Mahabalipuram

For the lm, see Mahabalipuram (lm). of Theodosius I in the 4th century CE have been found
at Mahabalipuram revealing the port as an active hub of
global trade in the late classical period. Two Pallava coins
Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, is a
town in Kancheepuram district in the Indian state of bearing legends read as Srihari and Srinidhi have been
found at Mahabalipuram. The Pallava kings ruled Maha-
Tamil Nadu. It is around 60 km south from the city of
Chennai. It is an ancient historic town and was a bustling balipuram from Kanchipuram; the capital of the Pallava
seaport during the time of Periplus (1st century CE) and dynasty from the 3rd century to 9th century CE, and used
Ptolemy (140 CE). Ancient Indian traders who went to the port to launch trade and diplomatic missions to Sri
countries of South East Asia sailed from the seaport of Lanka and Southeast Asia.
Mahabalipuram. An 8th-century Tamil text written by Thirumangai Al-
By the 7th century it was a port city of South Indian dy- var described this place as Sea Mountain where the ships
nasty of the Pallavas. It has a group of sanctuaries, which rode at anchor bent to the point of breaking laden as
was carved out of rock along the Coromandel coast in they were with wealth, big trunked elephants and gems of
the 7th and 8th centuries : rathas (temples in the form nine varieties in heaps. It is also known by several other
of chariots), mandapas (cave sanctuaries), giant open-air names such as Mamallapattana and Mamallapuram. An-
rock reliefs such as the famous Descent of the Ganges, other name by which Mahabalipuram has been known to
and the Shore Temple, with thousands of sculptures to mariners, at least since Marco Polos time is Seven Pago-
the glory of Shiva. The Group of Monuments at Maha- das alluding to the Seven Pagodas of Mahabalipuram
balipuram has been classied as a UNESCO World Her- that stood[3]on the shore, of which one, the Shore Temple,
itage Site. survives.

It has an average elevation of 12 metres (39 feet). The The temples of Mahabalipuram, portraying events de-
modern city of Mahabalipuram was established by the scribed in the Mahabharata, were built largely dur-
British Raj in 1827.[1] ing the reigns of Narasimhavarman and his successor
Rajasimhavarman and show the movement from rock-
cut architecture to structural building. The city of
Mahabalipuram was largely developed by the Pallava
1 Climate king Narasimhavarman I in the 7th century AD.[3] The
mandapa or pavilions and the rathas or shrines shaped
This city has a tropical climate. In winter, there is much as temple chariots are hewn from the granite rock face,
less rainfall than in summer. The Kppen-Geiger climate while the famed Shore Temple, erected half a century
classication is Aw. The average annual temperature in later, is built from dressed stone. What makes Maha-
Mahabalipuram is 28.4 C. In a year, the average rainfall balipuram so culturally resonant are the inuences it ab-
is 1219 mm.The temperatures are highest on average in sorbs and disseminates. The Shore Temple includes many
May, at around 32.6 C. In January, the average tempera- reliefs, including one 100 ft. long and 45 ft. high, carved
ture is 24.3 C. It is the lowest average temperature of the out of granite.[4]
whole year. The variation in the precipitation between All but one of the rathas from the rst phase of Pallava
the driest and wettest months is 309 mm. The average architecture are modeled on the Buddhist viharas or
temperatures vary during the year by 8.3 C. monasteries and chaitya halls with several cells arranged
around a courtyard.[5] Art historian Percy Brown, in fact,
traces the possible roots of the Pallava Mandapa to the
2 History similar rock-cut caves of Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves.
Referring to Narasimhavarmans victory in AD 642 over
Megalithic burial urn, cairn circles and jars with burials the Chalukyan king Pulakesin II, Brown says the Pallava
dating to the very dawn of the Christian era have been king may have brought the sculptors and artisans [6]
back to
discovered near Mahabalipuram. The Sangam age poem Kanchi and Mahabalipuram as 'spoils of war'.
Perumpuppaai relates the rule of King Thondaiman The fact that dierent shrines were dedicated to dier-
Ilam Thiraiyar at Kanchipuram of the Tondai Nadu port ent deities is evidence of an increased sectarianism at the
Nirppeyyaru which scholars identify with the present- time of their construction. A rock relief on a sculpted cli
day Mahabalipuram. Chinese coins and Roman coins

