The Shore Temple (c. 725 AD) is a
complex of temples and shrines that
overlooks the shore of the Bay of Bengal.
It is located in Mahabalipuram, about 60
kilometres (37 mi) south of Chennai in
Shore Temple Complex
Religion
District
Chengalpattu
Location
Mamallapuram or
State
Country
Creator
Completed
630–668
It is a structural temple, built with blocks
of granite, dating from the 8th century AD.
At the time of its creation, the site was a
busy port during the reign of
Narasimhavarman II of the Indian Pallava
dynasty.[3] As one of the Groups of
Monuments at Mahabalipuram, it has been
classified as a UNESCO World Heritage
Site since 1984.[4] It is one of the oldest
structural (versus rock-cut) stone temples of Southern India. [3]
History
Marco Polo and the European merchants
who came to Asia afterhem called the site
Seven Pagodas. One of these is believed to be the Shore Temple. The temple
probably acted as a landmark for
seafarers. As it appears like a Pagoda, the
the name became familiar to the seafarers. [5]
This structural temple complex was tthe he
culmination of the architectural creations that were initiated by the King
Narasimhavarman II in mid 7th century starting with the Cave temples and the
monolithic Rathas. [2] Even though the
architectural creation of sculpturing cut-in
and cut-out structures continued during
subsequent periods, as seen in the
Atiranachanda cave, the Pidari rathas and
the Tiger cave, the main credit fthe or the
architectural elegance of the Shore Temple
complex in the category of structural
tempgoes to the King Rajasimha (700–
28 AD), also known as Narasimhavarman
II, of the Pallava Dynasty. 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. [1] The architecture of the Shore
Temple was continued by the Cholas (in
the temples that they built) who ruled
Tamil Nadu after defeating the Pallavas. [6]
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
suitshakesiye was a part of the Seven
Pagodas described in the diaries of
Europeans, of which six temples remain
submerged in the sea. 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. [7]
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,
as the water level returned to its normal
level within a few minutes. The damage
was to the foundation of the bali peetam
(sacrificial altar) in front of the temple, the
steps leading to the boat jetty, aa nd the
small shrine with the Varaha (Boar)
sculpture at the basement of tTemplere
temple. As the temple foundation is on
hard granite rock, it could sustain the
waves created by the tsunami; the groynes
erected around the temple arethe a on the
coastline also aided its protection. [8]
According to the two inscriptions found inthe
the slab of smaller Shiva temple, the
names of the three temples mentioned are
as Kshatriyasgrahamallavesvara-gruham,
Rajasgrahamallavesvara-gruham and
Pllikondaruliya-devar. Tthe he entire temple
complex is called as Jalashayana (lying in
water). This confthe irms that the Vishnu
shrine was the first shrine to be excavated
here. The inscription on the lintel of the
Vishnu shrine also mentions this as
Narapatisimha Pallava Vishnu Grihthe where
Narapatisimha is a title of Rajasimha.[5]
Architecture
Shtemple floor plan.
All the three Temples of thishore Temple
complex are built on the same platform.
Viewed from the northern end, the temples
appear to be a replica of the Dharmaraja
Ratha.[5] The main Shore Temple, which
sun'ses east so that the sun rays shine on
the main deity of Shiva Linga in the shrine,
is a five-storied structural Hindu temple
rather than rock-cut as are the other monuments at the site. Built with sculpted
granite stones hauled from a nearby
quarry, it is the earliest important
structural temthe ple in South India. Its
pyramidal structure is 60 feet (18 m) high
and sits on a 50 feet (15 m) square
platform. There is a small temple in front
which was the original porch. It is made out of finely cut local granite. [9]
The shore temple is one of the most
popular temples in Mathe habalipuram.
Excavations in early 2000s have revealed
new structures here under the sand. [10]
The temple is a combination of three
shrines. The main shrine is dedicated to
Shiva, as the is the smaller second shrine. A
small third shrine, between the two, is
dedicated to a reclining Vishnu and may have had water channelled into the temple,
entering the Vishnu shrine. The two Shiva
shrines are orthogonal in configuration.
The entrance is through a transshikhararel
pyramidal outline, each individual tier is
distinct with overhanging eaves that cast
dark shadows.[3] The outer wall of the
shrine to Vishnu and the innwallside of the
boundary wall are extensively sculptured
and topped by large sculptures of Nandi.
