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Location
: 58-Km From Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Also Called: Mamallapuram, The City Of Bali
Famous: Centre For Pallava Culture And Arts
Important Festivals Celebrated: Dance
Festival In The Month Of December
Located at a
distance of 58-km from Chennai, Mahabalipuram has everything that makes
a site memorable; tradition, history, piety, western annals, and current
importance as a centre of tourism.
Name Of The
Site
The proper name
of the site is "Mamallapuram", after Mamalla, an honorific of
the Pallava king, Narasimha Varman I (630-668), who created the earliest
of its monuments. But it is popularly called "Mahabalipuram",
or "The city of Bali", whom Lord Vishnu chastised for his
pride and of whom there is a relief in one of the excavated temples
here.
About
Mahabalipuram
The history of
Mahabalipuram dates back to two thousand years, it contains nearly forty
monuments of different types including an "open air bas
relief" which is the largest in the world, for centuries it has
been a centre of pilgrimage, it figures in the early annals of the
British search for the picturesque in India in the 18th century, today
it attracts shoals of foreigners in search of relaxation and sea
bathing, and most strange of all, it has an atomic power plant for
neighbour. A small library has been written on it. Over its history and
that of its monuments a number of scholarly controversies rage.
Mahabalipuram was
already a centre of pilgrimage when, in the 7th century Mamalla made it
a seaport and began to make temples fashioned of rock. It was through
Mahabalipuram that many Indian colonists, who included sages and
artists, migrated to Southeast Asia. Sri Lanka's national chronicle, the
"Mahavamsa" testifies to this fact.
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.
Temple Of
Sthalasayana Perumal
Immediately to
the north of the bigger hill there is the temple of Sthalasayana Perumal,
much enlarged in Vijayanagar times. By the very margin of the sea, with
the waves often flowing at its foot, there is a magnificent fane with
three shrines in an axial line, called the "Shore Temple".
To the west of
the five Rathas there are three more rathas, two side by side. About 600
m north of Mahabalipuram, along the coast, is Saluvankuppam, where there
are magnificent excavated temples and, near it, a rock Mandapa with
tiger heads along its periphery, called the "Tigers Cave".
Between Saluvankuppam and Mahabalipuram, less than 200m from the sea,
stands another structural temple, the Mukunda Nayanar.
Each and every
one of these monuments of different types, structural temple, excavated
temple "cut out" temple, "open air bas relief", not
to mention sculptures and Mandapas to be found here and there, is
important and interesting. The Shore temple, the celebrated "open
air bas relief" called "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 original Sthalasayana Perumal temple was
expanded in Vijayanagar times. To the Chola days belongs a Mandapa at
the entrance to the township.
The Shore
Temple
The Shore Temple
occupies a most extraordinary site, by the very margin of the Bay of
Bengal so that at high tide the waves sweep into it and the walls, with
their sculptures, have been eroded by the winds and waves of thirteen
centuries. The European name for Mahabalipuram, since the first western
visitor wrote of it in the 16th century, is the "Seven
Pagodas".
There are not
seven temples here. The number has been made up fancifully and even
whimsically. Some of the Europeans believed that the sea has overwhelmed
a part of the town containing some temples. But, there is no sunken city
in the waves off Mahabalipuram. The European name, "Seven
Pagodas", is irrational and cannot be accounted for.
The Shrines In
The Shore Temple
There are three
shrines in the Shore Temple. That facing the sea and another facing west
into the township are Saiva. The one between is Vaishnava, with an image
of Lord Anantasayi made 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. There are Somaskanda reliefs on the
walls of the Saiva shrine. In front of the eastern shrine there is a
stone dhvajastambha, frequently under the waves. The light that shone on
it at night must have been the last sight of home for thousands of
Pallava citizens immigrating to South East Asia.
The Dhvajastambha
and the Balipitha, which normally stand in front of the main shrine, are
here located to the west of the shrine. There was a Prakara here, with
small Nandis on its walls. Some of the Nandis still stand on the
survivals of the walls.
Till some decades
ago parts of the temple were under sand. The sea is an ever-present
danger. A semi-circular groyne wall has been built to the east. But what
is notable is the fact that the temple has survived all these centuries.
Built by Narasimha Varman II Rajasimha, the maker of the Kailasanatha
temple in Kanchipuram in the 8th century, this is one of the earliest
structural temples in Tamil Nadu.
Arjuna's
Penance - An Open Air Bas Relief
If a temple by
the sea and, at times, in the sea is a tour de force, the "open air
bas relief" is even more so. In Mahabalipuram alone of all
innumerable sites of monuments in India sculptor was impelled to choose
a large cliff face on which to make his carvings. What is more, he chose
a scene from the "Mahabharatha" (also spelt as Mahabharata),
which a great Sanskrit dramatist, probably then living in Kanchipuram,
had popularised.
