INDIA: Mamallapuram
The historic monuments of Mamallapuram
are located in south-east India, on the Coramandel coast of Tamil Nadu. Most
notable is the Shore Temple, dated between AD 690-715 dedicated to the
supreme Hindu deities, Vishnu and Shiva. It is in fact a twin-temple. One
section displays a sculpture of a reclining Vishnu. The other has a
Somaskanda panel of special reverence to Tamils, featuring Shiva in a seated
posture, flanked by his consort Parvati and Skanda, their son. Set back from
the beach, Mamallapuram`s other monuments, were sculpted from huge granite
rocks under the patronage of the Pallava kings in the 7-8th centuries. All
are exceptional examples of Dravidian architecture featuring rathas -
temples in the form of chariots and cave sanctuaries. The most important
relief depicts the `Descent of the Ganges` to Earth. Hundreds of other rock
carvings glorify the qualities of Lord Shiva. Pilgrims, especially Shaivites,
( followers of Shiva) and Vaishnavites, (devotees of Vishnu), travel to
worship and bathe at Mamallapuram. Immediately before the 2004 tsunami
struck land, the ocean pulled back approximately 500 metres off the coast
uncovering a long, straight row of large rocks indicative that more of the
seventh century port lies beneath the water. The most famous post-tsunami
finding, a large stone lion dated by archaeologists to the seventh century,
now sits on the beach at Mamallapuram. UNESCO which inscribed the monuments
as a World Heritage site in 1984 is underwriting the damage to the Shore
Temple.