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The Historical Town

of Mamallapuram
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1. Introduction 2.Early history 3. Now 4. Reference List

My Project & why I picked
it
My project is about the town
Mamallapuram/Mahabalipuram.
It’s a town on a strip of land between the
Bay of Bengal in the south India state of
Tamil Nadu.
My project will be about:
 Mamallapuram Early History
 The Pallavas
 Tiger Cave
 Shore Temple
 Pancha Ratha
 Descent of Ganges
 Mamallapuram now
Why did I pick
Mamallapuram for
my project?
I picked it because, when I went to
India, I remember visiting it and its
beautiful architecture. It’s known
for its temples, monuments and
architecture. My parents are from
India, so I can ask for more
information from them. Since I
visited Mamallapuram about a year
ago, I had also learned about it,
when I went there. Mamallapuram
is also a very popular tourist
attraction
It’s an UNESCO World Heritage
site in Tamil Nadu.
 How did I start
investigating?
I began my investigation by searching up different places
in India. I came across a lot of different places like, the
gateway of India, Taj Mahal and Mamallapuram. I had
remembered going to Mamallapuram and the places I had
visited.
I then began investigating historical places in the town. I
soon had found out about the many historical places in
the town such as, tiger caves. I asked my teacher, Mrs.
Kirby, if I was able to do Mamallapuram for my CBA,
and I was told yes.
I began investigating online about the different places,
and people I wanted to do, and based them on the amount
of information I could find about them and made sure to
check other websites to see if the information was true. I
began my PowerPoint, after creating a reference list of
the sites I gained my information on.
 Mamallapuram Early
History
The town’s religious center was found in the 7th century-
CE Pallava king, Narasimhavarman, also known as
Mamalla, who the town is named after. There was ancient
Chinese, Persian, and Roman coins found at
Mamallapuram.
The town has many surviving 7th and 8th century Pallava
temples and monuments, sculptured rock relief popularly
known as, Arjuna’s Penance, or Descent of the Ganges, a
series of sculptured cave temples, and a Shiva temple.
The town has five monolithic temples. Monolithic
architecture is when buildings are carved from a single
material. These five monolithic temples are the remnants
of seven temples, which is why the town was known as
Seven Pagodas. It became a UNESCO World Heritage site
in 1984
 The Pallavas
The Pallavas ruled southeastern India, from the 3rd - 9th
centuries CE. Their empire is now known as the Tamil Nadu
state. Their origin is a mystery, and historians believe their roots
might have been from Andhra Pradesh state. The Pallavas were
the greatest rulers of South India. They played an important role
in the political, social and cultural history of South India. The
Pallavas were great patrons of learning. The Pallavas had also
contributed to the development of sculpture.
The Pallava rule lasted till the 9th Century CE. Simhavishnu
ruled from 575-590CE. He defeated the Kalabhras and laid
foundation for the establishment of the, Age of the Imperial
Pallavas.
Mahendravarman I ruled from 590 – 630 CE, and it was said
that he was a genius. The long Pallava and Chalukya conflict
began during this time. Narasimhavarman I ruled from 630 –
668 CE, and was the greatest Pallava rule, who raised the
power of the rule to great places. He had the title Mahamalla or
Mamalla The Pallava and Chalukya conflict was started by his
father, and he continued it strongly. He was a great builder and
constructed Mamallapuram and created the Rock-cut Rathas
during his rule.
 The Pallavas
Mahendravarman II ruled from 668 – 670 CE and
ruled for a very short time of two years, since he was
killed by Chalukya king, Vikramaditya I.
Paramesvaravarman I ruled from 670 – 695 CE and
won victory over the Chalukyas. Narasimhavarman
II ruled from 695 – 722 CE, had the title, Rajasimha.
It was peaceful during his rule, and he began
building large temples, like the Shore temple at
Mamallapuram. Nandivarman II ruled from 731 –
795 CE, and worshipped Vishnu, a patron of
learning.Nandivarman III ruled from 846-869 CE.
Nripatunga ruled from 869-899 CE. Aparajitavarman
was the last ruler, and ruled till 903 CE
The Pallavas rule ended when Vikramaditya II’s
attacked, the temporary occupation of Kanchi, this
ended the Pallavas rule over South India.
The Chola king Aditya I defeated the Aparjitavarman
and seized the Kanchi region.
 Shore Temple
The Shore Temple sits beside the sea in the
small town of Mamallapuram in the state of
Tamil Nadu in India. This complex of three
separate shrines was constructed under the
patronage of the Pallava king
Nrasimhavarman II.
Shore temple is the first structure of stone
that the rulers of the Pallava dynasty started
working on.
The temple is a tall structure on the shore of
the sea. Sailors named it as seven pagodas as
the structure stands on the seashore acting as
a sight for navigating ships.
 Shore Temple
In December 2004, a Tsunami hit the coastline of
Coromandel, and an ancient temple that was
completely collapsed, was found and it was built
wholly of granite blocks.
Many theorized and concluded that it was one of the
parts of the seven Pagodas. Six of the seven Pagodas
have been said to have submerged into the sea.
The Tsunami also helped in the finding of ancient
sculpted animals elephants, lions and peacocks
which were in the walls during the Pallava rule.
The temple is dedicated to worshipping both Lord
Shiva and Lord Vishnu and has been built to have
three shrines. The most significant of the three
shrines has been dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord
Vishnu.
Tiger Cave
The Tiger Cave is a rock-cut temple cave from the Pallavan
Empire. It’s located on the Bay of Bengal coast and is a popular
picnic spot and tourist destination.
The Tiger Cave was built in the 8th century under the King
Narasimhavarman I. Historians believe the king gave speeches
from the cave’s platform. The Tiger Cave was also a shrine
dedicated to the goddess Durga, who is usually pictured as
being seated on a tiger.
Around the Tiger Cave, there is a tiger-like creature, called
a ,Yali, which is from Hindu mythology. It gets its name from
the carvings of tiger heads on the mouth of a cave. The temple
is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
 Pancha Ratha
Pancha Rathas also known as
Pandava Rathas, are architectural
constructions of the nine monolithic
temples of Mahabalipuram situated
on the Coromandel Coast of the
Bay of Bengal. There are five
structures, are all chiselled in the
shapes of chariots out of large
block of stone. They are five
Pandava brothers Yudhistir, Bhima,
Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva, and their
wife Draupadi. Each structure is
very different from the other ones.
Indian rock-cut architecture, say
that it dates back to the 7th century
during the reign of the Pallava rule.
It was originally meant for worship,
but it was never used for any sacred
purposes.
 Descent of Ganges

