Mahabalipuram
De nos jours, Mahabalipuram (also called Mamallapuram) est un village trop vite grandi qui doit sa prospérité au tourisme.
Mahabalipuram was, under
thePallava Dynasty till the 7 th century, a very active
port by which the then Indian civilization made trade with the
Far East, Ceylon in Java. The site consists of temples,
an immense fresco in low-relief and carved caves of high reliefs dealing with
the myths of the hinduism. All are works of quality of the
Pallava school of art .
The monument more visited and most precisely celebrated is an imposing fresco cut in low-relief in a rock face which one indicates under the name of the Descent of Gange. It is also given the name of "the penitence of Arjuna". It illustrates the legend of the Descent of Gange on Earth, through the hair of Lord Shiva,
Another very visited place is the circle of Ratha. The ratha are enormous tanks of procession out of wooden, tractor drawn in the streets of the cities by hundreds the penitent ones at the time of certain religious ceremonies, to offer to the veneration of crowd, the sumptuously avoided statues of bronze of the divinities who are installed there. Here, under this name, one indicates monolithic temples. But the originality holds so that it is not a question of built temples, but of monolithic monuments dug in the shape of buildings to very the rock. At the time of their realization (7 th century), one could not build stone buildings yet. Also their forms, until in the details, reproduce it the architectural methods of the wood buildings. But it was estimated that the residences of the gods or rather, in the species, of the divinized heroes, were to be the time proof.
They have the names of different religious characters of Draupadi, Arjuna, Bhîma, Yudhishthira and Sahadeva, names of the five Pândava brothers, from the Mahâbhârata.
Another universally known
monument of Mahabalipuram is the Temple of the Shore, built on the beach.
For more than twelve centuries, it defied the waves of the ocean. The
effects of marine erosion and the wind appear; also a programme of conservation
with plantation of vegetation has made it possible to protect this beautiful
monument.
Not far from the relief of the descent of Gange, at the edge of the road, one notices a large granite rock round in form, which seems unstable in balance: it is the ball of Lord Krishnâ (by reference to a legend )
It is suggested to go up the hill (it is easy), to visit other monuments, most of them, the artificial caves:
The mandapa
of Mahîshâsuramardinî, one of most beautiful, presents low-reliefs
cut in the rock, with famous mythological scenes: Vishnu laid down on the
snake of Eternity, and the Goddess Durgâ, in her form of Mahîshâsuramardinî,
put to death the terrible Mahishâsura demon-buffalo.
The mandapa of Varâha is rich in beautiful sculptures: a representation of Varâha, then Gajalakshmi, goddess of prosperity, elephants which frame it; another sculpture illustrates the legend of Vâmana, incarn ation of Vishnu, traversing its raised leg high, King Bali who reigned the three worlds.
The mandapa of Krishnâ shows the God himself milking a cow which licks its calf; another representation shows the same god raising the Govardhana mount, (in reference to a legend)
The old temple of Ishwara and , the ratha of Ganesh (Ganesh mandapa), of the Pallava period (7th - 8th century),With the origin devoted to Shiva, this small monolithic temple is of shala type, i.e. with a roof in the shape of hull of ship crowned by several stupi, ornaments in the shape of mud.
A few km in the north of Mahabalipuram is the Saluvankuppam where the Caves of the Tiger are.
Tirukalikundram
