7th century monolithic rock-cut shrines called the Five Rathas in Mahabalipuam;Mamallapuram; Tamil Nadu.

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Mahabalipuram lies on the Coromandel Coast which faces the Bay of Bengal. It has various historic monuments built largely during the reigns of Narasimhavarman and his successor Rajasimhavarman (Pallava dynasty -between the 7th and the 9th century), and has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984. Pancha Rathas (Five Chariots) -Each temple is a monolith, carved whole from a rock outcropping of pink granite. The five monolithic pyramidal structured shrines are named after the Pandavas (Arjuna, Bhima, Yudhishtra, Nakula and Sahadeva) and Draupadi. As noted, each shrine is not assembled from cut rock but carved from one single large piece of stone.

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Size: 3519px × 5260px
Location: Mahabalipuram, Mamallapuram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Tamilnadu, South India, India.
Photo credit: © Muthuraman Vaithinathan / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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