Mamallapuram, India

My curiosity about Mamallapuram was quenched when I made a trip to this fabled place on March 1, 2008. It is about 58 kilometers from Chennai which took us about a couple of hours. Mamallapuram is a spectacular site built in the 7th century by the Pallava King, Narasimha varman I, also known as Mamalla, " Great Wrestler." Located along the Bay of Bengal, it extends across a boulder strewn landscape and comprise rock caves and monolithic shrines, structural temples and huge bas-reliefs. As I was overwhelmed by the intricacy and beauty of the rock carvings, I wondered how their artists created them without risking their limbs and lives.

At the village center is the celebrated bas-relief known an Arjuna's Penance or the Descent of the Ganges. The panel depicts in great detail the story of the sacred river's decent from the sky. This divine act, made possible by the penance of the sage Bhagiratha, is witnessed on the panel by celestial and semi-celestial beings ascetics and animals. Nearby are the unfinished Panch Pandava Cave Temple and Krishna's Butter Ball, a natural boulder perched precariously on a slope.

There were other artistic depictions of divine and historic significance which we have not covered due to the heat which was unnerving. Nevertheless, from what I've seen, I can already tell how India's early civilizations used their talents to honor the divine.