Mahabalipuram was our one stop before Chennai, and a quaint little beach town 60 kilometers south of Chennai.
Historically the Mahabalipuram area is known for its stone carvings. The various groups of stone carvings depict different techniques and methods used in the stone carvings, as well as a progression in the methods of stone carvings.
The first type of stone carvings are illustrated in very old cave temples. Dating back to approximately the 6th century, wherever communities of people settled temples would be set up in caves. In this particular area cave temples often had reliefs carved on the walls and in the centre of the temple would be the heart of the temple where the deity or the spot of worship would be designated. The reliefs on the walls told stories and were very elaborate hand made art pieces. There is one relief that is outdoor and is probably one of the most popular sites in the small town. One point of carving reliefs was that typically reliefs were carved in random spots on random stone walls (and told some kind of story or were a mythological scenes).
The second type of stone carving is that of stone temples being carved out of single extra large pieces of granite stone. One site hosts five of these temples, which have been dedicated to characters out of the Mahabharat, an ancient Indian epic.
Finally, the masons and sculptors started to import stones from various quarries to build stone temples or sculptures, which not only illustrates the development of carving/sculpting techniques but also introduced the third type of stone temples to be found in Mahabalipuram.
Apart from seeing the reliefs, and the five granite temples mentioned above, we also visited a temple located on the shores of the town made of stones that were piled in formation to create the temple.
The Pallav dynasty ruled from the 6th to the 10th century and most of the very old stone structures presently in this town are from that era. The Pallav's are believed to have been the creative force behind all this stone work and the development of the methods.
Its believed the Mahabalipuram area served as a school for young sculptors to come and learn many centuries ago. Around the town are also unfinished sculptures and reliefs. Its believed they were perhaps testing grounds for the young learners of this craft
Many stone carvings are produced and exported out of Mahabalipuram to various destinations around India, which include large stone carvings specifically created for temples of various gods, goddesses and other religious/spiritual personalities.
In the 7th century the ruling Pallav dynast also used Mahabalipuram as a port city. Many trading boats docked here and ships went out to various destinations around South East Asia and Sri Lanka from here. There have been artifacts found on the shores of Mahabalipuram dated to the early Christian period and from the times of Marco Polo, suggesting trading relations of this region existing from the third and fourth centuries, or even older.
After visiting the stone temples and sculptures around the town we headed to the beach resort we had reservations for. We spent the rest of the day on the beach and this happened to be new years day! We had a fantastic time swimming in the Bay of Bengal.
Lastly, the next morning before we left Mahabalipuram, we visited a crocodile park. There were thousands of crocodiles, which made for a very interesting site.
I think Mahabalipuram was my favourite spot of our whole trip :)
Historically the Mahabalipuram area is known for its stone carvings. The various groups of stone carvings depict different techniques and methods used in the stone carvings, as well as a progression in the methods of stone carvings.
The first type of stone carvings are illustrated in very old cave temples. Dating back to approximately the 6th century, wherever communities of people settled temples would be set up in caves. In this particular area cave temples often had reliefs carved on the walls and in the centre of the temple would be the heart of the temple where the deity or the spot of worship would be designated. The reliefs on the walls told stories and were very elaborate hand made art pieces. There is one relief that is outdoor and is probably one of the most popular sites in the small town. One point of carving reliefs was that typically reliefs were carved in random spots on random stone walls (and told some kind of story or were a mythological scenes).
The second type of stone carving is that of stone temples being carved out of single extra large pieces of granite stone. One site hosts five of these temples, which have been dedicated to characters out of the Mahabharat, an ancient Indian epic.
Finally, the masons and sculptors started to import stones from various quarries to build stone temples or sculptures, which not only illustrates the development of carving/sculpting techniques but also introduced the third type of stone temples to be found in Mahabalipuram.
Apart from seeing the reliefs, and the five granite temples mentioned above, we also visited a temple located on the shores of the town made of stones that were piled in formation to create the temple.
The Pallav dynasty ruled from the 6th to the 10th century and most of the very old stone structures presently in this town are from that era. The Pallav's are believed to have been the creative force behind all this stone work and the development of the methods.
Its believed the Mahabalipuram area served as a school for young sculptors to come and learn many centuries ago. Around the town are also unfinished sculptures and reliefs. Its believed they were perhaps testing grounds for the young learners of this craft
Many stone carvings are produced and exported out of Mahabalipuram to various destinations around India, which include large stone carvings specifically created for temples of various gods, goddesses and other religious/spiritual personalities.
In the 7th century the ruling Pallav dynast also used Mahabalipuram as a port city. Many trading boats docked here and ships went out to various destinations around South East Asia and Sri Lanka from here. There have been artifacts found on the shores of Mahabalipuram dated to the early Christian period and from the times of Marco Polo, suggesting trading relations of this region existing from the third and fourth centuries, or even older.
After visiting the stone temples and sculptures around the town we headed to the beach resort we had reservations for. We spent the rest of the day on the beach and this happened to be new years day! We had a fantastic time swimming in the Bay of Bengal.
Lastly, the next morning before we left Mahabalipuram, we visited a crocodile park. There were thousands of crocodiles, which made for a very interesting site.
I think Mahabalipuram was my favourite spot of our whole trip :)