Indian Columbus

Every monument of Mamallapuram intoxicates us with its incomparable workmanship in its own way. Hence, it is quite natural for us to believe that the monument that we currently visit is the best in the entire Pallava-era marvelous town. Draupadi Ratha is good. Bhima Ratha is extraordinary. Arjuna Ratha is exceptional. Dharmaraja Ratha is the best. Then, Ganesha Ratha? It is probably better than the best. Ganesha Ratha is almost complete, while the other monolithic shrines called Rathas remain incomplete. It is poetry written on the stone that treats our eyes completely with its excellent structural quality and great details in its architecture. Ganesha Ratha carved out of a free-standing boulder, was initially called Arjuna Ratha. But both the names are misnomers as it is a shrine of Shiva. As per some of the earliest reports, the temple had Shiva Linga and a Nandi in the opposite direction. After the locals installed the later period Ganesha's icon inside the shrine, they started ...

It was 1885 CE. A good amount of money was spent on improvising the infrastructure of the Madras Port. However, the port did not generate enough revenue. The authorities wanted to attract more ships and traders. The only danger in the vicinity was the reef in Mamallapuram, located south of this port.  The Port authorities found the hilltop structural temple called Olakkanesvara at Mamallapuram as a suitable place for erecting a lighthouse. Thus, under the supervision of T.E. Marshall, the then Acting Madras Port Officer, the ancient Pallava-era monument became a lighthouse. It remained a lighthouse between 1887 and 1900 CE. Alexander Rea, the Superintendent of ASI, blamed the Port and Public Works Department authorities for disfiguring the architecture and sculptures of an ancient temple. Meantime, many mariners complained about the performance of the lighthouse. Thus, there came a need for a new lighthouse in a better location.  F.W. Ashpitel, Superintendent of Lighthouses, c...

Most of the ancient monuments located in Mamallapuram are partially finished. And, a few monuments have been just started off and remain unfinished forever. Near the most popular Mahisasuramardini Cave Temple, there is an unfinished monolithic Ratha shrine. It would have been a noteworthy attraction for sure had it been finished. Now, hardly any visitor could differentiate it from other rocks. Near to this unfinished Ratha, there is a rock-cut couch with a headrest. It is one of four Pallava-era stone couches in Mamallapuram. Happy travelling.

Not all talented people get good opportunities. Not all people who get opportunities make good use of them. Similarly, in Mamallapuram, not all the stones got converted into monuments. And, not all the monuments which got started got completed. This short article is about one such unfinished monument. To the south of the Unfinished Penance panel, on the way to Dharmaraja Mandapa, this unexecuted mandapa is situated. Had this been completed, it might have become a glorified monument. As it was not finished, hardly anyone cares about this.  From its outlook, it appears that this cave temple was designed to have three cells with a frontside mandapa. The plan was probably to enshrine Trimurtis or three forms of Shiva.  For me, it is also an important monument of Mallai. It provides a visual idea of how the cave temples were excavated in those days.  Happy travelling. 

Little away to the south of the Unfinished Penance monument in Mamallapuram , Dharmaraja Mandapa is located. Though the town gets hundreds and thousands of visitors every day, hardly anyone visits this monument. Due to its primitive and simple design and style, many scholars assign the shrine to the period of Mahendravarma Pallava. The inscriptions call it Atyantakama Pallavesvara Griham . Not sure why, how and when people started referring to it as Dharmaraja Mandapa. It is totally a misnomer. The east-facing cave temple has three shrines with a long Mukha mandapa on the front side. The comparatively larger-sized central shrine is given prominence. Two Dwarapalas are found at its entrance. The staircases have parapets only in this shrine.  All three cells are empty but have empty sockets indicating the presence of Shiva Linga earlier. The images of Dwarapalas in the central cell are chiseled off. From the remains, we can clearly see that they are two-armed, with one arm resting o...

There seems to be no end to the experiments in stone done by the Pallava sculptors in Mamallapuram. Cave Shrines, Monolith Rathas, Structural Temples, Mini Shrines, and what next? A mini temple carved in a lion's torso. It is located on the south in the Shore Temple complex.  A monolith sculpture of a seated lion with an opening in its torso is unusual for other sites but perhaps not for Mamallapuram. Similar to the one found here, there are shrines in Yali Mandapa and Mini Yali Mandapa. However, this shrine looks more prominent and aesthetically sculpted. The eight-armed Durga, arguably the favorite Goddess of Pallavas, is found as a bas-relief image in the niche carved in the lion's chest. She carries various weapons in all her arms. However, they are eroded and are not clearly visible. Bow in her forearms alone is clear. She is seated, and below her seat, the severed head of buffalo (Mahisasura) is seen. An elegant female guarding holding a bow is sculpted on the right side ...

Abutting the northern boundary of the famous Shore Temple complex in Mamallapuram, an apsidal-shaped shallow stepped pit is located. Three interesting things are found over there - a beautiful miniature shrine, an unusual sculpture of a boar, and a cistern with a bas-relief image. The once severely damaged and now restored sculpture of boar is believed to be Varaha, the incarnation of Vishnu. Varaha is shown with its snout drooping downwards. What does this depict? As per Vaishnavite Puranas, when Hiranyaksha, an Asura leader, dragged the earth to the bottom of the sea, Vishnu incarnated as Varaha (boar) to eliminate the former. He ultimately raised the earth out of the water with his tusks.  Shaivite Puranas have a different legend about Varaha. When Vishnu and Brahma contested for superiority, Shiva appeared as flame and challenged them to find his source. While Brahma turned a swan to find the top of Shiva, Vishnu took the form of a boar to discover the base of the holy flame. T...

Mamallapuram is full of monuments. And, the monuments are full of mysteries. Yali Mandapa, called Tiger's Cave nowadays, is one such unsolved puzzle of the Pallava creators. Located in Saluvankuppam village at a distance of 5 km north of Mamallapuram, this monument has no parallel. The style is entirely different from all other cave shrines of Mallai. You can read more about this site from this link -  Yali Mandapa . If Yali Mandapa is an unsolved puzzle, what would we call this miniature version of Yali Mandapa? Unlike the bigger version, this tiny shrine is not well-known. This structure is located about 500 meters south of the Shore Temple along the beach sand. Three boulders were turned into masterpieces by Pallava sculptors in this location. Yali Mandapa is sculpted in a thin boulder. A shrine with an unidentified figure is surrounded by five Vyala faces. There are a few other smaller images in the lower part of the rock which are disfigured. The adjacent bigger boulder is sha...