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The Great Penance of Mamallapuram

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You cannot claim to have visited Tamil Nadu without paying a visit to Mamallapuram. And, if you go to Mamallapuram, you would never be able to miss the Great Penance, an incredible sculptural masterpiece. Most people call it Arjuna's Penance. Some of them call it Bhagiratha's Penance. And a handful of people call it the Great Penance. Measuring 96 feet by 43 feet, the gigantic panel carved on two monolithic rock boulders has more than 150 sculptures.  It is said that this open-air rock relief sculptural panel has no parallel in India. In terms of beauty, I agree, it is true. But, when it comes to size, Unakoti rock relief images are larger than this. The hidden beauty of Tripura remains an unexplored destination. A lot of people have written about the Great Penance in their books, sites and blogs. Even I have covered this site in this blog some 11-12 years ago. So, why do we have this article? Here, I will explore every single sculpture of this gigantic panel. And, I would set ...