The Descent of Ganges is a 70th century rock-cut

sculpture relief, at Mamallapuram. The Descent of
Ganges is also known as Arjuna’s Penance and is the
largest known relief in south India. It was made from
boulders, and is it 29.26 metres across, and is 13.1
metres tall at its highest. It was believed that it was
built by Narasimhavarman I, as a symbol of the
victory of the Pallavas over the Chalukyas.
It has 150 figures that are gods, goddesses, rishis,
hunters, animals, hybrid figures, kiratas and kinnaras.
A central fissure in the rock, said to be a natural
feature and has been incorporated into the design and
subject of the relief, the Ganges river, showed by the
presence of nagas and naginis.
 Descent of Ganges
A figure is depicted to the left of the fissure, at the
centre of the structure, he stands on one leg in
penance. To his left is Shiva attended by ganas,
apparently giving him a boon with one hand in the
varada mudra, a hand gesture.
Underneath the picture is a shrine to Vishnu, which
sits an aged sage along with three disciples while
four other ascetics perform various rites of penance
and ritual worship. On the opposite bank of the
river is a herd of elephants with their children.
Beside the feet of the first elephant is a cat
performing penance and being worshipped by
mice, a possible reference to a tale from the
Panchatantra. The figures all display naturalistic
poses and individual facial features.
In 1984, the relief was been designated a UNESCO
World Heritage Site as a part of the Group of
Monuments at Mamallapuram
 Mamallapuram Now

Mamallapuram is now a popular

tourist attraction in India. The town is
trying to re-create it’s image as the
country’s premier beach resort, but it
has not lost touch with it’s fascinating
historical past.
Now, Mamallapuram host annual
traditional drama events and dance
festivals, the most common one being,
the Mamallapuram dance festival, that
has been celebrated since 1992, and
lasts 20 days.
There is also underwater surveys of
Mamallapuram happening, to reveal
many more ancient artefacts, hidden
under the sea.
Pancha ratha Shore Temple
Tiger caves Descent of Ganges
 Reference List
https://www.worldhistory.org/Mahabalipuram/
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/south-asia/x97ec695a:
500-1100-c-e-deccan-and-south/a/shore-temple-mamallapuram

https://www.britannica.com/place/Mamallapuram
https://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/history/who-were-the-pallavas
https://www.insightsonindia.com/ancient-indian-history/post-gupta-age/
Pallavas/

https://discoverindiasite.wordpress.com/2018/12/02/the-tiger-cave-maha
balipuram/

By: Bhavana Panda