Ancient Statues

This is an unusual non-musical post for FFMB. I was at the ancient temple sites of Mahabalipuram in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu late in 2022 and took a few pictures with my cell phone. I was surprised that some of them turned out not too bad, especially given the rudimentary nature of my phone. Because I like the place so much, I decided to post some of the photos here.

Mahabalipuram, also known as Mamallapuram, is a site of several temples, stone carvings, and caves originating from to the 7^th and 8^th centuries. Many of the carvings are made in living rock – statues carved from a single existing boulder, or a cave structure carved into the side of a rock face. There is a lot to see there including the rathas (temples in the form of chariots – the Puranas in the Ramayana and Mahabharata), the cave sanctuaries (mandapas), an huge open-air rock relief titled in modern times “Descent of the Ganges,” and the Shore Temple, dedicated to Shiva. These few photos will give you some idea. Of course, the best thing to do is to actually go there, wander around for a few hours, and see for yourself.