1
2 6 GALLERY
has an image of Shiva and a shrine dedicated to Vishnu,
indicating the growing importance of these Sangam pe-
riod deities and a weakening of the roles of Vedic gods
such as Indra and Soma.[7]
According to local guides, the sites name changed dur-
ing the centuries. The rst name was Kaalmalai meaning
The land between the mountain and the sea in Tamil.
The second name was Mmallpuram meaning The land
of the great wrestler as the region was ruled by the Palla-
van King Narsimhavarman during the 8th century who
was known for his strength. The third name was and is
still there is Mhbalipuram meaning The land of Ma-
habali. According to legends, he was the grandson of
the devoted Prahlada.
Mahabalipuram Shore Temple View from beach
Mahabalipuram Art Sculpture Shops
3 Transport
MTC and TNSTC (Villupuram) Kanchipuram division
buses are operating bus from Chennai, Chengalpattu,
Kancheepuram, Thiruttani etc. Apart from TNSTC
MTC operating buses to Mahabalipuram from various
parts of the city with Deluxe and Air conditioned Deluxe
buses
MTC bus Routes towards Mahabalipuram
4 Landmarks
Panoramic view of sculptures
The monuments are mostly rock-cut and monolithic, 66%. In Mahabalipuram, 12% of the population is under
and constitute the early stages of Dravidian architecture 6 years of age.
where in Buddhist elements of design are prominently
visible. They are constituted by cave temples, monolithic
rathas (chariots), sculpted reliefs and structural temples.
The pillars are of the Dravidian order. The sculptures are
excellent examples of Pallava art. They are located in the
side of the clis near Indias Bay of Bengal.
It is believed by some that this area served as a school
for young sculptors. The dierent sculptures, some half
nished, may have been examples of dierent styles of
architecture, probably demonstrated by instructors and
practiced on by young students. This can be seen in the
Pancha Rathas where each Ratha is sculpted in a dier-
ent style. These ve Rathas were all carved out of a single
piece of granite in situ.[4] While excavating Khajuraho,
Alex Evans, a stonemason and sculptor, recreated a stone
sculpture made out of sandstone, which is softer than
granite, under 4 feet that took about 60 days to carve.
The carving at Mahabalipuram must have required hun-
dreds of highly skilled sculptors.[8]
In 2004 the Indian Ocean Tsunami washed away tons of
coastal sand exposing structures including a granite lion
and an elephant relief. [9]
Some important structures include:
Thirukadalmallai, the temple dedicated to Lord
Vishnu. It was also built by Pallava King in order
to safeguard the sculptures from the ocean.
Descent of the Ganges or Bagirathas Penance a
giant open-air rock relief
Varaha Cave Temple a small rock-cut temple dat-
ing back to the 7th century.
The Shore Temple a structural temple along the
Bay of Bengal with the entrance from the western
side away from the sea. Recent excavations have re-
vealed new structures here.
Pancha Rathas (Five Chariots) ve monolithic
pyramidal structures named after the Pandavas
(Arjuna, Bhima, Yudhishtra, Nakula and Sahadeva)
and Draupadi. An interesting aspect of the rathas
is that, despite their sizes they are not assembled
each of these is carved from one single large piece
of stone.
Light House, built in 1894.
5 Demography
As of 2001 India census,[10] Mahabalipuram had a pop-
ulation of 12,345.[11] Males constitute 52% of the pop-
ulation and females 48%. Mahabalipuram has an aver-
age literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average
of 59.5%: male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is
6 Gallery
Mahabalipuram elephant statue
Shore temple, view from the north face
Sunrise at Shore Temple
Namrta Rai performing Kathak Recital at Mamal-
lapuram Dance Festival 2015
 3