This surface, 29m
by 13m, consists of two large boulders with a fissure in between. In the
cleavage there are a serpent god and a serpent goddess in the act of
worship. Covering the surface on the boulders on either side of them
there are nearly one hundred figures of Gods, sages semi-divine beings,
huge elephants and a few other animals.
The Depictions
Of Arjuna's Penance
There have been
strong differences of opinion among eminent scholars on what this scene
depicts. An old view was that it represents Bhagiratha's penance. But
the opinion that currently holds the field is that it depicts Arjuna's
Penance. This "Mahabharatha" incident, also represented in
both mural and relief in Lepakshi and a number of other sites, relates
to Arjuna's obtaining a weapon to use in the impending war against the
Kauravas.
Bharavi, the
Sanskrit dramatist, who, it is believed, was living in Kanchipuram in
the seventh century, when this masterpiece was made, has made it his
theme in his "Kiratarjuniyam". The Pallava court in that
century was a nest of singing birds. It is highly probable that it is
this scene, which is depicted here.
The main scene of
action is on the southern face. Here an ascetic is performing severe
penance, standing on one leg. Near him is Lord Shiva, with His
attendants. Immediately below them there is a small shrine with a relief
of Lord Vishnu inside. By its side are many seated sages in meditation.
The fissure
indicates a river. This is clear from a fact and a suggestion. The fact,
also strengthened by the presence of water serpents, is the depiction at
the edge of the southern surface of some persons performing the rite of
"Sandhya vandhana" by the river. The suggestion is that, in
Pallava days, actual water flowed down the cleavage from the hill
behind, where there are survivals of what would be called a water tank.
The notion is similar to what is found in the Isurumuniya in
Anuradhapura, the ancient capital of Sri Lanka.
On the northern
face are some huge elephants, among the very best of their kind in the
whole range of Indian sculptures. There is, besides, the hypocritical
cat which, pretending to perform penance, draws to it a number of
unfortunate unsuspecting rats. This is a touch of humour not very common
in Indian art. There are, besides, the Lion, the Tiger, the Boar. In the
upper part off the surface there are rows of semi-divine beings
effortlessly flying, all towards the fissure. Close by is placed an
engaging composition of a monkey picking out lice from the head of
another. It was brought here from near the Mukunda Nayanar temple.
A little distance
to the south there is an unfinished attempt at the depiction of the very
same scene on another boulder. Probably the maker of the first
bas-relief initially tried his hand here.
There is a third
bas-relief, this time depicting Sri Krishna protecting the good people
of Brindavan from Indra's wrath by interposing a mountain. This is a
fine pastoral scene, which visitors to Mahabalipuram in the early
centuries would have readily understood. Strangely enough, there are a
few small sphinxes and gryphons at the edges of the huge composition. A
Mandapa was built in Vijayanagar times in front of what originally was
an open-air bas-relief.
Mahishamardhani
and the Adivaraha Mandapas
Of the many
excavated rock temples in Mahabalipuram anomalously called "Mandapas",
two of the best are the Mahishamardhani and the Adivaraha. The former
contains on walls facing each other two of the most superb sculptural
reliefs known to Indian art, both connected with each other in their
common scriptural source. The latter Mandapa has two groups of royal
sculptures, also facing each other. Besides, it is the only temple in
Mahabalipuram apart from the Sthalasayana Perumal, where worship
continues today, but fitfully.
The
Mahishamardhini temple has been excavated in a rock on the eastern side
of the top of the hill. Right above it there is a structural temple, one
of four of a lighthouse for decades until a new lighthouse was erected
close by. Near the Mahishamardhani temple there is a smaller rock where
an unfinished attempt at excavating a fane has been made.
There are three
shrines in the Mahishamardhani Mandapa. A small Mandapa projects forward
from the central shrine. On the northern and southern walls of the
Ardhamandapa there are the great sculptural reliefs of Goddess Durga
fighting the demon and of Lord Vishnu in His cosmic sleep. The incidents
are from two consecutive cantos of the "Devi Mahatmyam". In
the one relief the energy with which the young Goddess goes forth to war
with the buffalo headed demon is in magnificent contrast with the cosmic
sleep of Lord Vishnu on His serpent couch.
The royal groups
in the Adivaraha temple are, in one, of a seated king with two queens
flanking him and, in the other, of a standing king with two consorts
standing by him. There are many opinions but it is generally thought
that the seated monarch is Simhavishnu (574-600) and the standing one
his son and successor, Mahendra I (600-630). There are, besides, reliefs
of many divinities.
