Mahabalipuram

Village on the Bay of Bengal in Tamil
Nadu, about thirty miles south of
Madras. Although famous as a beach
resort today, during the Pallava dynasty
(6th–9th c.) Mahabalipuram was a
major port, second in importance only
to the capital at Kanchipuram.
Mahabalipuram has several impressive
religious monuments, erected during
the reigns of Narasimhavarman I
(630–668 C.E.) and Narasimhavarman II
(700–728 C.E.). One of the monuments is
a rock-cut sculpture depicting the myth
of the Descent of the Ganges, using a
natural vertical fissure to lay out the
river’s path. Other notable constructions
are the “Rathas,” a series of free-standing
temples carved from one giant boulder,
dedicated to the Pandavas, the protagonists in the epic Mahabharata. The
most recent attraction is the temple
along the shore, built during the reign of
Rajasimhavarman (early 8th C.). The
temple’s major deity is the god Shiva; a
smaller shrine also holds an image of
the god Vishnu. Although all of these
have been weathered by time and the
elements, they remain some of the most
visited sites in southern India.