Mahabalipuram (after the demon king Mahabali) or Mamallapuram (after the Pallava king Mamalla) is a 7th century port city of the South Indian dynasty of the Pallavas around 60 km south from the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu. It has various historic monuments built largely between the seventh and the 9th century and has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Shore Temple, rescued from the sea

The monuments are mostly rock cut and monolithic and constitute the early stages of Dravidian architecture wherein Buddhist elements of design are prominently visible. They are constituted by cave temples, monolithic rathas (chariots), sculpted reliefs and structural temples. The pillars are of the Dravidian order. The sculptures are excellent examples of Pallava art.

Some important structures include:

• Arjuna's Penance - relief sculpture on a massive scale extolling stories from Hindu mythology.
• The Shore Temple - a structural temple along the Bay of Bengal with the entrance from the Western side away from the sea. Recent excavations have revealed new structures here. The temple was reconstructed stone by stone from the sea after being washed away in a cyclone.
• Pancha Rathas (Five Chariots) - five monolithic pyramidal structures named after the Pandavas (Arjuna, Bhima, Yudhishtra, Nakula and Sahadeva) and Draupadi.

Recently a major find was made of a large number of underwater ruins, thought to date back to 6000 BC, older than Harappa.

An ancient port city and parts of a temple built in the 7th century may have been uncovered by a tsunami that resulted from a massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004. As the waves gradually receded, the force of the water removed sand deposits that had covered various rocky structures and revealed carvings of animals, which included an elaborately carved head of an elephant and a horse in flight. A small square-shaped niche with a carved statue of a deity could be seen above the head of the elephant. In another structure, there was a sculpture of a reclining lion. The use of these animal sculptures as decorations is consistent with other decorated walls and temples from the Pallava period in the seventh and eighth centuries. According to descriptions by early travel writers from Britain, the area near Mahabalipuram had seven pagodas by the sea. The myths of Mahabalipuram were first written down by British traveller J. Goldingham who was told of the "Seven Pagodas" when he visited in 1798. These structures could be part of the legendary pagodas. The Archaeological Survey of India sent divers to begin underwater excavations of the area on February 17, 2005.

See also

• Wikitravel article on Mahabalipuram

External links

• National Institute of Oceanography: Mahabalipuram and Poompuhar
• Archaeological Survey of India site on Mamallapuram
• City Under the Sea: Wrath of Jealous Gods? – By B.K. Parthasarathy
• Sea level falls after tsunami
• T.S. Subramanian: The Shore Temple stands its ground
• THE INDIA ATLANTIS EXPEDITION - March 2002
• Tsunami's might opens way for science (The Globe and Mail; February 18, 2005)
• Tsunami Uncovers Underwater Ancient City (ABC News; February 18, 2005)
• India finds more 'tsunami gifts'