Mahabalipuram to Chennai

18th January, 2019 – The Wonders of Mahabalipuram

Finally it was deemed OK to visit Mahabalipuram post-Pongal and you could see by the vast amount of litter that it must have been quite a party. It looked as though many had had picnics, but sadly this is not a country where you pick up your litter after yourself and everywhere we went there was a sea of paper plates and other assorted debris.

Now you might be asking yourself why, if it is such a small town, do so many people descend on Mahabalipuram? Well, there is the seaside, of course, but it is also the centre for stone-carving which you can see by the large array of mostly devotional statuary displayed in the roadside workshops, most of which would certainly not fit in our luggage and much that would have trouble fitting into a crate. We resisited!!

This artisanship looks like it has been passed down for some centuries as the main attraction of the town are the stone monuments that are all along the shoreline. Talking of which we were reminded that all of this coastline was hit quite badly by the tsunami of 26/12/04 and Mahabalipuram was no exception, though fortunately the monuments survived and the sea actually uncovered some undiscovered sites.

A bit of background first. The monuments divide into 4 categories: open-air bas-reliefs, temples, man-made caves and rathas (‘chariots’, carved in situ from single boulders to resemble temples or the chariots used in temple processions). The theory is that all of the friezes and shrines were actually a showcase of what the craftsmen can produce, a sort of catalogue from which to order your Shiva/elephant/temple. I presume the sculptor traveled to you to do the statue/temple where you live, rather than transporting it to you, but I am not sure.

It was this last category that we visited first, the Pancha Pandava Rathas. They date from the period of Narasimhavarman I (c.630-670 AD) they consist of 5 separate freestanding sculptures in imitation of traditional temples, set alongside some beautifully carved life-sized animals. The ‘architecture’ of the rathas reflects the variety of styles employed in temple building at the time and stands as a model for much subsequent development in south India. Apparently they started carving at the top, so the mason did not have to worry about damaging any work below. Any unfinished bits are always in the lower parts. There is more information in the captions to the photos.

Well, that was impressive for a starting visit, but more was to come and we next viewed the enormous bas-relief that is known as the Krishna Mandapa, to the left in the landscape photo below. It shows Krishna raising Mount Goverdhana aloft in one hand with, presumably the rock above representing the mountain, the the 17th century Vijayanagar addition of the columned mandapa or entrance hall prevents a clear view of the carving. The Arjuna’s Penance is to the right.

The bas-relief, Arjuna’s Penance, is a fantastical array of carvings with marvelous little details all over it. Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers and a consummate archer made a journey to a forest on the banks of the Ganges to do penance in the hope that Shiva would part with his favourite weapon, the pashupatashastra, a magical staff or arrow. Shiva materialises as Kirata, a wild forest-dweller and picks a fight with Arjuna over a boar they both claim to have killed. Arjuna finally realises he was fighting a deity (not very fair) and Shiva rewarded him with the weapon (though Arjuna returned it after he had used it). Some detail from the bas-relief…..

 

Next we had a look at the Varaha Mandapa II Cave, with some nice carved panels…

 

And then there was the Ganesh Ratha – weirdly some say that its image of Ganesh was installed at the instigation of King George V. Again, according to Wikipedia, ‘the temple was originally dedicated to Lord Shiva but in the 1880s, villagers replaced the Shiva lingam with an image of Ganesh, after formally seeking permission from the District Collector, and may have been attributed to George V of England.’

And finally, Krishn’a Butter Ball, as it is known and a couple of other photos, just because I like them!

 

 

It was then off in the car to the most famous of all the monuments of Mahabalipuram, the Shore Temple. I would add that all of the monuments are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Shore Temple dates from the early 8th century and is considered to be one of the earliest stone-built temples in south India. It has had a profound influence on the architectural style of temples not just in India, but across Southeast Asia.

It had been an amazing visit, but finally it was time to head for Chennai and our last destination on this fascinating tour of south India. Our tour company had suggested that we change our Chennai hotel from a Radisson near the airport (we have an early flight on 20/1) to one more in the centre, the famed Leela Palace. We did question this, but felt we had better go with the flow and I have to say, I am rather glad we did as it is a stunning hotel. As usual, our room plus our view of the pool – which we tried out.

 

And after a very nice meal in their Indian restaurant, we settled into bed before our last full day in India (and my birthday!).