces, and sculptors were successful in taking this theme out in perfection.

On southern wall is a panel depiction Vishnu in anantasayana mudra. He is shown with two hands, stretched over the coil of serpent, Adi-sesha. Adi-sesha’s five-hooded head is spread as an umbrella over Vishnu’s head. Two demons are shown  approaching Vishnu near his feet to attack him. Both are shown carrying gada (club). Seeing them approaching near, Adi-Sesha hissed and flames came out of his hoods. Due to these flames, the demons retreated backwards, as shown in the scene. One hand of Vishnu is shown taping over the coil of Adi-Sesha. The rightmost female figure is Bhudevi.

I spent almost half an hour in this Mantapa. It was quite hot that day and i was really tired. I took a break for some quick lunch and moved on to visit the Pancha Pandava Rathas.