Backside View of mahabalipuram

Lion Statue
Temples of mahabalipuram
Temples of mahabalipuram
Temples of mahabalipuram
Single Stone Elephant Carving of mahabalipuram
Panoramic view of sculptures Budha Statue of mahabalipuram
Five Rathas in Mahabalipuram diagonal view Temples of mahabalipuram
Mahabalipuram Shore Temples Temples of mahabalipuram
Shore Temple Mahabalipuram
Temples of mahabalipuram
Elephant and other creatures carved in granite at
Temples of mahabalipuram
Mahabalipuram.
Cave Temple at Mahabalipuram.
Monkey picking lice o other monkey at Maha-
7 See also
balipuram.
Seven Pagodas of Mahabalipuram
Pancha Rathas at Mahabalipuram.
Alamparai Fort
Light House
List Of Colossal Sculpture In Situ
Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram.
Tiger Cave
8 Literature
Krishnas Butter Ball
Submerged Temple at Mahabalipuram Lukas Hartmann: Mahabalipuram oder Als
Schweizer in Indien. Ein Reisetagebuch. Arche,
Mahabalipuram Beach Zrich, ISBN 978-3-716-01764-7.
Arjunas Penance
Mahabalipuram Temple at Dusk 9 References
Stone Carvings at Mahabalipuram
[1] Encyclopdia Britannica, 15th Edition (1982), Vol. VI,
Mahabalipuram seashore temple - Recumbent Vis- p. 497
chnu [2] Climate: Mahabalipuram. climate-data.org.
Tank at Mahabalipuram [3] Sundaresh, A. S. Gaur, Sila Tripati, K. H. Vora (10 May
2004). Underwater investigations o Mahabalipuram
Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram
(PDF). Current Science 86 (9).
Mahabalipuram Beach
[4] Ancient Discoveries: Lost Cities of the Deep History
Panorama of Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram Channel

Mahabalipuram Beach Panorama [5] Mahabalipuram Tamilnadu. Tamilnadu.com. 29

September 2012.
Mahabalipuram Beach Shore
[6] http://www.pilgrimage-india.com/
mahablipuram world heritage site, sculpture south-india-pilgrimage/mahabalipuram.html

Cave Temple of mahabalipuram [7] Doniger, Wendy, The Hindus: An Alternative History, Ox-
ford University Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0-19-959334-7
Shore Temple of mahabalipuram (pbk)

Carvings of mahabalipuram [8] Lost Worlds of the Kama Sutra History channel
4 10 EXTERNAL LINKS

[9] Tsunami waves exposed remnants of lost city. New Sci-

entist Magazine. 2005-02-26. Retrieved 2013-12-27.

[10] Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, in-
cluding cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Cen-
sus Commission of India. Archived from the original on
2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.

[11] Census of towns in Tamil Nadu (PDF). Census of India.

Retrieved 2012-06-10.

Sources

Ayyar, P. V. Jagadisa (1991), South Indian shrines:

illustrated, New Delhi: Asian Educational Services,
ISBN 81-206-0151-3.

Bradnock, Roma; Bradnock, Robert (2009),

Footprint India, USA: Patrick Dawson, ISBN
1-904777-00-7.
Pippa de Bruyn, Keith Bain, David Allardice
(2010). Frommers India. Frommers. p. 350.
ISBN 0-470-55610-2, ISBN 978-0-470-55610-8.
Hurd, James (2010), Temples of Tamilnad, USA:
Xilbris Corporation, ISBN 978-1-4134-3843-7.
Singh, Sarina (2009), South India (Lonely Planet Re-
gional Guide) (5th ed.), Lonely Planet, ISBN 978-1-
74179-155-6

10 External links
Mamallapuram travel guide from Wikivoyage
Things to do in Mahabalipuram

Mahabalipuram
Article on Mahabalipuram

Mahabalipuram must watch

 5

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