Describe the chief features of the Shore Temples at Mahabalipuram?
457067
Mahabalipuram is a temple town situated along the shores of the Bay of Bengal in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The sheer sculptural extravaganza of the rock-cut temples is not only reflective of the artistic tastes of the erstwhile Pallava rulers: the temples are also regarded as the birthplace of an entirely new style of architecture, which came to be known as the South Indian temple architecture. \nMahabalipuram art can be divided into four categories : open air bas - relief, structured temples, man-made caves and rathas ('chariots' carved from single boulders, to resemble temples or chariots used in temple processions). The famous Arjuna's Penance and the Krishna Mandapa, adorn massive rocks near the centre of the village. The beautiful Shore Temple towers over the waves, behind a protective breakwater. Sixteen man-made caves in different stages of completion are also seen, scattered through the area.\n\nMahabalipuram is about 60 Kms. south of the city of Madras, in Tamil Nadu. Mahabalipuram, or Mamallapuram, was the chief seaport of the Pallavas who ruled over much of South India from as early as the first century B.C to the eighth century A.D., and it is now recognized as the site of some of the greatest architectural and sculptural achievements in India. \n\nTemples of Mahabalipuram\n\nCave Temples were excavated by scooping out the scarp of the hill. The scooping work starts from front to back. The cave temple is usually divided into inner & outer mandapas, distinguished by the difference in levels. The front mandapa will have pillars & plasters numbering 4,6,8,10. The inner mandapa contains single, triple or five cells. The cave temple with little modification is categorized as Mamalla style. The pillars under this style are slender & taller with squatting lion at their base. The pillar is divided into distinct parts known as kalasa, tadi, kumba, padma etc. \n\nMonolithic Temples are locally known as Rathas. They were executed by chiseling out the exterior face of the boulder. Work started from top to bottom. The pyramidal vimana with sikhara at the top is an important feature of this style. It can be rightly said that these monolithic temples must have paved the way for the structural temples with elaborate architectural & sculptural details in the subsequent stage. There a total number of 8 monolithic temples found in Mamallapuram. The five rathas in one place, Ganesha Ratha, Valayankuttai Ratha & Pidari Rathas.\n\nFive Rathas\nA small hill sloping from south to north has been segmented into five divisions & converted into monolithic temples. The heights of the segments have been cleverly used for temples with single tier to three-tiered vimana. Each monolithic temples shows different kind of sikhara. The five rathas are Dharmaraja Ratha, Bhima Ratha, Arjuna Ratha, Draupadi Ratha and Nakul Sahadev Ratha. \n\nShore Temple\n\nThe Shore Temple on the Bay of Bengal was constructed in the 7th century during the rule of King Narsimha-Varman II Rajasimha (c. 690-728).The Shore temples is a temple complex consisting of two Siva temples and a carving of Anantasayana Vishnu. \nThe temple facing east is entered by a small gopura. On plan, it consists of a small sanctum & a front mandapa & is a two-tired vimana. The sanctum is housing a linga. The Somaskanda panel consisting of Siva & Parvati with baby Skanda is on the back wall of the sanctum. The dhara linga & Somaskanda panel on the back wall of the sanctum are the features of the Pallava temples only. \nThe temple facing west is also dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is large in plan comprising sanctum, mahamandapa, front mandapa, balipitha and dvajastamba. The temple’s vimana is four tiered with octagonal sikhara. It is important to note that stupis of both these temples are not covered by kalasa (copper finials).\nThe carving on Lord Vishnu on a boulder in Anantasayana form is lying in between these two temples. It belongs \nto the period of Narasimhava
878823
vastindia  (vasthu+india)\nMayandi ( Mayan +india)\narchind  (architecture + india), arind, archtech, indarch, arkind
179031
India: Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar, Nalanda, Sanchi, Rajgir\nNepal: Lumbini, Kathmandu\n\nFor a comprehensive country-wise listing, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Buddhist_temples
208308
Try http://www.visveswaraya.com/
671855
The world famous Kailashnath temple is a marvellous example of Rashtrakuta architecture. The Kailashnath temple at Ellora, near Aurangabad in Maharashtra was built by Krishna I (757-783 A.D.) of the Rashtrakuta dynasty. It is a rock-cut temple and has four parts- the body of the temple, the entrance gate, the Nandi shrine and a group of five shrines surrounding the courtyard.\n\nThe main body of the temple occupies a parallelogram, 45 metres by 33 metres, with sections of its sites projecting at intervals. It stands on a high plinth which is carved with sculptures of elephants and lions. The larger halls of the temples are decorated with images of Brahmanical Gods. The tower of the temple is in three diminishing tiers and is crowned by a cupola. The whole tower is 28.5 metres high. \n\nThe gateway of the temple is double storeyed. On either side of the shrine of Nandi are two columns each having a Trishul, the ensigns of Shiva. Each of these columns is 15.6 metres high. Historians consider these temples as one of the architectural marvels of the world.