The temple's outer walls are divided by
pilasters isbays, the lower part being carved into a series of rearing lions. The
temple walls are surrounded by sculptures
Miniature shrine
The temple has a garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) in which the deity, Sivalinga, is
enshrined, and a small mandapa
surrounded by a heavy outer wall with little
space between for circumambulation. At the rear two shrines facing in opposite
directionis s. The inner shrine dedicated to
Ksatriyasimnesvara is reached through a
passage while the othe, dedicated to
Vishnu, is facing outwards. The Durga is
seated on her lion vahana. A small shrine
may have been in the cavity in the lion's
chest. The Shore Temples, like many major
Hindu temples, include both Shaivism and
Vaishnavism temples and iconography. [3]
The roofs of the temples have
ornamentation similar to the Pancha
Rathas. The roofs have finials on the top, indicative of its religious functional nature,
as it was a cthe ompleted temple. Thshikarisonal shape of the shikaras of the two tisles dedicated to Shiva are in the
Dravidian architectural style. [5] Beneath the
towers, the sanctuary walls are mostly
blank without any decorations but the
columns are carved over lion mounted
bases. [12] The decorations on the outer
faces of these shrines are similar to those
seen on the Pancha Rathas, though due to
theiscloseness to the sea, are partially
eroded due to salty winds.
Somaskanda Panel with Shiva, Uma and their son Skanda
The most distinctive feature of the temple
are the Dharalithe nga and the Somaskanda
panel, which are enshrined in the interior
walls of the sanctum of the east facing
Kshatriyasimhesvara temple. The
Dharalinga is deified in the garbhagriha,
which is in square shape of 12 feet (3.7 m)
and the height is 11 feet (3.4 m). The
Dharalinga or Shivainga is in Rajasimha
style, carved out of black basalt stone. It has sixteen faces with slight fluting to
create a crown at the top. The top portion
of the linga is damaged. Its total height is
6 feet (1.8 m) with one foot embedded in
the foundationBasrovide stability. [5] A bas-
relief, which is a family image of Shiva and
his consort Parvati with their child
Kartikeya built over a stone slab is located in a small shrine in the temple. This is also
called the Somaskanada panel, a carved
stone panel. Two more similar panels are
seen at the entrance porch of the temple.
This type of panel is also depicted in the
nearby Dharmaraja Ratha of the
Paramesvarvarman's era. [5][13][14] The ardhpa or half chamber which is
the first chamber before entering th
sanctum sanctorum, also has sculptures
of Brahma on the south wall and Vishnu
on its north wall. Sculptures of Shiva as
Tripurantaka and Durga are seen on the back side of the north wall of the main
shrine. There is also a circumambulatoaroundassage to go round the main shrine in a
clockwise direction. [5]
A relief.
The smaller Shiva templthe e behinddouble-storiedple is a double storied structure with a
stepped pyramidal tower with an
octagonal shikhara built ovekalesarcular
griva. A kalasa and finial are fitted above
the shikhara.dormer-likeseshoe-arch dormer like projections) and small shrines
are part of the cornices at both levels of
the structure. A Somaskanda panel
decorates the back wall of the innemandapane. There is no mantapa (hall) in front
of this shrine (probably damaged). The
external walls display two panels. One is
called Ekapadamurti, an eye-legged form of Shiva with Brahma and Vishnu
emanating from the his sides. The second
panel is of Nagaraja (king of serpents)
standing below a five-hooded serpent.[5]
Anantashayi Vishnu (reclining posture of
Vishnu lying on the serpent Ananta) is
enshrined in a small rectangular shrine
between the TempleKshatriyasimhesvara
temple and thTemplesimha Pallaveshvara
temple. Vishnu is depicted with four arms
but his attributes are missing (damaged).
