Famous Temples in India

Architecture

The entrance to the temple complex is from the western gateway, facing the smaller Shiva shrine. On each side of the gateway stand door guardians known as dvarapalas who welcome visitors to the complex and mark the site as sacred. The smaller Vishnu temple sits between the two Shiva shrines, connecting the two. It has a rectangular plan with a flat roof and houses a carved image of the god Vishnu sleeping. Images of Vishnu reclining or sleeping on the cosmic serpent Shesha-Ananta, appear throughout Indian art. While the artists who made this carving did not include a depiction of Shesha-Ananta, it is possible that originally the rock was painted to include the snake. The shrine walls have carvings depicting the life stories of Vishnu and one of his avatars, Krishna. Like the Vishnu shrine, the two Shiva shrines include rich sculptural depictions on both their inner and outer walls. The large Shiva shrine faces east, and has a square plan with a sanctum and a small pillared porch known as a mandapa. At the center of the shrine is a lingam, the aniconic form of Shiva in the shape of a phallus.

On the back wall of the shrine appear carvings of Shiva (this time in anthropomorphic or human-like form) with his consort, the goddess Parvati, and their son Skanda. The inner walls of the mandapa contain images of the gods Brahma and Vishnu, and the outer north wall of the sanctum includes more sculptures of Shiva as well as a depiction of the goddess Durga. The small Shiva shrine faces west and has a square plan with a sanctum and two mandapas. As with the larger Shiva shrine, the smaller shrine’s sanctum originally housed a lingam, which is now missing. A sculpted panel depicting Shiva, Parvati and Skanda enlivens the back wall. Both Shiva shrines have identical multi-storied pyramidal superstructures typical of the Dravidian style.

The rich sculptural program seen throughout the three shrines continues on the outer walls of the Shore Temple, facing the sea. Years of wind and water have worn away the details of these carvings, much in the same way that the sea erodes and shapes boulders over centuries. A row of seated bulls appear at the entrance wall (prakara) of the larger Shiva shrine. These bulls represent Nandi, the vahana or vehicle of the god Shiva. Nandi is believed to be the guardian of Shiva’s home in the Himalayas, Mount Kailasha, and a seated Nandi sculpture is an essential part of a Shiva temple.

A Temple with three shrines - The Shore Temple is both a rock cut and a free-standing structural temple. The entire temple stands on a naturally occurring granite boulder. The complex consists of three separate shrines: two dedicated to the Shiva and one to Vishnu. The Vishnu shrine is the oldest and smallest of the three shrines, The other elements of the temple, including the gateways, walls and superstructures were constructed out of quarried stone and mortar.

A Majestic sight : As an architectural form, the Shore Temple is of immense importance, situated on the culmination of two architectural phases of Pallava architecture, it demonstrates progression from rock cut structures to free standing structural temples, and displays all the elements of mature Dravidian architecture. It signifies religious harmony with sacred spaces dedicated to both Shiva and Vishnu and was also an important symbol of Pallava political and economic strength.

Stone Inscriptions - According to a stone inscription in the temple, the three temples are named as Kshatriyasimha Pallaveshwara - griham, Rajasimha Pallaveshwar - griham and Pllikondaruliya - devar.

Jalashayana - The temple was also named as Jalashayana (lying in the water) because it is situated at the sea level.

Lion monolith - A monolith sculpture of a partly carved and partly sculpted lion with a hole in its torso is erected within the compound wall of the temple complex. A miniature image of Durga is sculpted on the back of the image, which is a depiction of Durga as Mahishasurmardini. The open mouth of the lion is inferred as representation of its role as the favourite mount of Durga. A female guardian with a bow is also carved on the leg of the lion.

Miniature Shrine - In 1990, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) discovered a miniature shrine with the Bhuvaraha image in a well type enclosure. This is dated to the Pallava King Narasimhavarman Mamalla's (AD 638–660) reign. It was enclosed with an elliptical well built during Rajasimha's (AD 700–728) period. These are carved on the bedrock that also has the reclining Vishnu in the Shore Temple complex. The miniature shrine is also dedicated to Shiva. It has sixteen-sided base which is carved from bedrock. The circular wall and superstructure are of structural type. There are lions depicted on the pilasters. It is reported as a unique single tiered temple and not seen in other temples of the Pallava period. Its circular shikara, is in vesara style architecture. The shikhara is erected on a circular griva, which has kudus and maha-nasikas on its four sides and each nasika has an image of Ganesha. The kalasa above the shikara is missing. The carving of the Bhuvaraha depicts Varaha as the boar incarnation of Vishnu. This image is in unusual form, unlike another Varaha depictions in other regions of the country, as there is no Bhudevi shown nor an ocean. The depiction is in the form of Varaha performing a diving act into the ocean to rescue Bhudevi or mother earth. The symbolism of this act denotes the myth, only when the temple is submerged in water, as it is below the ground level. The sculpture is seen broken and the base has an inscription referring to titles of the Pallava king Rajasimha. The wall that surrounds the shrine to prevent intrusion of sand from the sea also has an inscription on the topmost layer, in Pallava-Grantha script, which equates the king with Arjuna.

The temples have been named after the five Pandava brothers and Draupadi. The very first structure named after Draupadi, is shaped like a thatched roof hut from Bengal. The second, or the Arjuna’s Rath is shaped like a Buddhist Vihara. In between are large statues of a lion, an elephant and a bull. The one named after Bhima has a vaulted roof. The cave temples, locally known as mandapas are stylistically unique.The Tiger Cave, probably an open-air theatre, is also one of the must-see attractions. Other popular mandapas include those dedicated to Ganesh, Krishna and Mahishasuramardini. Arjuna’s Penance, said to be one of the largest bas relief work in the world can be seen right from the road. It is said that the 27mx9m panel contains more than a hundred sculptures. Two of the famous scenes depicted here from the two Indian epics. The one from Mahabharata shows Arjuna performing a penance to appease Shiva and the one from Ramayana shows Bhagiratha praying to Shiva to allow Ganga to descend to earth. Krishna’s Butter Ball, a huge boulder that has remained precariously balanced on a rocky ledge, for centuries has now graduated to a merry selfie zone.