Voyage 361

The Legacy of Pallavas, Mahabalipuram-Part I: Rathas The group of monuments at Mahabalipuram is an UNESCO world heritage site with its monuments spread across three complex within less than 3 km, with an exception of tiger cave about 5 km north of shore temple. Shore temple is located at the seashore while the caves are distributed on the nearby hillock and the Pancha Ratha's about 1 km away. The group of monuments at Mahabalipuram are built by the Pallava kings between 630 and 728 AD using local granite rocks. Apart from the shore Temple, the Pallava period group of monuments at Mahabalipuram are mostly rock-cut structures in the form of Ratha's or Chariots, Caves/Mantapa's, and bas-relief. All of these can be visited in a single day with an entire day to spare. Pancha Pandava Ratha's/Chariots of Mahabalipuram We started with Pancha Rathas or the Five Ratha's.  These Ratha's are monolithic rock-cut monuments carved out of single piece of rock in

A Gallery of sandstone art at Kailasanathar Temple: The entrance wall of the Kailasanathar temple with independent small shrines Kailasanathar temple is the oldest temple in Kanchipuram. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and was built between 685-705 AD by the Pallava kings in the Dravidian style of architecture. Unlike the Pallava temples at Mahabalipuram, here the Kailasanathar temple is functional. The temple is visited mostly by the tourists mainly for its architectural significance rather than its religious importance. The entire temple complex including the sculptures is built using sandstone, while the temple's foundations are made of local granite, to withstand the weight of the temple. Garbhagriha Mantapa and Vimana of Kailasanathar temple Passage around main shrine Inner court with sub-shrines The entrance wall has eight small shrines and a Gopura. The main shrine rises up in a pyramidal shaped vimana (tower). Pyramidal shaped vimana

The abode of trio - Kanchipuram The city of temples Kanchipuram has many popular Hindu temples, among them the prominent ones include the Ekambareswarar temple, Kailasanatha Temple, Kamakshi Amman temple, Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Vaikuntha Perumal Temple, Kachapeshwarar temple and Kumarakottam Temple. All of these temples open early morning around 6am and are closed between 12 pm to 4 pm , further after 4 pm they remain open till 8 pm. So plan your visit accordingly. The three main temples of Kanchipuram - Ekambareswarar Temple, Varadharaja Perumal Temple and Kamakshi Amman Temple together is popularly known as Mumurtivasam (abode of trio). Among all the temples in Kanchipuram, the Kailasanatha temple is the most popular for history buffs and art seekers, while Ekambareswarar temple is the largest and is visited by both tourists and pilgrims, the Varadharaja Perumal Temple is most sacred for the Vaishnavites and Kamakshi Amman temple is most visited among the pilgrims.

Temples of Vellore: Jalakandeshwara temple Kayana Mantapa, Jalakandeshwara temple Jalakandeshwara temple is much underrated due to tourist’s attraction towards the Golden temple in Vellore. The temple is built during the Vijayanagara periods in 1550 AD and is located in the Vellore fort surrounded by water, hence the name Jalakandeshwara (Jala means water). The temple is under the control of Archaeological survey of India (ASI). See-through view of Gopura's at Jalakandeshwara temple The Main gopura and the second gopura The temple is built in Vijayanagara style of architecture; one of the most prominent architectural features are the giant Gopura (gateway tower) which is over 100ft in height and the mantapa with exquisitely carved stone pillars of dragons, horses and yalis (lion like creature). There is another enclosure for the temple with a smaller Gopura. The enclosure is surrounded by the long pillared corridors. After entering the second Gopura, is the main