Context ( TH ): Mamallapuram , a renowned World Heritage Site , faces traffic woes.
About Mamallapuram
It is a town that lies along the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, south of Chennai (Tamil Nadu).
It was founded by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I in the 7th century AD .
In 1984, UNESCO declared Mamallapuram a World Heritage Site due to its cultural significance .
It includes monuments like the Pancha Rathas , Cave Temples , Arjuna’s Penance or Descent of the Ganges , and Shore Temples .
It was one of two major port cities in the Pallava kingdom .
It was also the Seven Pagodas . The ancient town had seven pagodas on the shore, of which only one, known as the Shore Temple , now survives.
Shore Temple
It has two shrines , one dedicated to Shiva and the other to Vishnu .
It was probably built during the reign of Narasimhavarman II , also known as Rajasimha .
Credit: Britannica
Pancha Rathas
It is an architectural ode to Mahabharata’s five Pandava brothers , Yudhistir, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, and their wife, Draupadi.
All of them were carved out of a long stone or monolith .
Credit: WikiData
Arjuna’s Penance or Descent of the Ganges
Credit: T O I
It is a gigantic open-air bas-relief sculpted out of pink granite . The dramatic relief sculpture narrates the tales from Indian epics such as the Mahabharata .
Conflicting interpretations
One interpretation depicts the story of the origins and religious significance of the Ganges River .
Another interpretation focuses on the devotion of the archer Arjuna , the hero of the Mahabharata .
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