\n\nThe Kailasha temples resemble the Chalukya temples at Pattadakal but it is far more refined in its design than the temples at Pattadakal. It was considered to be the model for all the temples in South India. The temple has many sculptural designs depicting events from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. There is a scene in a relief of Ravana trying to shake Mount Kailasha and Shiva pressing Ravana into the cavern of the mountain with his feet.\n\nThe special features of the temple are:\n\nIt is more of a monument of sculpture than of architecture as it was made by cutting down of rocks by sculpturing it rather than building up the temple by an architectural design. \nIt is the largest rock cut temple. \nAbove the sanctuary there is a pyramidal tower which is about 30 metres high. \nAround the base of the tower there are five shrines dedicated respectively to Ganesha, Rudra, Parvati, Chand and Saptamatri. \nIt stands on a high plinth (7.5 metres high) carved with sculptures of elephants and lions. \n\n\nhttp://indiansaga.com/temples/kailashnath_temple.html
454098
go to malayali site search
461976
this is a great one!!\n\nhttp://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/karnataka/bangalore-map.htm
103157
here you go. this will take you right to a lot of poems about beaches\n\nhttp://www.poemhunter.com/poems/beach/
9310
The Mangalappuzha is one of those many landmarks that history had left behind in Aluva. Once Mangalap- puzha was known to be the nerve centre of trade and commerce in this part of South India. Spices, ivory , rose wood et al from this part of the land were the major items that attracted merchants from all parts of the world to Kerala.Taking a walk down history’s dark lanes we come to know that there were gallows, which were used to hang, convicts here. These were under the Alangad District Court. In 1800 the court headquarters were shifted to where the present UC college stands. The gallows were dismantled once the college buildings started coming up. The bung- alows of the Dutch and the Portug- uese were also there overlooking the Periyar.\n\n\n History also says that Tipu Sultan had made his march in his quest to conquer Trav- ancore and had camped on the sandbanks of the Periyar. This was way back in 1790. 1939 saw the Marthandavarma Bridge being opened to traffic and since then it has been part of every Aluvaiites’ lifeline. The bridge connects the southern part of Aluva with that of the north.
319889
The Bamiyam statues were cool before the Taliban blew them up.\n\nThere is a temple in Sri Lanka which has one of the Buddha's teeth.\n\nHow about Byodo-In Temple?\n\nThe Wild Goose Pagoda in Xian.
534275
Cliffs, spits , salt marshes.
342572
SITES NEARBY \n\nThere are a number of places of tourist attraction near Bangalore. \nThirty kilometers from Bangalore is the Nrityagram village, housing a classical dance academy. \nBannerghatta National Park, 21 km from the city, is an important place to visit. \nSixty kilometers from Bangalore is the Nandi Hill Resort, which is also famous for its temples and fort. Devarayandurga, 70 km from Bangalore, is famous for its hilltop shrines. The craggy rock formation around Bangalore offers adventure activities like trekking and rock climbing to the adventure seeker. \nDevarayandurga (70 km), and Ramanagaram (49 km) are important spots for adventure. \nThe Doda Alada Mara, a 400-year-old banyan tree lying 28 km from the city, is an idyllic place for picnics. \nMekedatu, 98 km south of Bangalore, and Muthyalamaduvu, 40 km from Bangalore (also known as the Pearl Valley), are other important picnic spots. \nThe historic city of Mysore is 139 km from Bangalore and offers to the traveler a number of monuments belonging to Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, the erstwhile rulers of the place. It also has a number of ancient Hindu temples and a few monuments built by the British. \nWhitefield Ashram, the summer abode of the Shri Sathya Sai Baba, 20 km east of Bangalore.\nThe ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) Temple Complex are important spiritual centers, worth paying a visit.
1099990
The Beaches of Orissa state. The mouth of the Rushikulya river is one of three key nesting areas in Orissa, along with the mouth of the Devi river and the Nasi islands in Gahirmatha.
567785
the main difference is the architecture adn the other is that...............\n\nAlmost all the northern temples are located or reserved to the river sides only,\n but the sourthern temples are not reserved to the river banks but very few of them.
541708
NASA took a photo of the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka that shows a series of shoals lying in the water between two points of land.  It the shoals were above water, they would connect the two points of land and form a bridge between India and Sri Lanka.\n\nSome have claimed that this is the bridge that Rama commanded to be built in the Hindu epic Ramayana.  A few archaeologists claim to have found evidence suggesting that the bridge is man-made.\n\nNASA has distanced itself from such claims with the following quote:\n\n"The images [...] may be ours, but their interpretation is certainly not ours. [...] Remote sensing images or photographs from orbit cannot provide direct information about the origin or age of a chain of islands, and certainly cannot determine whether humans were involved in producing any of the patterns seen."
1003817
Cocout Lagoon, Malabar House, Indian Himalayas, etc..
517200
try this site http://www.malayalapathram.com/