The Five Rathas -
The Dharmaraja, The Bhima, The Arjuna, The Draupadi and The Sahadeva
The Five Rathas,
about 200 m south of the main hill, were fashioned out of a smaller hill
sloping down from the south. From the largest part was made 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. Immediately in front of the Draupadi again two
smaller rocks were sculptured into an elephant and a lion. Behind the
Draupadi and the Arjuna, which stand on a common base, there is a Nandi.
Not Exactly
Temple Chariots!
These rathas (an
irregular expression, for they are really Vimanas, and not temple
chariots, as the word means) perpetuate the forms of the temple in use
when they used to be made of perishable materials. A Pallava who must
have been something of an art critic or art historian decided that these
styles should be preserved in eternal rock. Outside Mahabalipuram except
in Kazhugumalai (in Tirunelveli district), there is nothing like these
rathas anywhere in India.
There are four
rathas elsewhere in Mahabalipuram so that there are nine in all. Among
themselves they represent four main styles: the apsidal, the barrel
vaulted, the domical and the so-called "hut". The third was to
dominate the future, with some modifications. The first two are
comparatively rare and the last very much so.
The rathas with
the domical sikhara are the Dharmaraja, the largest of them all; the
Arjuna, a smaller version of the first, the Pidari and the two
Valayankuttai, these three located elsewhere in Mahabalipuram. The Bhima
Ratha and Ganesa Ratha, which is near the larger hill, are barrel
vaulted, the Sahadeva is apsidal, and the Draupadi is "hut
shaped".
There are some
superb sculptures on the Dharmaraja and the Arjuna. The former contains
splendid divine and secular portraits, with labels beside some of them.
The later are certainly kings, but it is difficult to identify them.
There are some lovely royal couples on the Arjuna. Again, it is
impossible to say who they are. Nevertheless, these sculptures show how
beautifully delicate and sensitive Pallava sculpture is, making it one
of the great schools of Indian art.
The lion, Goddess
Durga's mount, stands right in front of Her shrine, here called the
"Draupadi". Just alongside the apsidal Sahadeva Ratha stands
the elephant, also apsidal in shape. Such touches are frequent in
Mahabalipuram. It is very probable that there was a school of sculpture
here in ancient days. For, probationary and incomplete sculptural and
architectural efforts are to be seen at every turn. An important point
is that not a single monument in Mahabalipuram is quite complete.
Mahabalipuram-
A Classical Site Of Indian Historical Archaeology
When the first
British visitors went to Mahabalipuram in the eighteenth century, they
found the monuments under sand, a few completely so. It must have fallen
into neglect after the fall of the Vijayanagar Empire or, at least,
Vijayanagar authority. It had prospered under the Cholas and their
successors until about the seventeenth century. Europe knew of it as
early as the 13th century when, following Marco Polo's visit, it appears
in the Catalan Map of 1275.
The first
European to mention it directly, but with no personal knowledge, of it,
did so in 1582. The first English visitor was William Chambers in 1788.
Following this, earnest antiquarians from Madras puzzled over it. One of
them, Colin Mackenzie, dug out some of the monuments from sand and
deputed assistants to collect its traditions and coins. In this way
Mahabalipuram became one of the classical sites of Indian historical
archaeology.
FESTIVALS
CELEBRATED
Dance Festival
at Mahabalipuram
The internationally acclaimed and globally renowned "Mahabalipuram
Dance Festival" is organised by the Department of Tourism,
Government of Tamil Nadu every year in Mahabalipuram - the renowned and
ancient 7th century centre for Pallava culture and arts.
The Dance
festival starts on the 25th of December every year and is conducted on
all Saturdays and Government holidays, upto February first week. Dancers
and musicians of repute from India and abroad thrill the crowds every
year. Folk dances of India are an added attraction.
Sit before an
open-air 'stage' created 13 centuries ago, the incredible monolithic
rock sculptures of the Pallavas, next to the sea in this ancient city of
Mahabalipuram. Lovers of dance will be treated to a very unique and
unforgettably aesthet
ic event:
Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali and Odissi , presented by the very
best exponents of the art besides folk dances.
HOW TO GET
THERE
Air: Chennai
(58-km) is the nearest airport with both domestic and international
terminus. Chennai is connected with all the major places in India
through the numerous domestic flights. International flights operate
from various parts of the world to Chennai.
Rail: The nearest
railway stations are Chengalpattu (29-km) and Chennai (58-km). From
these stations one has to take road to reach the Mahabalipuram.
Road: Buses are
available from Pondicherry, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu and Chennai to
Mahabalipuram daily. The road to Mahabalipuram is good. Tourists can
also hire a taxi from Chennai.
WHERE TO STAY
Accommodation is
available at the hotels, resorts and lodges in Mahabalipuram
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