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Mahabalipuram: Pallava Temple Town

Arjuna Penance / Image Credit 


The temple city of Mahabalipuram in the state of Tamil Nadu is the site of some of the greatest architectural and sculptural achievements made by the Pallava rulers in ancient India. Located some sixty km from Chennai, the temples of Mahabalipuram represent one of mankind's most amazing and enduring architectural achievements.

The structures one sees at Mahabalipuram today, are the surviving remains of a wonderful religious, social and administrative metropolis that once severed the religious capital of the Pallavas, who held sway over much of south India between the 4th and 9th centuries A.D..

Also known as Mamallapuram, Mahabalipurum in the state of Tamil Nadu was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

Once-thriving port city of the Pallavas on the Bay of Bengal,  Mamallapuram was named after its founder, the great Pallava king,  Narasimhavarman I, or Mamalla, "the Great Wrestler". 

The Pallavas, who ruled to the region south of Krishna - Tungbhadra, were contemporaries of the Rashtrakutas who ruled large parts of southern India from 753 to 973. The origin of the Pallavas is shrouded in mystery. However it is certain that Simhavishnu Avanisimha was the real founder of the Pallava dynasty. He ascended the throne in 575 AD. 

His son Mahendravarman, one of the prominent rulers of the Pallava dynasty, is credited with introducing the cave style of temple architecture for which Pallavas are known all over the world. Under his instructions, some of the finest rock-temples at Mahabalipuram were hewn out. Arjuna's Penance is the major highlight of the temple architecture in Mahabalipuram.


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