| Summary: | The Pallavas were ruling in the far south, prior to the rule of Harshavardhana of Kannauj who reigned in northern India in the seventh century A.D. The capital of their empire was at Kanchipuram and the sea-port at Mahabalipuram. The city of Mahabalipuram runs parallel to the Bay of Bangal. The area was famous port from ancient time and this fact was established by an anonymous Greek navigator of the first century A.D. It is also known as Mahabalipuram, named after the great Pallava ruler Mamalla. The story of south Indian stone architecture begins at Mahabalipuram. The three major styles of architecture at Mahabalipuram are of the time of Mahabalipuram, his son Narasimhavarman and Rajasimha. The Mahabalipuram style is the earliest and the simplest found in the rock-cut temples. In the cave temples of Narsimhavarman or the Mammalla style, the pillars are slender, ornamented and are supported by squatting lions. In the Rajasimha period, temples were constructed by blocks of granite stone. Each of the caves at Mahabalipuram is unique. The sculptural reliefs, the panch Pandava Ratgas, the Shore temple are the important landmarks of artistic achievements of the Pallavan rules.
|
|---|