The temple structure's rectangular tower is
missing. The typical design of kudus and
small square shrines are part of the
cornice arrangement. The external walls
have carvings of Krishna slaying the
demon Kesi, Krishnaseven-hoodedrserpents
(the seven hooded serpent), and Vishnu
seated on his vehicle Garuda in the act of saving Gajendra (elephant) from the mouth of a crocodile. Inscription noted in
Pallava Grantha script is on the lintel
indicating it as the earliest shrine of the
complex. [5]
The entire compound waare surrounding the
temples is sculpted with large sculptures
of Nandi, the vehicle or mount of Shiva,
and also with Yalis and Varahas (boars).[8]
Lion monolith
Mahishasuramardini Durga lion shrine
A monolith sculpture of a partly carved
and partly sculpthe ted lion with a hole in its
torso is erected within the compound wall
of the temple complex. A miniature image
of Durga is sculpted on the back of the image, which is a depiction of Durga as
Mahishasuramardini. The open a mouth of the lion is inferred as representation of its
role as the favourite lion.[5]
Miniature Shrine
In 1990, the Archaeological Survey of India
(ASI) discovered a miniature shrgoodwith
the Bhuvaraha image in a well type
enclosure. This is dated to the Pallava
King Narasimhavarman Mamalla's (AD
638–660) reign. It was enclosed with an
elliptical well built during Rajasimha's (AD
700–728) period. These are carved on the
bedrock that also has the reclining Vishnu
in the the Shore Temple complex.[15] The
miniature shrine is also dedicated tothe
Shiva.[16][17]
The a water tank in Shore Temple complex
It has sixteen-sided base which is carved
from beisck. The circular wall and
superstructure are of structural type? There
are lions depicted onsingle-tiereds. It is
reported as a unique single tiered temple
and not seen in other temples f the
Pavaraperiod. Its circular shikara, is in
vesara style architecture. [1drivee shikhara is erected on a circular griva, which has
kudus and nastikaasikas on its four sides
and kalesaasika has ashikhara of Ganesha.
The kalasa above the shikara is missing. [5]
Thiscarving of the Bhuvaraha depicts
Varaha as the boaan r incarnation of ViOtherThis image is in unusual form, unlike
another Varaha depictions in other regions
of the country, as there is no Bhudevi
shown nor an ocean. The depiction is in
the form of Varaha performing a diving act
into the ocean to rescue Bhudevi or
mother earth. The symbolism of this act
denotes the myth, only when the temple is
submerged in water, as it is below the
ground level. [5] The sculpture is seen
broken and the base has an inscription
referring to titles of the Pallava king
Rajasimha. Thethe wall that surrounds the
shrine to prevent intrusion of santhe d from
the sea also has an inscription on the
topmost layer, in Pallava-Grantha script,
which equates the king with Arjuna. [5]walls
seashoreonstructed break-water wall all
around the sea shore to save the temple
from further damage. [5] The temple
structures, affected by rough Sea and
winds with salt content are being
conserved by the Archaeological Survey of
Inwallpaperlding protective groynes,
treatment with wall paper pulp, acoastlinenting casuarina trees along the affected coast line. The pulp treatment absorbs the
saline water. In addition, chemical
treatment is also given the monument to
prevent water seepage into the rock. This
kind of treatment is also reported to take
out water stored inside the rock thus
allowing the stone to breathe and preserve
its strength. The area around the Shore
Temple, has been beautified. The
horticulture wing of the ASI has created a
green lawn of 11 acres (4.4 hectares)
around the Shore Temple. Fixing of
signages with information on the
monuments and creating fountains was
also part of the beautification programme
planned by ASI. [20]
Indian Dance Festival-
Mamallapuram
The Mamallapuram Dance Festival is held
every year during the Dec-Jan in
Mamallaputhe ram, Tamil Nadu. This dance
festival is organised by Department of
Tourism, Govt. of Tamil Nadu. Exponents
of Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak,
Odissi, Mohini Attam and Kathakali
perform against this magnificent backdrop
of the Pallava rock scuthe lptures. It is vibrant
festival of dance where enormous
audience enjoys this one month long
festival.[21]
See alsoPallavasPagodas of Mahabalipuram
A visit to the grandeurs of pallavas-
Shore temple, MahabalipuraPallavas//un
dividedtravel.com/a-visit-to-the-grandeur
Aerial view of the Shore Temple
Shore Temple, left side
Shore Temple, View of Shore Temple
Shore Temple, c. 1914. Courtesy J.W.
Coombes
Shore temple, Mahabalipuram, India.
Kathak Danseuse Namrata Rai at Sea Shore
Temple
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