Feature by Shuchi Giridhar
The beautiful town of Mahabalipuram is filled with wonders and ancient historic monuments constructed by the kings of the Pallava dynasty during the 17th and 18th centuries. The town is great for sightseeing and understanding the culture of that era. Let’s dive deeper.
The town of Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu is a strip of land between the Bay of Bengal and the Great Salt Lake. Since Mahabalipuram is a coastal town, it has a beach. But, the waves are also quite rough and tend to come in torrents. The city of Mahabalipuram was founded by the Pallava king Narsimhavarman the First in the 17th century CE. It has many giant rocks and is a rocky terrain. All the mandapams, rathas and shrines shaped like temple chariots are carved from rocks in Mahabalipuram. Let’s look at some of the famous monuments and their history.
The Pancha Rathas
The monument includes five temple chariots or Rathas. These are the Draupadi Ratha, Arjuna Ratha, Bhima Ratha, Dharmaraja Ratha, and Nakula and Sahadeva Ratha. The chariots are built based on the five Pandavas and their wife.
The construction of this monument is dated back to the 7th Century during the reign of the Pallava King Mahendravarman the First (600–630 CE ) and his son Narasimhavarman (630– 668 AD).
Carving rocks to resemble chariots was a concept promoted by the Pallava dynasty, with old wooden chariots as references. Many of the rathas built resembled the viharas used by Buddhists and vimanas.
• Draupadi Ratha – This Ratha is placed at the Northern end of the Pancha Rathas, near the entrance. It is the smallest ratha among all five. It is built to resemble a small Bengali-style hut. It measures 3.4 m by 3.4 m with a height of 5.5 m. It has a curvilinear thatched roof with beautiful designs at the joints. This Ratha is dedicated to the Goddess Durga. There are two images of Goddess Durga located next to the door on each side. And there is an image portraying Goddess Durga on a lotus in the sanctum inside the Ratha. It has a high-rise platform leading to the entrance which is adorned with sculptures of lion and elephant heads chiseled alternately.
• Dharmaraja Ratha – This is the most superior and intricate structure among the five rathas. It has three storeys and this type of structure is called a tritala (tri – three, tala – base/floor) or three-storeyed vimana. It is the highest Ratha among all five. Sculptures of Brahma, Harihara, Skanda, King Narsimhavarma I, three four-armed Shivas, and Ardhanarisvara are present on the eight corner blocks. On the top tier of the three ‘Atyantakama Pallavesvaram’ is etched beautifully. The base of the ratha measures 8.5 m on all sides with a height of 11 m. the upper stories progressively get smaller like a pyramid. The ratha is upheld by two pillars and two pilasters. The first tier has 22 ornate carvings depicting Lord Shiva in different forms and Lord Krishna dancing atop the serpent Kaliya. The second tier shows figures like Somaskanda and Dakshinamurthy.
•Bhima Ratha – The structure is rectangular and faces the west direction. It is known as an ektala vimana. Its base measures 12.8 m by 7.3 m and the structure is 7.6 m tall. The ratha is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and is carved out of pink granite rock. It has an open veranda with four pillars and a barrel-vaulted terrace. It has beautiful sculptures inscribed on it.
•Arjuna Ratha- The design of this Ratha s quite simple. It is designed to look like a small palace. Its secondary platform is shared with the Draupadi ratha. It is a dome-like structure at the top with a rectangular base. It has many ornate carvings and is dedicated to lord Shiva. It is 6.1 m tall and measures 3.5 m by 4.9 m. Ornate carvings of Lord Shiva’s mount, Nandi the bull, are made on the rear of ratha.
•Nakula and Sahadeva Ratha – The Ratha is dedicated to Lord Indra and is named after the twins Nakula and Sahadeva. It is shaped like the back of an elephant and hence called a Gajaprishtakara (Gaja – Elephant, prishta – Back, Akara – Shape of). There is also a figure of an elephant placed next to the ratha. Carved figures of demigods adorn the inside of the ratha. They make up for the absence of an idol in the shrine.
Mahishasura Mardini Mandapam
This mandapam is carved into a cave and is decorated with ornate carvings. The mandapam is dedicated to the Goddess Durga, who slays the demon Mahishasura. Hence the name ‘mahishasuramardini’. There are three shrines in the temple. One of Lord Vishnu on his serpent Adisesha, one of lord Shiva and the last of Goddess Durga slaying the demon Mahishasura. If you go further up you will find another temple, from where there is an excellent view of the city. You can see the beach and deep blue waters at the edge of the city.
Krishna’s butterball
Krishna’s butterball is a rock. It is another mystery like the iron pillar. Why, though? Because it defies gravity. Normally, when a round object is placed on the ground, it rolls over doesn’t it? Well, not this rock! The round rock stands at the edge of a peak and no matter how much you try and push, it doesn’t roll. The actual name of this wonder is “Vaan Irai Kal” meaning ‘sky god’s stone’. The tourists who visit try pushing the rock, but it never budges. A couple of years ago the top part of the rock fell off, making it a semisphere. In 1908, the governor of Mahabalipuram, Arthur Havelock tried using seven elephants to move the rock but it again, did not budge. It is 6m tall and 5m wide and weighs 250 tonnes. It is a wonder and I hope we can one day, find out its little secret!
Ganesha Ratha
The Ganesha Ratha is a rock-cut monolithic temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Earlier, there used to be a lingam in the temple but then it was replaced by a Ganesha statue. Since the temple had a Ganesha statue it was named the Ganesha Ratha. The mukhamandapa has two lion pillars and pilasters.
Varaha Cave temple
Situated next to the Ganesha Ratha, the Varaha cave temple is famous for the panels around it. As mentioned in the name it is dedicated to the Varaha avataram of Lord Vishnu. In this avataram, lord Vishnu incarnated in boar form and slayed the demon Hiranyaksha. There is no idol in the shrine. Some panels carved in the temple depict Vishnu rescuing the earth in boar form, Vishnu taking three strides in Vamana form, Gaja Lakshmi and Durga
Shore temple
The shore temple constructed near the shore of Mahabalipuram beach, is one of the oldest structural stone temples of Southern India. During the reign of Narsimhavarman the Second, the shore temple was a busy port. Inside the temple shrine, there is a Shiva linga. This indicates the temple is dedicated to the lord Shiva. At the back of the temple, there are two shines one dedicated to lord Vishnu and the other to Ksatriyasimnesvara. Decorations of the shrines are similar to the designs seen in the Pancha Rathas. There are many panels depicting gods. One of the most iconic panels in the temple is a Somaskanda panel.
Monuments surrounding Krishna’s Butterball
There are many small monuments surrounding the Butterball.
• Draupadi’s Bath – This monument is a rock carved to make a tank. It has three steps leading to the top, where one can get into the bath. Since the tank looks like a bath for people it was named Draupadi’s Bath.
• Dharmaraja’s throne – this figure measures 10 feet in length and 3.5 feet in breadth and has been carved from an outcrop of rock. It has a lion on one end which forms a cushion and is 18 inches tall. This was probably used by a king. Some locals believe that this throne was used by Yudhishthira – the eldest of the Pandavas – who was also called Dharma Raja. Hence the name, Dharmaraja’s Throne. In earlier times the king probably supervised everybody around the area while sitting on the throne.