Ganesha Ratha - Mamallapuram

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 calling it Ganesha Ratha.

Among all the Rathas found in Mallai, it is the only almost complete Ratha. No other Ratha is in worship. This Ratha is a living temple though a different deity occupies it.

The inscription containing Sanskrit verses written in the Pallava Grantha script is similar to the inscriptions of Dharmaraja Mandapa and Atirachanda Mandapa. It is found on the lateral wall of Mukha mandapa. Like a few other shrines of the town, the Pallavas named it "Atyantakama Pallavesvara Griham".

The 28 feet high wagon-shaped shrine has two tiers and hence called "Dvi tala Vimana". The west-facing temple has the sanctum and a front side Mukha mandapa. The mandapa is supported with two pillars and two pilasters. All these four elements have Simha Vyala as their bases. The corbels with curved profiles above these Vyalas support the bulbous capitals.

The east-side wall has five niches supported by ten pilasters. The north and south sides have three niches supported by six pilasters each. 

There are no Dwarapalas (door guardians) at the sanctum entrance. Instead, at the terminals of the Mukha mandapa, there are two niches with the sculptures of Dwarapalas. The Dwarapalas have clubs as their weapons in one arm and rest the other arm on the waist.

The cornice (kapota) above the pillars and pilasters have regular kudu arches with human heads inset. There are ten arches on the east and west sides. The north and south cornices have six arches each. Under the cornice, the regular frieze of Bhuta Ganas is found. 

Above the cornice in the east and west directions, the regular decoration of interconnected shrines, three oblong shaped shrines called Sala, and two square shaped shrines called Kuta are found. On the north and south, one Sala shrine is surrounded by two Kuta vimanas. These mini shrines are connected with a covered pathway called Harantaras (cloisters). Human faces are found inside some of the Kudu arches on these mini shrines and cloisters. The base of these shrines and cloisters mostly have mini icons of Vyalas. One front profile of an elephant, a side profile of an elephant, and two fighting elephants are some of the other images found other than the Vyalas.

The second tier of the Vimana has pilasters supported walls all around, forming four empty niches in the west and east directions. The number of niches is reduced to two on the south and north. Two kudu arches with human faces inset are found on the cornice above each niche. Above the cornice in the east and west, there are two oblong-shaped Sala shrines in the middle and two square-shaped Kuta shrines at the corners. In between, there are three Panjaras found. (Panjara is an architectural element having an elevated plinth, with two pillars in the front and a kudu arch). Trishulas (tridents) are found above the kudus of Panjaras. The panjaras extend to the vaulted styled Shikhara.

The shikhara has nine Stupis (finials) and the head bearing Trishula (trident) on both ends. The three prongs of the trident are supported by a base bearing a human face.

On the north and south sides, the shikhara have cylindrical elements resembling Buddhist chaitya arches. Four projecting brackets, topped with a Simha Vyala image, support the arch. The arch is decorated with floral designs. The cylindrical element might represent a mini shrine similar to what is found near the Shore Temple. A similar design but with more details and features are found in Bhima Ratha. 

Happy travelling.

(P.S. I have covered this monument already in my blog about 12 years ago. This is my second article on the same site after my revisit.)