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Mahabalipuram is about 60 Kms. south of the city of Madras, in Tamil Nadu. Mahabalipuram, or Mamallapuram, was the chief seaport of the Pallavas who ruled over
much of South India from as early as the first century B.C to the eighth century A.D., and it is now recognized as the site of some of the greatest architectural and
sculptural achievements in India.
The monuments at Mahabalipuram can be grouped as:
- Monolithic temples constructed in the style of rathas or chariots,
- caves by excavating the hills for temples called mandapa,
- the masonry temples, and
- sculptured scenes or carved hill edge.
At the southern edge of Mahabalipuram is a group of five free-standing temples. Four of them were carved out of a single long granite boulder. These temples are
actually detailed replicas of ancient wooden structures. These temples represent the rathas (chariots) of Arjuna, Bhima, Dharmaraja, Nakula-Sahadeva -- the five
Pandava princes of the epic Mahabharata -- and their common wife, Draupadi. Work on these five temples was stopped after the death of Narasimha Varman in 668.
Of the temples made of stone masonry, there is the shore temple characterized by the statues of rampant lions at intervals dividing the carved panels of the outer walls
of the temple of which may are almost obliterated by the destructive action of the sea water. The stone temple has withstood the pitiless onslaught of the beach sand
and still preserves its originality with beautiful carvings.