Mamallapuram

Also called: Mahabalipuram, Group of monuments at Mahabalipuram, Mahabalipuram World Heritage Site, Mamallapuram monuments · Topic: Southern Dynasties: Chalukyas, Pallavas, Cholas · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 3 "Empires and Kingdoms: 6th to 10th Centuries"

Meaning

Mamallapuram (also called Mahabalipuram) was the main port of the Pallava kings of Kanchi, on the Coromandel coast of Tamil Nadu. It is also a temple town, full of rock-cut caves, monolithic rathas (temples shaped like chariots, each cut from a single rock), huge carved reliefs and the Shore Temple [2].

It matters for two reasons:

• Trade: Chinese, Persian and Roman coins found here show that South India traded far across the sea.
• Art: The monuments here show, in one place, how South Indian temples changed from rock-cut to structural (built stone by stone). UNESCO made it a World Heritage Site in 1984 [2][4].

Explanation

Background: a port for a powerful dynasty

• The Pallavas ruled from Kanchi (today's Kanchipuram). NCERT dates the dynasty c. 275–897 CE.
• Kanchi traded in spices, textiles (including silk) and ivory. Mamallapuram was the port these goods passed through.
• Diggings at Mamallapuram have found ancient Chinese, Persian and Roman coins. This proves long-distance sea trade.
• The town takes its name from Narasimhavarman I, whose title 'Mamalla' means "great wrestler/warrior".
• The Pallavas were strong at sea too. Narasimhavarman I sent a naval expedition to Sri Lanka to put a Sinhalese prince back on the throne.

Main features: three kinds of monument

1. Rock-cut caves (mandapas)

• A mandapa here is a hall cut into a rock face [2][3].
• Some of the most decorated monuments at Mamallapuram, especially those for Shiva, were made under Mahendravarman I (c. 600–630) [5]. He started a new style of Dravidian architecture that scholars call the "Mahendra style" [5].

2. Monolithic temples: the rathas

• Monolithic means carved out of one single rock. These temples stand free, in the open [2][3].
• The five rathas were built under Narasimhavarman I 'Mamalla' (c. 630–668) [5].
• They are named after Mahabharata characters: Draupadi, Arjuna, Bhima, Dharmaraja and Nakula–Sahadeva [4].
• Each one is cut from a single slab of rock. They carry bas-reliefs (carvings that stand out only a little from a flat surface) of elephants and of Nandi the bull [4].

3. Great reliefs and panels

• 'Descent of the Ganges', also called 'Arjuna's Penance', is a giant open-air relief [2][4]. It is called the second largest ancient monolithic structure in Asia [4].
• The Durga–Mahishasura panel shows the goddess fighting the buffalo-demon. It is full of movement, so the figures look like they are really in battle.
• Carvings show gods and goddesses and scenes from the Mahabharata.

How it changed: from rock to structure

• Step 1: caves cut into rock (mandapas).
• Step 2: monolithic rathas, cut free from rock, under Narasimhavarman I [5].
• Step 3: structural temples, built on a big scale under Rajasimha (c. 700–728 CE). This led to the Shore Temple [3].

• The Shore Temple is really three shrines [3]:

  • Rajasimhesvara: small, faces west.
  • Kshatriyasimhesvara: larger, faces east.
  • Nripatisimha Pallava Vishnugriha: oblong, with a flat roof, holding a reclining Vishnu.

• Step 4: the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram was built a little after the Shore Temple. It has a tall superstructure and small shrines attached to its walls [5].

Results

• Mamallapuram became a "workshop" where Pallava builders learnt to make temples. That skill led on to the later Chola temple style.
• UNESCO inscribed the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram as a World Heritage Site in 1984 [2][4].

Time, place and evidence

• Period: UNESCO dates the sanctuaries to the 7th and 8th centuries [2]. The Pallavas' high point was the 7th century.
• Place: Coromandel coast, Tamil Nadu [2], the port of the Pallava capital Kanchi.
• Key rulers:
• Mahendravarman I (c. 600–630): caves and Shiva monuments [5].
• Narasimhavarman I 'Mamalla' (c. 630–668): five rathas [5]. He also defeated the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II and captured Badami (Vatapi) [5].

• Rajasimha (c. 700–728): Shore Temple [3].

• Evidence:

• Archaeology: Chinese, Persian and Roman coins dug up at the site.
• The monuments themselves: caves, rathas, reliefs and the Shore Temple.

• Travellers' accounts: The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang visited nearby Kanchi. He counted 100 Buddhist monasteries with 10,000 priests (probably exaggerated), 80 Hindu temples and many Jains.

• Heritage status: UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984 [2][4]. The Archaeological Survey of India looks after it [3].

Don't confuse with

• Kanchipuram (Kanchi): This was the Pallava capital (inland). Mamallapuram was the port. The Kailasanatha temple is at Kanchi, not Mamallapuram [5].
• Rock-cut cave (mandapa) vs monolithic ratha: A cave is cut into the rock face. A ratha is a whole temple carved out of one rock and stands free [2][3].
• Shore Temple vs the rathas: The Shore Temple is structural (built stone by stone) and came under Rajasimha [3]. The rathas are monolithic and came under Narasimhavarman I [5].
• Arjuna's Penance vs Arjuna ratha: Arjuna's Penance (the 'Descent of the Ganges') is a giant open-air relief [2][4]. The Arjuna ratha is one of the five monolithic temples [4].

Prelims Hooks

• Mamallapuram/Mahabalipuram = port of the Pallavas of Kanchi. Finds include Chinese, Persian and Roman coins.
• Five rathas: Draupadi, Arjuna, Bhima, Dharmaraja, Nakula–Sahadeva [4]. Built under Narasimhavarman I 'Mamalla' [5].
• Shore Temple = structural temple under Rajasimha (c. 700–728 CE), made up of three shrines, one with a reclining Vishnu [3].
• 'Descent of the Ganges' = 'Arjuna's Penance': called the second largest ancient monolithic structure in Asia [4].
• UNESCO World Heritage Site: 1984 [2][4]. Monuments dated to the 7th–8th centuries [2].
• Order of building (trap): cave mandapas → rathas → Shore Temple → Kailasanatha, Kanchi [3][5].

Mains Points

• One site, a whole history of temple building. Mamallapuram shows the full line in one place: caves cut into rock, then free-standing monolithic rathas, then a built stone temple (the Shore Temple) [3][5]. The Kailasanatha at Kanchi came next, and the Chola style grew from this. Use it in answers on the growth of the Dravidian temple style.
• Art and trade went together. The port that handled spices, silk and ivory also became a showcase of royal art.
• Foreign coins (Chinese, Persian, Roman) show wide sea links.
• The naval expedition to Sri Lanka shows the Pallavas were a sea power.

• So Mamallapuram is good evidence of early South India's place in Indian Ocean trade.

• Royal patronage and heritage today. Each stage was paid for by a named king: Mahendravarman I, Narasimhavarman I and Rajasimha. This shows how royal patronage shaped Indian art. Its UNESCO listing (1984) [2][4] makes it a strong example for GS-I questions on protecting India's cultural heritage.

Related concepts

• Pallava dynasty
• Mahendravarman I
• Mandagapattu inscription
• Narasimhavarman I
• Kanchipuram
• Kailasanatha temple, Kanchipuram
• Pancha Rathas
• Shore Temple

Read more

• The Pallavas of Kanchi