The Unfinished Mandapa - Mamallapuram

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.