Pallava+Period+500+-+800+CE

The Pallava Period was from 500 CE to 800CE. During this time Hinduism was being exported to South East Asia. Rome had established colonies in India where Roman art was influencing art of the Pallavas. The site of Mamallapuram was once Kancipuram, the capital city, and some of the Pallavas greatest works of art originate from here. The Five Monolithic Shrines ** The shrines featured are cut out of living rock and were originally large boulders. There were five of these shines, and they are known as Raths because they look like parade floats that transported the gods around. We still do not know what they are used for. From the outside the temples look like wooden temples, but have little or no interior space. The smallest of the shrines is called the //**Draupadi Rath**// and looks like a reproduction of a square, thatched, wooden temple. The **//Arjuna Rath//** is also square but more complex. It emulates a vihara, or Buddhist monastic structure. The **//Bhima Rath//** is a shrine to Vishnu. It is the largest of the shrines and is oblong with a Caitya-cave-type roof. The last shrine at the south end is the **//Dharmaraja Rath//** and is a shrine dedicated to Shiva. The small temple to the east is called **//Sahadeva//** and is a smaller version of the Bhima Rath. This cave is dedicated to a particular form of the goddess Durga, which is shown by the reliefs on the inside. One is of the god Vishnu sleeping, which represents the latent potential of man. On the opposite side is the relief of Durga. Mahisasuramardini means murder of the demi-god Mahisa, which is the story depicted on this relief. The story features gods that are in danger from a very powerful shape shifting demon in the form of a bull. The gods are too afraid to fight it, and Durga is sent, with all of the gods’ weapons to kill the demon. Durga rides a lion and defeats the demon. The demon is a symbol of samsara. The shape-shifting symbolizes being reborn as something else. Durga stops samsara through the grace of the gods and goddesses. The duality of man and woman is needed to defeat the demon. **[|**flickr.com/photos/**] This relief is 20 feet high and 80 feet long. It contains over a hundred figures of gods and goddesses. There are two possible ways to interpret this relief. It is a narrative depiction of Shiva in human form. It is an interaction relief, in which water flows down the relief and covers the serpent at the bottom. The second interpretation is that it could tell the myth of a holy ascetic who performed great acts for a thousand years in order to persuade the gods to allow the heavenly river, the Ganges, to flow down to earth where it would purify and bless mankind. When this was allowed by the gods they worried that the impact of the water would destroy the earth. Shiva offered to receive the impact of the water on his head in order to protect the earth. The way the water flows down depicts the rainy monsoon season. T  he relief of the man with his foot raised is an ascetic act could symbolize the physical act of renouncing the world. He may represent Arjuna doing this for the benefit of the world.
 * The Cave of the Durga Mahisasuramardini **
 * The Great Relief (Descent of the Ganges or Arjuna’s Penance)