Coastal temple
The coastal temple in Mamallapuram in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu , consecrated to the Hindu god Shiva , is one of the most important buildings of Pallava architecture . Along with other monuments in Mamallapuram he belongs since 1984 to UNESCO - World Heritage Site .
location
The temple is located on a ledge fortified by granite stones almost 60 km (driving distance) south of Chennai on the coast of the Bay of Bengal in the formerly important port city of Mamallapuram.
history
Although there are no corresponding inscriptions, the coastal temple is mostly attributed to the reign of the Pallava ruler Narasimha Varman I (also called Rajasimha ; ruled 685–705); sometimes the reign of this ruler is set around 20 years later or the completion of the temple is postponed to the middle of the 8th century. The inscriptions on the building all date from the reign of the Chola rulers Rajaraja I (ruled 985-1014) and Rajendra I (ruled 1012-1044). In European sources from the 17th century, the name “7 pagodas” has been handed down for the temple - some floor plans therefore show four secondary shrines surrounding the main temple, but nothing corresponding was found on the spot. In any case, the towers of the temple served the seafarers of earlier times as landmarks for orientation.
architecture
The temple area, surrounded by a wall with numerous lying Nandi bulls, is opened to the city through three passages. It rests on a less than 1 m high handling platform ( Jagati ) and now comprises a large and two small Cellae ( garbhagrihas ) - the two with tower structures ( vimanas ) are Shiva, and each has a polished basalt made lingam , the intermediate third is dedicated to Vishnu ( narayana ) resting on the world serpent ( ananta or shesha ) . It is sometimes assumed that the small Shiva temple originally formed the gateway ( gopuram ) to a significantly smaller temple area and that the temple area in its current form did not emerge until the middle of the 8th century. The tower structures of both temples are downgraded several times and provided with numerous pseudo-architecture (shrines) in the style of the Five Rathas ; Another lying Nandi bull is located above the anteroom ( antarala ) of the smaller Shiva temple. The tower pyramids close at the top with “umbrella domes” and small jug-like attachments ( kalashas ). The entire temple as well as the sculptures, mostly made of granite, were formerly covered with thin layers of stucco and painted in color.
Temple pond
Outside the temple area, a temple pond sunk into the sandy soil was uncovered in which a sculpture in the form of a non-functional well column rises, which, however, was identified by archaeologists as an older Shiva shrine from the middle of the 7th century. During the monsoon season the pond filled with rain water by itself; otherwise it had to be filled with buckets etc. The temple pond seems to have given the occasion for the approximately 80 to 100 years later construction of the immediately adjacent coastal temple.
literature
- Alexander Rea: Pallava architecture. Asian Educational Services, 1995 (facsimile of the 1st edition from 1909), ISBN 978-8120610071 .
- Michael W. Meister (Ed.): Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture South India Lower Dravidadesa 200 BC-AD 1324. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia 1983, ISBN 978-0812278408 .
Web links
- Coastal Temple - Photos + Info (English)
- Coastal Temple - Photos + Information (PDF, English)
- Coast temples - sketches + information (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry on the website of the UNESCO World Heritage Center ( English and French ).
- ↑ Mamallapuram - Map with altitude information
Coordinates: 12 ° 37 ′ 0 ″ N , 80 ° 11 ′ 58 ″ E