Day 5 September 27 - Early Morning • Ganesha Ratha • Krishna's Butter Ball • Descent of the Ganges • Shore Temple • Varaha Cave Temple • Pancha Rathas • Pondicherry • Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple • World Tourism Day
This was to be a very full day with numerous sights, smells and discoveries awaiting us. In fact we got up at 5:00am even before the rosters. Sudhakar wanted us to witness how Mahabalipuram, and most villages in Southern India, wake up each day. Early Morning Wake Up We saw shop keepers use corn flour to “paint” intricate designs to ward off evil and women drawing water from the local well. It was an interesting start to a very busy day.
Our first stop was to visit the Ganesha Ratha is one of ten rathas ("chariots") temples carved out of pink granite within the monuments of the Pallava Period at Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO-inscribed World Heritage Site since 1984. The ratha is an example of monolith Indian rock-cut architecture dating from the late seventh century during the reign of King Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I. Initially constructed with a Shiva Linga, it is now deified with a Ganesha deity after the linga was removed.
Mahabalipuram is believed by many historians to have been the site of a training school for sculptors. We saw examples of Stone Carving throughout the village.
Krishna's Butter Ball - Located on a hill slope near the Ganesh Ratha is a massive natural rock boulder in a shape of huge ball, precariously balancing on a smooth slope, seemingly in defiance of all laws of physics. Known as Krishna’s butterball, this colossal boulder, which is about five meters in diameter, is perilously resting at an angle of 45 degrees. Pallava kings tried to move this huge rock boulder with the help of their elephants but they failed in their attempt.
Descent of the Ganges also known as Arjuna's Penance, is a carved stone monument. Measuring 96 by 43 feet, it is a giant bas-relief filled with detailed carvings, including a family of elephants and monkeys and carved of two monolithic rock boulders. The legend depicted in the bas-relief is the story from Hindu mythology of the descent of the sacred river Ganges to earth from the heavens led by Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha was the king of Kosala, a kingdom in ancient India. Bhagiratha was very intelligent, virtuous and kind hearted. He was a benevolent ruler who adhered to his duties as a king as prescribed by dharma ("path of righteousness") The bas-relief is more of a canvas of Indian rock cut sculpture, not seen anywhere in India, consisting of hundreds of beings—celestial, human, and animal—that seem to be miraculously moving towards a natural cleft in the center of the stone. It is one of the monuments at Mahabalipuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.
Shore Temple The oldest structure in the area, build c. 700 AD, this temple has been here for more than 1400 years. Unlike Mamallapuram's other monuments, the Shore Temple is a building (not carved from rock) and the bulk of the current structure is a reconstruction after it was struck by a cyclone (2004). It's not particularly large, and the carvings have been badly eroded by the wind and the sea, but this adds to the sense of antiquity. The area around the temple is now a landscaped park which used to be the shores of Bay of Bengal. A Shiva lingam is enshrined in the central building. There is an interesting Shore Temple Store Shore Temple Store curio shop with Indian artifacts, carvings and silks next to the Shore Temple.
Varaha Cave Temple is a rock-cut cave temple. It is an example of Indian rock-cut architecture dating from the late 7th century. The temple is one of the finest testimonials to the ancient Vishwakarma Sthapathis, of rock-cur cave architecture also called mandapas. Part The Varaha Cave temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The most prominent sculpture in the cave is that of Lord Vishnu in the incarnated form of a Varaha or boar lifting Bhudevi, the mother earth goddess from the sea. Also carved are many mythical figures.
Pancha Pandava Rathas Each of the five monuments in the Pancha Rathas complex resembles a chariot (ratha), and each is carved over a single, long stone or monolith, of granite which slopes in north-south direction. Though sometimes mistakenly referred to as temples, these structures were never consecrated because they were never completed following the death of Narasimhavarman (668 AD.) The structures are named after the Pancha Pandavas and their common wife Draupadi, of epic Mahabharata fame. In order of their size, they include the Dharmaraja Ratha, Bhima Ratha, Arjuna Ratha, Nakula Sahadeva Ratha, and Draupadi Ratha.
- Southern India