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South India is a land of
temples; at the distance of 55 km from Chennai lie the famous
place of Mahabalipuram. The Pallava dynasty of Southern India
is one of the major lines of the kings to rule in India. They
made the lovely sea -side village of
Mahabalipuram their
second capital. The place gained prosperity & glory
during fifth and eighth centuries, thus many temples were
constructed during this period. Now days Mahabalipuram is a
famous tourist destination due to the shore temple, Arjuna's
penance the largest bas relief in the world and the famous
and beautiful mandapams.
Tourist attractions
Shore Temple
Shore Temple was built in the 7th century AD. The temple has
two shrines, one dedicated to Vishnu in the reclining form
and the other to Shiva.
Five Rathas (Chariots)
These are five temples named after five pandavas. Each temple
looks like a chariot yet each one of them is completely
different from others. Their structure shows some similarity
to the ancient Dravidian temples.
Arjuna's Penance
It is a huge rock sculpture of Arjuna known as Arjuna's
penance. Arjun's Penace is the largest bas-relief in the
world. It depicts the penance of Arjuna to obtain the
legendary arrow Pasupathastra from Lord Shiva. The legend has
been carved on the rock measuring 80 x 30 feet.
Mahishasuramardhini
This a famous creation of Pallava sculptures. The cave has
two magnificent sculptures. Goddess Durga on her lion mount
vanquishing Mahishasura, the buffalo headed demon.
Manadapams
There are eight Manadapams in Mahabalipuram. The most well
known Manadapams are Mahishasura and Krishna. There are eight
Mandapams situated in Mamallapuram within a radius of one
kilometer. The most famous are those of Mahishasura and
Krishna. Salivan Kuppam, a cave temple complex is four km
north from here.
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