The underrated wonder that is Mahabalipuram

I first heard about Mahabalipuram in a chapter of my Class 8 or 9 Hindi textbook. While I don’t remember who the author of that piece was, I do remember that it was about the ruminations of a sculptor who wondered about the glorious temple ruins by the sea-shore and how they came to be.

Though the chapter didn’t mention Mahabalipuram as the place the sculptor was talking about, my Hindi teacher said that is where the story was based. He also elaborated a bit on the history of Mahabalipuram and that had me hooked. My young and impressionable teenaged mind found the description of a bygone era and the desolation of temple ruins by the sea-shore very romantic.

The visual stayed with me through school, college, university… till I actually visited Mahabalipuram in 1996. This was in the summer of that year and the heat and tourist hordes dispelled any romantic notion I had about Mahabalipuram. But the monuments left an impression on me — enough to make me want to re-visit it.

It took me almost 20 years visit Mahabalipuram again.

Mahabalipuram, whose ancient name was Mamallapuram, is about 60 km from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It has a history of being a commercial centre and also a religious centre as one the foremost Vaishnavaite saints, Bhutattalvar was born here around the 5^th-6^th centuries CE. Under the Pallavas, Mahabalipuram was developed into a port town by King Narasimha I in c.650 CE. But today, it is the remains of the monuments built by the Pallavas that makes Mahabalipuram famous. There are more than 30 monuments in Mahabalipuram, including bas reliefs, rock-cut cave temples, structural temples and rathas or monolithic structures.

While historians agree that all these monuments were built by the Pallavas, there is some debate over the time taken to build them all and also whether it was during the patronage of one or more Pallava King(s). Though inscriptions found at the monuments indicate that they were commissioned by King Rajasimha during his 40-year reign (690-730 CE), there is speculation as to whether so many monuments could have been built in such a short span of time. What is, however, agreed upon is that building activity stopped with Rajasimha’s death and work on the monuments that were being built simultaneously came to a halt and the monuments were left unfinished for ever.

Over the centuries since the monuments were abandoned, they have fallen into ruin — some of the monuments are even believed to have been claimed by the ocean ! But they never disappeared — literally or from public knowledge (like the Ajanta Caves) — partly because of worship in some of the monuments and partly because of traveller accounts.

The coming of the English to the region brought a renewed interest consistent focus on the monuments of Mahabalipuram. Attempts at understanding, documenting and showcasing the monuments began in earnest. In 1984, when the UNESCO declared the group of monuments at Mahabalipuram as a World Heritage Site, it was brought to the world’s notice as well.

Early one morning in January this year, I set out from Chennai to explore the monuments of Mahabalipuram. It was a good day to visit for there were very few tourists and I (almost) had the monuments to myself. I wandered around Mahabalipuram without any particular plan in mind and would probably have spent the entire day there, if I hadn’t got dehydrated due to the heat forcing me to return to Chennai by mid-afternoon.

Here are some of captures from that day. Please click on the first picture to see the details and the captions and then use the arrow keys to navigate through the rest of the pictures. Do come back to read the rest of the post !

The Pancha Rathas or monolithic temples named after the five Pandavas and their wife Draupadi.

The Sahadeva Ratha and the life-sized elephant carved outside it

Dharmaraja Ratha

Sculptures carved in the niches of one of the rathas

Spires of the shore temple

Barely recognisable bas reliefs carved on one of the internal walls of the Shore Temple

An unfinished bas relief at Mahabalipuram

The most striking and perhaps the most famous work of art from Mahabalipuram – Arjuna’s penance or the Descent of Ganga

Tiger’s Cave. The waters from the nasty floods of December 2015 had not yet receded and it was difficult to access the cave

Though this was technically my second visit to Mahabalipuram, it could very well have been the first. The monuments, in themselves, were familiar but the details were unfamiliar. No two monuments were identical and the way the natural rock formations had been chosen to sculpt or the way the monolithic rathas had been sculpted were amazing. Each one was a discovery, a delight and one that led to introspection or wonder as the case may be. Be it the story-telling panels, or the freeze frames or the rathas or the animals, I often lost track of time looking at the details.

What I loved the most among all the reliefs and sculptures were those of animals. They seemed to have a special place and the sculptors have carved them in great detail and with love. I haven’t seen such realistic looking animal sculptures anywhere else. The exceptions were the lion sculptures; their proportions and depictions were not quite right making me wonder if the sculptors had ever seen one !

Here are some details from the monuments of Mahabalipuram. Please click on the first picture to see the details and the captions and then use the arrow keys to navigate through the rest of the pictures. Do come back to read the rest of the post !

Sheshashayi Vishnu or Vishnu in deep sleep in the coils of Sheshnag. For me the most remarkable thing about this panel is Vishnu’s hand which lies limp and hangs down in a relaxed position.

This is the most dynamic panel in Mahabalipuram and depicts Durga entering the war with Mahisa, the buffalo-headed demon. Mahisa stands tall and his stance is one of confidence. How well the sculptor has imagined this !

Mahisa’s expression when he sees Durga. Surprise? Arrogance?

Varaha holds Bhudevi tenderly after rescuing her from the ocean and from the clutches of Hiranyaksha.

Durga being worshipped. She is flanked on either side by grim-faced ganas.

Detail of one of the grim-faced ganas. Don’t miss that nasty, curved dagger in his hand !

Ardhanareeshwara – just look at the thrust of the left hip !

Sculpted reliefs of cows at the Krishna Govardhana Mandapa

A very life-like cow relaxes in at the Krishna Govardhana Mandapa

A monkey family, once again captured in a very life-like fashion. While the mother feeds her young, the male monkey checks for lice in the female monkey’s fur.

The secret smile, perfectly fanned out snake hood and the hands clasped together – what is the nagini thinking?

Sheep sculptures at the Shore temple

A sculpture of a lion at the Shore Temple in Mahabalipuram

The so-called tiger cave, names because of the tiger heads carved all around.

The monuments of Mahabalipuram are layered and nuanced and reveal how extraordinary and complex they are little by little. From the grand structures or the larger picture to the little details, they are rather unique — in the sense that the art form and the emotions they evoke take precedence over the theme. For example, Varaha holding Bhudevi the way he does is not just about Vishnu rescuing the earth. It is a depiction of a husband’s (Vishnu/ Varaha) love for his wife (Bhudevi).

The choice of subjects for the panels and their placement is also thought-provoking. For example, the Mahisasuramardini cave has the inert Sheshashayi Vishnu and the full-of-action Durga coming to war with Mahisa placed opposite each other. The concept of balance or opposites — in this case action and inertia — is an important concept in Indian art in temples.

As I pored over my notes and photographs in preparation to write this post, I realised that with the art forms and the emotions they convey assuming primacy over the religious and mythological themes portrayed, I could identify and feel the different rasas… so strong were the bhavas.

Mahabalipuram was quite the surprise for me, in the sense that I expected to see grand monuments, which I did. It also showed me the unexpected nuances and complexity that deserves to be, and will be, showcased separately on this blog. This post was only the curtain raiser, an introduction, to the underrated wonder that is Mahabalipuram. In the coming weeks and months, I will be discussing some of them in greater detail and critiquing them as well.

Watch this space ! 🙂

Notes:

1. For background information on the monuments at Mahabalipuram, I referred to R. Nagaswamy’s books from the Monumental Legacy Series.
2. There are many blogs and articles on Mahabalipuram, but none as detailed as this one. I highly reading it.

Join me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as I explore the world around me and share “My Favourite Things” with you.