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   Impressions of Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram): Sequence 2

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More of Mamallapuram's points of interest

Pancha (Five) Rathas - state of the art in stone carving

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These 7th century shrines - build under the reign of King Mamalla - are devoted to Draupadi and the Pandava brothers.

Ratha normally means chariot, but moving these would be hard as the shrines were carved from single rocks.
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View of Pancha Rathas and a closer-up (top) and the rear view of the shrines (bottom)

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Some details of the five shrines ...

Draupadi Ratha

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The relief inside DraupadiRatha shows a scene of self-decapitation as sacrifice to Durga

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... preparing to cut her head off ... ... while the rest is watching and praying

Arjuna Ratha

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The bull between Arjuna's and Draupadi's shrine Arjuna's shrine  (link to different view)

Nakula Sahadeva Ratha

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Bhima Ratha

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Above is the view from south, below the view from rear; view from east is here

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The lower part of the shrine is mostly unfinished

Dharmaraja Ratha

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The sculptures show among others Vishnu and King Mamalla

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... the Shore Temple

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This temple was built during the reign of the Pallava King Rajasimha in early 8th century;

its shrines are dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu

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Copyright(c) 2003 Dr. Oswald J. Kolb. All rights reserved.