It was the last week of my 2-month sabbatical and I made a 3 day trip to Chennai. One of those days was spent in Mamallapuram (or Mahabalipuram), 50km from Chennai on the East Coast Road. Mamallapuram is the site of the world famous sculpural complex constructed by the Pallava Dynasty in the 7th/8th centuries CE.
This was no ordinary trip. I was accompanied by my friend RG who has learnt about Mamallapuram from the likes of noted cultural enthusiast Prof. S. Swaminathan and Prof. Balusamy of Madras Christian College, who have researched Mamallapuram extensively and written about it. My friend had been on the ultimate guided tour of Mamallapuram with Profs. Swaminathan, Balusamy and others; he was kind enough to pass the knowledge on to me. The knowledge RG has will easily surpass the government certified tour guides you will find in Mamallapuram. I was in good hands.
Who built Mamallapuram?
There is some debate about which of the great Pallava rulers had them sculpted. The more prevalent theory is that Narasimha I (son of Mahendravarma Pallava) constructed most of the complex except the shore temple which is attributed to his grandson Rajasimha or (Narasimha II). There is another theory that says the whole thing was constructed by Rajasimha.
It is hard to believe that sculptures of this variety, sophistication and scale could have been done in one ruler's reign. In fact it is quite possible that Mahendravarma Pallava (Narasimha Pallava's father) may have conceived and started the whole venture and it was finished by his descendants.
Why is Mamallapuram a big deal?
It is the only place in the world where you can find four different sculptural ideas executed -
Giant monolithic shrines carved out of entire hillocks (e.g. the Pandava rathas)
Cave temples dug into a rock face with a mandapa, pillars, one or more shineswith no upper vimana or gopuram (e.g. the Varaha Manadapam)
Open-air bas-relief scultptures Elaborate sculptural panels on a rock face depicting a certain theme or an event from the Hindu epics or puranas. e.g. Arjuna's Penance
Structural Temples Non-monolithic temples (i.e.) constructed the "regular" way; e.g. the Shore Temple
When you see the variety of techniques being attempted and not necessarily completed - many of the mandapas and rathas are unfinished - you wonder if Mamallapuram was a sculptural laboratory of sorts.
Of course, India has a rich sculptural heritage and there are plenty of places where you might see grander temples (at Tanjore, Konark for instance) and arguably more intricate sculptures (at Belur, Halebid for instance). However keep in mind that Mamallapuram pre-dates almost all of them, often by many hundreds of years. In fact, there is a belief that Mamallapuram inspired a lot of South Indian temple architecture.
Objectively, I am amazed by the sheer ambition, scale, sophistication and the engineering. Examples of the engineering are the perfect curvilinear surfaces that roof the Draupadi Ratha and the 3-dimensional perspective vision in the Mahishasura mardhini and minor Elephant panel. See Mahisha below who looks bigger because he is closest to the observer while Durga is further back and looks smaller;
Subjectively, many believe that the sculptures have a grace that is not seen too often in latter day sculptural art in India. Gods and other figures are depicted in unique poses with subtle angles (look at Mahisha's indecisive pose) that hold a lot of intrigue. There is also the innovation, quirkiness (Mahisha seems to be the emphasis rather than Goddess Durga?) and audacity (e.g. of giant monoliths that get completed over decades across what must have been multiple sculptor's lifetimes).
RG could go into each panel or structure for about 20 minutes, describing the scene, the figures depicted and the various subtleties. Clearly, I cannot do justice in blog posts like these, but I will try and go into some detail on some of the masterpieces in subsequent posts.
- Balaji
This was no ordinary trip. I was accompanied by my friend RG who has learnt about Mamallapuram from the likes of noted cultural enthusiast Prof. S. Swaminathan and Prof. Balusamy of Madras Christian College, who have researched Mamallapuram extensively and written about it. My friend had been on the ultimate guided tour of Mamallapuram with Profs. Swaminathan, Balusamy and others; he was kind enough to pass the knowledge on to me. The knowledge RG has will easily surpass the government certified tour guides you will find in Mamallapuram. I was in good hands.
Who built Mamallapuram?
There is some debate about which of the great Pallava rulers had them sculpted. The more prevalent theory is that Narasimha I (son of Mahendravarma Pallava) constructed most of the complex except the shore temple which is attributed to his grandson Rajasimha or (Narasimha II). There is another theory that says the whole thing was constructed by Rajasimha.
It is hard to believe that sculptures of this variety, sophistication and scale could have been done in one ruler's reign. In fact it is quite possible that Mahendravarma Pallava (Narasimha Pallava's father) may have conceived and started the whole venture and it was finished by his descendants.
Why is Mamallapuram a big deal?
It is the only place in the world where you can find four different sculptural ideas executed -
Giant monolithic shrines carved out of entire hillocks (e.g. the Pandava rathas)
Cave temples dug into a rock face with a mandapa, pillars, one or more shineswith no upper vimana or gopuram (e.g. the Varaha Manadapam)
Open-air bas-relief scultptures Elaborate sculptural panels on a rock face depicting a certain theme or an event from the Hindu epics or puranas. e.g. Arjuna's Penance
Structural Temples Non-monolithic temples (i.e.) constructed the "regular" way; e.g. the Shore Temple
When you see the variety of techniques being attempted and not necessarily completed - many of the mandapas and rathas are unfinished - you wonder if Mamallapuram was a sculptural laboratory of sorts.
Of course, India has a rich sculptural heritage and there are plenty of places where you might see grander temples (at Tanjore, Konark for instance) and arguably more intricate sculptures (at Belur, Halebid for instance). However keep in mind that Mamallapuram pre-dates almost all of them, often by many hundreds of years. In fact, there is a belief that Mamallapuram inspired a lot of South Indian temple architecture.
Objectively, I am amazed by the sheer ambition, scale, sophistication and the engineering. Examples of the engineering are the perfect curvilinear surfaces that roof the Draupadi Ratha and the 3-dimensional perspective vision in the Mahishasura mardhini and minor Elephant panel. See Mahisha below who looks bigger because he is closest to the observer while Durga is further back and looks smaller;
Subjectively, many believe that the sculptures have a grace that is not seen too often in latter day sculptural art in India. Gods and other figures are depicted in unique poses with subtle angles (look at Mahisha's indecisive pose) that hold a lot of intrigue. There is also the innovation, quirkiness (Mahisha seems to be the emphasis rather than Goddess Durga?) and audacity (e.g. of giant monoliths that get completed over decades across what must have been multiple sculptor's lifetimes).
RG could go into each panel or structure for about 20 minutes, describing the scene, the figures depicted and the various subtleties. Clearly, I cannot do justice in blog posts like these, but I will try and go into some detail on some of the masterpieces in subsequent posts.
- Balaji
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