About Mahabalipuram
Globally renown for its shore temples, Mahabalipuram was the
second capital of the Pallava kings of Kanchipuram. 58 kilometres from Madras on
the Bay of Bengal, this tiny sea - side village of Mahabalipuram, is set in a
boulder - strewn landscape. Tourists are drawn to this place by its miles of
unspoiled beach and rock-cut art. The sculpture, here, is particularly
interesting because it shows scenes of day-to- day life, in contrast with the
rest of the state of Tamil Nadu, where the carvings generally depict gods and
goddesses
Mahabalipuram art can be divided into four categories : open
air bas - relief, structured temples, man-made caves and rathas ('chariots'
carved from single boulders, to resemble temples or chariots used in temple
processions). The famous Arjuna's Penance and the Krishna Mandapa, adorn
massive rocks near the centre of the village. The beautiful Shore Temple towers
over the waves, behind a protective breakwater. Sixteen man-made caves in
different stages of completion are also seen, scattered through the area.
History
The temples of Mamallapuram, built largely during the reigns
of Narasimhavarman and his successor Rajasimhavarman, showcase the movement
from rock-cut architecture to structural building. The mandapas or pavilions
and the rathas or shrines shaped as temple chariots are hewn from the granite
rock face, while the famed Shore Temple, erected half a century later, is built
from dressed what makes Mamallapuram so culturally resonant are the influences
it absorbs and disseminates.
All but one of the rathas from the first phase of Pallava
architecture are modelled on the Budhist viharas or monasteries and chaitya halls
with several cells arranged around a courtyard. Art historian Percy Brown, in
fact, traces the possible roots of the Pallavan Mandapas to the similar
rock-cut caves of Ajanta and Ellora. Referring to Narasimhavarman's victory in
AD 642 over the Chalukyan king Pulakesin II, Brown says the Pallavan king may
have brought the sculptors and artisans back to Kanchi and Mamallapuram as
'spoils of war'.
Temples in Mahabalipuram
There are, or rather were, two low hills in Mahabalipuram,
about 400m from the sea. In the larger one, on both sides, there are eleven
excavated temples, called Mandapas, two "open air bas reliefs", one
of which is unfinished, and a third enclosed one. Out of a big rock standing
free nearby there is a "cut out" temple, called a "Ratha".
This type is unique to Mahabalipuram.
Out of the other hill, much smaller and standing about 200m
to the south, are fashioned five more rathas, and three big sculptures of a
Nandi, a Loin and an Elephant. On the top of the bigger hill there is a structural
temple, and a little distance the magnificent beginnings of a Vijayanagar
Gopura and also survivals of what is believed to be a palace.
Shore Temple
Perched on a rocky outcrop, it presides over the shoreline,
serving, as Percy Brown puts its, 'a landmark by day and a beacon by night'.
Designed to catch the first rays of the rising sun and to illuminate the waters
after dark, the temple ended up with an unusual lay-out. As the main shrine
faces the sea on the east, the gateway, the fore count and the assembly hall of
the Shore Temple all lie behind the sanctum.
Unusual, too, is the fact that the temple has shrine to both
Shiva and Vishnu. The main sanctum and one of the two lesser ones on the west
are dedicated to Shiva. The enclosing wall has a series of Nandi bulls on it.
Interconnected cisterns around the temple meant that the sea
could be let in to transform the temple into a water shrine. But, in recent
times, a stone wall as been added to protect the shrine from the rising seas
and further erosion.
Mandapas
The main hill at Mamallapuram is dotted with pillared halls
carved into the rock face. These mandapas, with their graceful columns and
intricate figure sculptures bear witness to the artistry of the Pallavan rock
cutter. The ten pavilions at Mamallapuram, of which two are unfinished, were
designed as shrine, with a sanctum and on outer hall. The shallow porticoes are
adorned with exquisite sculptures of gods, goddesses and mythological figures.
The Ganesh mandapa is an active shrine even today, with the
idol of the elephant-god being revered by the faithful, fourteen centuries
after it was first consecrated.
Beyond the circular rock called Krishna's Butterball is the
Varaha mandapa dedicated to the two avatars of Vishnu as Varaha the boar and
Vamana the dwarf. The pillars of this pavilion are perhaps the earliest to
display a motif that became the signature of southern architecture-the lion
pilaster, where a heraldic lion support ornamental pillar. The
Mahishasuramardini mandapa has the goddess Durga in bas relief, slaying a
buffalo-headed demon, and the Vishnu Sayana Mandapa shows Lord Vishnu lying
under the protective hood of the seven-headed serpent Adishesha.
Of the other mandapas, the Panch Pandava mandapa, that is
unfinished, has a more elaborate facade. Its pillars are adorned with rearing
lions springing from the capital, and the shrine is the only one surrounded by
a passage which allows circumvolutions.
Rathas
The eight rathas are monolithic temples fashioned as
chariots. They remain an architectural mystery, for each is apparently a
faithful reproduction of a structure built of wood. In fact, even the grain of
the timber beams and rafters has been simulated in stone.
Of the eight rathas, five have been named for the Pandava
brothers, the heroes of the epic Mahabharata, and their shared wife, Draupadi.
The largest is the Dharmaraja ratha and it sets the tone for the others.
Modelled on a Buddhist vihara or monastery, it sports a square hall topped by a
vaulting roof. The Bhima, Arjuna and Nakula-Sahdeva rathas are lesser copies of
the Dharmaraja ratha.
The Draupadi ratha is the smallest and the quaintest. It is
simple structure, fashioned as a thatched hut borned on the backs of elephants
and lions. It was probably the fascimile of a portable village shrine.
The fact that many of the temples and sculptures of
Mamallapuram are unfinished, points to the sudden withdrawal of patronage from
rock-cut temples when King Rajasimhavarman came to power.
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