Next we visit, The Shore Temple, also an UNESCO World heritage site, and also the most visited, site in Mahabs. Before we move ahead, some info regarding The Shore Temple. The Shore Temple is so named because it overlooks the shore of the Bay of Bengal. It is a structural temple, built with blocks of granite. As one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, it has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.It is one of the oldest structural stone temples of South India. Sailors gave the name Seven Pagodas to the Shore Temple when they saw this tall structure on the seashore, as it appears like a Pagoda. It is now inferred that this temple complex was the last in a series of temples that seemed to exist in the submerged coastline; this is supported by the appearance of an outline of its sister temples off the coast during the Tsunami of 2004 which struck this coastline. The Tsunami of December 2004 that struck the coastline of Coromandel exposed an old collapsed temple built entirely of granite blocks. This has renewed speculation that Mahabalipuram was a part of the Seven Pagodas. The Tsunami also exposed some ancient rock sculptures of lions, elephants, and peacocks that used to decorate walls and temples during the Pallava period during the 7th and 8th centuries. Though the Tsunami of 26 December 2004 that occurred in the Indian Ocean struck the temple and the surrounding garden, the Shore Temple was not badly damaged.
Now the maintenance of The Shore Temple and Pancha Rathas, together constitutes The Monument Complex, is being taken care by ASI, and that's the reason why, there is an entry fee to this place. Inside the complex, there is a huge lawn, plus there are designated areas for drinking water and a clean washroom. This is the common ticket which has to be taken from the gates of the Shore Temple. So one have to visit the Shore Temple first, and then Pancha Rathas. It cannot be done the other way round!
This is the ticket for both the sites.
The ticket costs 10 bucks, for Indian citizens, but if you are a foreigner, the rates would be 150 bucks. Don't know exactly, why, but that's how it is, across the country!
Back to The Shore Temple. Now the complex is huge, and to go to the main temple, one have to walk for about 500m around the park in the complex to go to the temple. It is really beautiful, though Tsunami has ravaged this area in 2004, still the temple was standing erect with pride. Here are picture of the temple, for all you to have a proper idea of the place.
This place is called Miniature Temple. Now can you see presence of sand on this part? Well it's so because earlier these parts were under the sea, but after being hit by the Tsunami of 2004, installations like these, came into appearence.
The Shore Temple. A marvel cut out of rocks.
Before the tsunami, this is where the entry was from. I mean this was the ground level. Now, it is around 5ft tall.
Now the maintenance of The Shore Temple and Pancha Rathas, together constitutes The Monument Complex, is being taken care by ASI, and that's the reason why, there is an entry fee to this place. Inside the complex, there is a huge lawn, plus there are designated areas for drinking water and a clean washroom. This is the common ticket which has to be taken from the gates of the Shore Temple. So one have to visit the Shore Temple first, and then Pancha Rathas. It cannot be done the other way round!
This is the ticket for both the sites.
The ticket costs 10 bucks, for Indian citizens, but if you are a foreigner, the rates would be 150 bucks. Don't know exactly, why, but that's how it is, across the country!
Back to The Shore Temple. Now the complex is huge, and to go to the main temple, one have to walk for about 500m around the park in the complex to go to the temple. It is really beautiful, though Tsunami has ravaged this area in 2004, still the temple was standing erect with pride. Here are picture of the temple, for all you to have a proper idea of the place.
A rock sculpture of Lord Vishnu.
This spooky looking thing is the ceiling of one of the temples in the complex. A must mention, the columns which you can see are also carved out of monolithic rock.
Various dieties.
So this is all about The Shore Temple. Next we will go to Pancha Rathas, but before that let's take a look at the beach and shore of Mahabs.
Mahabalipuram shore and beach.
From here we now head to the final site in Mahabs - The Pancha Rathas. Pancha Rathas (also known as Pandava Rathas) is also a monument complex. Pancha Rathas is an example of monolithic Indian rock-cut architecture. The complex is under the auspices of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed by UNESCO as Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram.Each of the five monuments in the Pancha Rathas complex resembles a chariot (ratha), and each is carved over a single, long stone or monolith, of granite which slopes in north-south direction with a slight incline.The structures are named after the Pancha Pandavas and their common wife Draupadi, of epic Mahabharata fame.In order of their size, they include the Dharmaraja (Yudhisthir) Ratha, Bhima Ratha, Arjuna Ratha, Nakula Sahadeva Ratha, and Draupadi Ratha.According to a plaque displayed at the site by the ASI,the purpose of their construction is not known as the structures were not completed. Here is a pic of the plaque.
The entry ticket for the Pancha Rathas is the same ticket, which was issued at Shore Temple. The authorities just give a stamp on in during the entry.
The stamps on the ticket. F stands for Five Raths and S for Shore Temple.
An overview of the Five Rathas.
An Elephant and a Lion sculpture.
So, here comes the end to Mahabs trip, and bid adieu to all the overloads of mythology, which I got enlightened with and move ahead to our next destination. But before that we had a sumptuous lunch at a resort in Mahabs.
-----------
Banjara_the nomadic
No comments:
Post a Comment