Mahabalipuram - Tamil Nadu, India

South India is a land of temples; at the distance of 55 km from Chennai lie the famous place of Mahabalipuram. The Pallava dynasty of Southern India is one of the major lines of the kings to rule in India. They made the lovely sea -side village of Mahabalipuram their second capital. The place gained prosperity & glory during fifth and eighth centuries, thus many temples were constructed during this period. Now days Mahabalipuram is a famous tourist destination due to the shore temple, Arjuna's penance the largest bas relief in the world and the famous and beautiful mandapams.

Tourist attractions

Shore Temple

Shore Temple was built in the 7th century AD. The temple has two shrines, one dedicated to Vishnu in the reclining form and the other to Shiva.

Five Rathas (Chariots)

These are five temples named after five pandavas. Each temple looks like a chariot yet each one of them is completely different from others. Their structure shows some similarity to the ancient Dravidian temples.



Arjuna's Penance

It is a huge rock sculpture of Arjuna known as Arjuna's penance. Arjun's Penace is the largest bas-relief in the world. It depicts the penance of Arjuna to obtain the legendary arrow Pasupathastra from Lord Shiva. The legend has been carved on the rock measuring 80 x 30 feet.

Mahishasuramardhini

This a famous creation of Pallava sculptures. The cave has two magnificent sculptures. Goddess Durga on her lion mount vanquishing Mahishasura, the buffalo headed demon.

Manadapams

There are eight Manadapams in Mahabalipuram. The most well known Manadapams are Mahishasura and Krishna. There are eight Mandapams situated in Mamallapuram within a radius of one kilometer. The most famous are those of Mahishasura and Krishna. Salivan Kuppam, a cave temple complex is four km north from here.

Places To Stay

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