Mahabalipuram

Around 40km from Chennai, you will come to the first stop on your itinerary. Mahabalipuram, the ancient city is a heritage site in itself. It is also called Mammallapuram after the Pallava king who was called Mammalla (meaning the Great Warrior). You have to pay an entry toll (or, entry tax) of ₹70 while approaching the city. There are many heritage monuments close by referred to as Group of Monuments including the Shore Temple, Arjuna’s penance, Krishna Mandapam, Dharmraj Mandapam, Krishna’s butter ball, Trimurti cave temple, Draupadi’s bath and Panch Rathas. All of them together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the five such places in Tamil Nadu.

Shore Temple

The Shore Temple is an ancient temple. Pallava king Narsimhavarman II built in 7th Century. According to literary records, there were seven such temples on the coastal area. The name Seven Pagodas refers to these temples. The rising level of water submerged other six pagodas. During the Tsunami of 2004, some stone sculptures similar to the ones found in the Shore Temple became visible beyond the coastal area bearing evidence to the existence of other six temple structures.

Structure

The temple just lies there quietly with the ocean in its backdrop. The temple is not very grand but there is a magnificence about it. It is built from carved granite stones. The steep sloping Vimana (pyramidal tower) with boldly carved storeys is exquisite. Although the sea wind and waves have eroded the sculptures they are still remarkable.

The temple has three parts. The entrance on the West side, now much dilapidated, leads to the first Shiv shrine. Then in the middle is the Vishnu shrine. At the end is the main shrine of Shiv Linga. A sculpture of Brahma is overlooking the Shivling. The last shrine is the largest and under the highest vimana. This shrine faces the East. There is an older much smaller Shiv shrine by steps on the side of the main temple. The boundary wall enclosing the temple has continuous small Nandi sculptures on top.

Complex

The entire temple complex is in a very large area. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Sites and hence, UNESCO funds its upkeep. Surrounding the temple complex on one side is the ocean and on the other is the local market. The temple remains open until 8 PM. Temple complex is well maintained with facilities like toilet and water dispenser. There is a ticket of ₹40 for the entire Group of Monuments in Mahabalipuram.

The Mahabalipuram beach is adjacent to the temple complex. There is a small market with clothes, utilities, souvenirs and food stalls just outside the temple complex entrance. Exploring the entire area would take about 1-1.5 hours.

Arjuna’s Penance

The entire Group of Monuments structures are based on the epic Mahabharata. They represent diferent characters of the epic and are evidence to the story of the Pandavas. As you enter the Group of Monuments complex, this huge sculpture is visible even from a distance. As you approach it you come to terms with its enormity. This sculpture is an excellent example of the extraordinary skills of the sculptors of those times. It is one of the largest relief sculptures in the world. The carvings on the two huge boulders depict an important part of the epic Mahabharata.

The life of Arjuna in the forest where he did penance as an ascetic (depicted by the yogi on leg). Lord Shiva rewards him with the Pashupatha weapon for his penance. The relief shows the presence of beings from the three world (Earth, Skies and Water). Hence, the name Arjuna’s Penance. The cleft between the two boulders forms a natural waterfall and depicts sage Bhagirath bringing Ganga to the Earth. Hence also the name ” The Descent of the Ganges”. The detailed and realistic carvings are beautiful. You cannot tear your eyes away from it. The sculpture is well preserved even in the extremities of the weather. These heritages are definitely worthy of pride.

Krishna Mandapam

A cave structure adjacent to the relief is the Krishna Mandapam. This cave is cut out of a single rock with pillars supporting the complete structure. Dedicated to Lord Krishna, it is decorated with life size sculptures depicting the village life of lord Krishna among the cows and villagers. There is also the depiction of Lord Krishna lifting the Govardhan hill while all men, women and even animals are onlookers.

Krishna’s Butterball

The legend of the Krishna’s butterball has zero relation to what the name suggests. In fact it is huge boulder of granite somewhat round in shape hanging precariously on a sloping surface. The surprising fact about this is that despite being on the edge of a sloping surface the stone has not rolled off till date. In fact, nobody has been able to move it from its place. So, authorities gave up on trying to move the stone. Instead, it is now a major attraction for anyone who visits Mahabalipuram.

Rock cut cave temple

A small stroll right of the Krishna’s butterball, is another tsingle rock-cut temple. The temple houses the great Trinity (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiv) statues. There are other smaller shrines nearby the main rock-cut temple. A number of smaller but equally beautiful reliefs depicting various representations of wildlife activities in the forest dot the entire campus.

Ganesha Rath

The Ganesh Rath is another rock cut temple of Lord Ganesha. The structure of the temple is like a chariot and hence the name Ganesh Rath. It is now a temple with a priest.

Varaha Cave

A little further up the ascending slope you have another rock cut cave temple with life like sculptures depicting Lord Vishnu (Vamana figure) and the Varaha incarnation carrying Budevi, Goddess Gajalakshmi and Goddess Durga. The cave has columns in the front supporting the entire structure. The sculptures are exquisite and realistic. The sculptors have shown the grandeur of the deities and clearly depicted what they represented. If you walk further up there is an unfinished Gopuram (entrance gate) probably to another temple.

Draupadi’s Bath

Uphill on the other side of the Gopuram, you may find the pool where Draupadi is believed to take a bath during her stay in this place. The bath is nothing majestic but a small 3-ft deep pool made by carving out a boulder. The stairs leading to the bath are very narrow which made us ponder if Draupadi was so petite?

Yudhisthir’s Rock cut throne and another small pond is a few steps from Draupadi’s bath. There is also a cave depicting Goddess Durga defeating the giant Mahisasur, hence, the name of the cave Mahisasurmardini.

The entire complex is spread over a large area like apark and you may explore each end of it within 1-1.5 hrs.

Panch Rathas

Panch rathas complex is a little away from the other monuments in Mahabalipuram. It is called Panch Rathas because the structures here are shaped and carved like the chariots (rath) and are five in number each belonging to one of the Pandavas and Draupadi.

The first and the smallest of them belong to Draupadi. The chariot is a simple hut shaped structure with no elaborate decoration. Second one belongs to Arjuna. His chariot is beautifully designed like the temples Vimana. The Nakul Sahdev Rath is similar in design to Bhima’s chariot. There is a lion and elephant statue as well beside the chariot structures. The next is Bhima rath which is the biggest of all considering legend of Bhima’s appearance. It is in the shape of a temple Mandapa where the people gather or sit during the prayer. The Yudhisthir rath leads them all as it is the tallest and most beautifully carved. The carvings on all the rathas are similar but the Yudhisthir rath stand out in its grandeur. These structures were constructed during Pallava king Narsimhavarman era but were left unfinished after his death.

If you are staying over at Mahabalipuram, you have more time in hand for exploring every cave and every relief in detail. It will take 3-4 hours exploring everything in the group of monuments. We suggest to avoid staying in Mahabalipuram as it would waste the remaining of the day and resume your journey towards Puducherry.