Pancha Rathas

Also called: Five rathas · Topic: Southern Dynasties: Chalukyas, Pallavas, Cholas · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Pancha Rathas ("five rathas") are five monolithic temples at Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram). Monolithic means each one is carved out of a single rock and stands free [1][2]. They were made in the 7th century, in the reign of the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I 'Mamalla' [4], and are named after Draupadi, Arjuna, Bhima, Dharmaraja and Nakula–Sahadeva from the Mahabharata [3].

They matter because they show the Pallava move from cutting caves into rock to carving whole temples out of rock. This is a key step on the road to the built stone temples of South India.

Explanation

Background: why they were made

• The Pallavas ruled from Kanchi (Kanchipuram). NCERT dates the dynasty to c. 275–897 CE.
• Their high point was the 7th century, under a father and son:
• Mahendravarman I (c. 600–630) started a new style of Dravidian architecture that scholars call the "Mahendra style" [4].

• His son Narasimhavarman I 'Mamalla' (c. 630–668) defeated the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II and captured Badami (Vatapi) [4].

• Mamallapuram was the Pallavas' busy port. Chinese, Persian and Roman coins have been dug up there. A rich and powerful king had both the money and the reason to fill it with grand monuments.

• The rathas were made in Narasimhavarman I's reign [4]. The port town itself is named after his title, Mamalla ("great wrestler/warrior").

Main features

• Material and method: each ratha is cut from a single slab of rock [3]. Nothing was built stone by stone. The sculptors carved away rock until only the temple was left.
• Shape: ratha means chariot. These temples are shaped like chariots [1][2].
• The five rathas [3]:
• Draupadi ratha
• Arjuna ratha
• Bhima ratha
• Dharmaraja ratha

• Nakula–Sahadeva ratha (one ratha shared by the twin brothers)

• Decoration: bas-reliefs (carvings that stand out a little from a flat surface) of elephants and Nandi the bull [3].

• The names are later labels. The Pandava names come from local tradition. The rathas were temples, not monuments built for the Pandavas.

Where they fit in the story of Pallava architecture

• Stage 1: rock-cut caves (mandapas). These are halls cut into a rock face [1][2].
• Stage 2: monolithic rathas. These are whole temples carved out of rock, under Narasimhavarman I [4].
• Stage 3: structural temples. These were built stone by stone, on a big scale, under Rajasimha (c. 700–728 CE). This stage ended in the Shore Temple [2].
• Stage 4: the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchi, built a little after the Shore Temple, with a tall superstructure [4].

Results

• Different rathas have different roof and plan shapes. So they work like a set of stone models that tested temple forms.
• Later builders turned these carved forms into full stone temples. The line runs from the Pallavas to the great temples of the Cholas.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: 7th century CE, in the reign of Narasimhavarman I 'Mamalla' (c. 630–668) [4].
• Dynasty: the Pallavas of Kanchi.
• Place: Mahabalipuram / Mamallapuram, a port on the Coromandel coast of Tamil Nadu [1].
• Nearby monuments in the same group:
• rock-cut mandapas
• the open-air relief called 'Descent of the Ganges' / 'Arjuna's Penance' [1][3]

• the Shore Temple [2]

• Heritage status: the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 [1][3]. UNESCO dates the sanctuaries to the 7th and 8th centuries [1].

• How we know:
• The monuments themselves still stand.
• Official records come from UNESCO [1], the Archaeological Survey of India [2] and the Ministry of Culture's Indian Culture Portal [3].
• Coin finds at Mamallapuram show it was a busy trading port.

Don't confuse with

• Shore Temple: a structural temple, built stone by stone under Rajasimha (c. 700–728 CE). It is really three shrines [2]. The rathas are monolithic, cut from single rocks, and are older.
• Rock-cut caves (mandapas): halls cut into a rock face [1][2]. A ratha is carved out of the rock and stands free like a chariot.
• 'Arjuna's Penance' / 'Descent of the Ganges': a giant open-air relief carved on a rock surface [1][3], not a temple. Don't mix it up with the Arjuna ratha, which is one of the five temples.
• Kailasanatha temple, Kanchipuram: a structural temple in the Pallava capital, built a little after the Shore Temple [4]. The rathas are monolithic and stand at the port, Mamallapuram.

Prelims Hooks

• Pancha Rathas: Pallava dynasty, built under Narasimhavarman I 'Mamalla' (c. 630–668) [4]. The trap answer is Mahendravarman I.
• Type: monolithic, each cut from a single slab of rock [3]. They are not structural and not cave temples.
• The five names: Draupadi, Arjuna, Bhima, Dharmaraja, Nakula–Sahadeva [3]. There are five rathas, but the twins share one.
• Carvings: bas-reliefs of elephants and Nandi [3].
• Correct order: rock-cut mandapas → Pancha Rathas (Narasimhavarman I) → Shore Temple (Rajasimha) → Kailasanatha, Kanchi [2][4].
• Site: Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, Coromandel coast. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984 [1][3].

Mains Points

• A link in the growth of South Indian temples. The rathas sit between the cave mandapas and Rajasimha's structural Shore Temple [2][4].
• They show builders trying out temple shapes in solid rock first.
• These shapes were later built in stone and grew into the great Chola temples.

• This makes them useful for any GS-I question on how the Dravida style developed.

• Art as a sign of royal power and wealth.

• Narasimhavarman I had defeated Pulakeshin II and captured Badami [4].
• He also sent a naval expedition to Sri Lanka.

• Carving the rathas at his trading port showed off a strong and wealthy kingdom.

• Living heritage. The rathas are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1984) [1][3]. They are a good example of India's rock-cut tradition for answers on preserving heritage and on the Pallava contribution to Indian culture.

Related concepts

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

Read more

• The Pallavas of Kanchi