Created 26-Apr-22
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January 23, 2020

Visits to Mamallapuram continued with the new found camera system that makes shooting so easy and such a pleasure. Hence went on a shooting spree at Mamallapuram. This visit was to capture the magnificent Shore temple in the late afternoon and towards sunset.

The Shore Temple was built in on of the most dramatic settings. Its eastern side was washed by the waves of the Bay of Bengal over the centuries. Historians opine that the construction must have occurred around the middle of the 7th century. Although this temple is dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva many do not know that there is a magnificent statue of a reclining Vishnu inside this temple. For many decades this small shrine of Vishnu stood alone on the shore. Around the beginning of the 8th century King Rajasimhan, one of the greatest Pallava kings raised two stone shrines for Shiva – the larger one Kshatriyasimheswara directly in front of the Vishnu shrine to the East, and the other one Rajasimheshwara, in the back of it, to the West. Rajasimhan ordered the rebuilding of the Vishnu shrine, making it appear, architecturally, as a part of the prakara wall which runs around larger of the two Shiva towers. The flat roof of the Vishnu shrine was made unobtrusive in this manner. Thus, the Shore Temple that we see today is almost entirely the handiwork of Rajasimhan. However, as of date many of the stone sculptures have ben eroded due to the action of Sun, wind, dust, and rain. Despite this erosion the lingering beauty of the original magnificence of the architecture of this beautiful temple is not lost as yet.

Please take a look at the photographs and enjoy the album.

Shankar Adisesh
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Categories & Keywords
Category:Architecture and Structures
Subcategory:Temples
Subcategory Detail:
Keywords:dravidianarchitecture, gopuramsofindia, gopuramsoftemples, mamallapuram, mamallapuramshoretemple, pallavatemples, shankaradiseshphotography, templesofindia, templesofsouthinda, templesoftamilnadu