One of India’s most iconic treasures and UNESCO heritage sites is found on the Eastern coast of South India, around 60 km south of Chennai. This is Mamallapuram (also known as Mahabalipuram), a very old place that is famous for its intricately carved temples and monuments constructed by the Pallava dynasty in the 7th and 8th centuries.
The modern town is a tranquil place with only around 12,000 inhabitants. I booked my stay in a simple guesthouse that had its rooms arranged around a shady courtyard, and that provided a huge terrace with comfortable seating spaces.
No sooner had I arrived when I was contacted by a group of Manganiyar friends from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan (musicians and dancers) who were performing at a five-star hotel nearby. They invited me to their home in Mamallapuram and I had a great evening being serenaded with wonderful music.
The next morning, I began my explorations of the magical sites of Mamallapuram, beginning with the shore temple.
Mamallapuram had once been a busy seaport. Marco Polo and the European merchants described Mamallapuram as ‘the place with the seven pagodas’ (which were supposedly covered with copper domes reflecting the sunlight) that could be seen from the sea and served as a nautical landmark. Of these pagodas now only the shore temple survives.
Whilst the references to the seven pagodas had been believed to be anecdotal, the 2004 tsunami had suddenly exposed some remains of submerged temples and walls. Archaeological research confirmed the presence of many more structures in the sea through the use of sonar technology. Another tsunami during the 13th century may have destroyed many of the Pallava temples in this location.
The shore temple is believed to have been constructed by King Rajasimha (700 – 729 AD), also known as Narasimhavarman II of the Pallava dynasty. Built of granite blocks rather than rock-cut boulders, it is one of the oldest structural stone temples of Southern India. There are three shrines, two dedicated to Shiva and one dedicated to Vishnu. On the picture above you can see the Varaha statue (one of the incarnations of Vishnu) and the tank that becomes filled with water at high tides or with heavy rains.
The outer walls of the temple are flanked with sculptures of the bull Nandi (Shiva’s attendant and vehicle).
There is also a sculpture of a lion with the goddess Durga at its side.
Next, I visited the ‘Five Rathas’, a complex of monuments of rock-cut architecture. Each of the five monuments resembles a chariot (ratha) and each is carved over a long stone monolith of granite in a north-south direction.
These structures were not temples as they had never been consecrated after the death of Narasinkahavarman I who had ordered their carvings. The structures are named after the five Pandava brothers of the Mahabharata epic. The true purpose of these structures was never known as they were never completed.
Especially eye-catching was the life size statue of an elephant.
I bumped into a family group from the Jodhpur region in Rajasthan who had commented on my tie dye dress, so we ended up posing for a photo together.
Next, I went to see the amazing rock reliefs known as ‘The Descent of the Ganges’, one of the largest rock reliefs in Asia that narrates several Hindu myths. The carving has a dimension of 27 m in length and 9 m in height. Included in the carvings are presentations of Vishnu, Shiva and other deities as well as sages, human beings, animals, reptiles and birds. Once more the carvings of elephants are especially beautiful.
There are also a number of rock-cut temples nearby, some of them with reliefs carved onto the walls.
Nearby is ‘Krishna’s butterball’ (Krishna was said to have often stolen butterballs from his mother), a giant granite rock measuring around 6×5 meters, and resting on a short incline. This giant boulder seems to defy all laws of gravity; hence many believe that it is held in its position by the breath of the divine.
It was wonderful to visit all the ancient sites of Mamallapuram and to relax in between at the nearby beach used by the fishermen.
One afternoon my Manganiyar friends had invited me to their performance in the posh hotel where they had a contract for the season. However, the hotel management soon caught up with me and asked me politely but firmly to leave unless I paid the extortionate price for the ‘high tea’ which came to more than my budget for one whole day…
All in all, I had a phantastic time in Mamallapuram and can highly recommend it as a destination for any history buff and lovers of art and architecture!