Mahabalipuram - Photo Tour Of Coastal Town With Rich Legacy

Mahabalipuram, fondly called as 'Mahabs' by locals rides with rich history, legacy and was mostly developed by the Pallava rulers. This town is mentioned in the Vaishnava Hymns written between the 6th and 8th Century. However, evidence such as Roman coins and pottery found here states that the town dates back to early Historic times. This ancient historic coastal town  buzzed with activity as this was a busy seaport and it was from here that Indian traders sailed to South-East Asian Countries. The mariners also called it "Seven Pagodas" as there were Seven Pagodas standing tall on the shore, of which, only one survived- the Shore Temple.

The Pallavas were renowned for promoting unique styles of art and architecture and this town stands as a fine example with its stunning rock cut or monolithic group of monuments and shore temples. 

The Magnificent Lighthouse with its beautiful tales of a bustling trade hub and a seaport.

Climbing the Light House to see the entire town, the roads, the sea and the breathtaking view of the Shore temple leaves you in awe.

There is a museum adjacent to the Light House which is worth visiting to know more about the port History. Deep Sea buoys are laid to mark shipping channels in the Bays and to prevent mishaps from rocks and wrecks. This Buoy was in use at Gulf Of Kutch.

The temples portrayed scenes from the epic Mahabharata depicting the Descent of the Holy Ganges and Arjuna's Penance. The story mentions Arjuna, one of the Pandava Brothers, performed severe austerities in order to obtain Shiva's weapon.

The following panel of Mahishamardani Cave depicts the battle where Goddess Durga killed the demon Mahishasura, who was considered unconquerable. The scene portrays Goddess Durga riding a lion in pursuit of Mahishasura with a bow and arrow.

The other panel of Mahishamardani Cave depicts Lord Vishnu in Tranquility State on a seven hooded serpent.

One of the many Cave temples in Mahabalipuram.

A village scene from the Krishna Mandapa Cave depicting their daily lives.

Varaha Cave Temples

The following panel depicts Four armed Goddess Durga standing on a lotus under an umbrella. This panel stands for victory over ignorance.

Trivikarma Panel depicting Lord Vishnu  overcoming the Demon king Bali.

The most prominent sculpture of the Varaha Cave is Lord Vishnu in his incarnated form of Varaha lifting Bhu Devi, Mother Earth, from the sea.

The Gajalakshmi Panel representing Lakshmi, the Goddess of Prosperity. She is portrayed with her hands holding a Lotus flower surrounded by attendants and elephants.

Lord Krishna lifting the mythical Govardhan hill to provide shelter to villagers from torrential rains showered by Lord Indra.

The Massive Natural rock boulder,  popularly known as Krishna's Butter Ball, atop a hilly slope is no less than a wonder. It does a perfect balancing act defying all rules of Gravity.

Trimurti Cave temple- This is believed to be dedicated to the three Lords- Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

The view of Bay of Bengal from the Shore temple.

The Shore Temple, is the only temple of a series of seven temples and the remaining now submerged in the sea.

The Pancha Rathas, perfect examples of Dravidian style architecture are monolithic rock cut temples.

Monolithic Five Rathas or Chariots dedicated to the Five Pandava Princes.

5 km from Mahabalipuram towards Chennai is the Tiger Caves.

Apart from the stellar monuments, there has been proof of many other monuments that have been submerged under the mighty Bay Of Bengal.

Marvels Of History Lepakshi

Lepakshi, a lesser known historic town in Ananthapur district of Andhra Pradesh dons many hats and never ceases to astonish one with its rich legacy and history. This temple town backtracks its roots to the epic 'Ramayana.' Legend has it that it is this spot where the mythological bird 'Jatayu' fell after being hurt by Ravan during his brave attempt to rescue Sita. Lord Ram on seeing the injured Jatayu on the ground commanded 'Le Pakshi' that translates to 'Rise Bird' and hence the name of the town.

This town which is very famous for its handicrafts and sarees has the temple as well in its list of wonders. This hidden treasure built by two brothers Viranna and Virupanna of the Vijayanagar period, attracts a handful of devotees and history buffs to explore and admire the history, engineering and architectural marvel of the Vijayanagara craftsmen and artisans.

The massive monolithic Nandi welcomes you to the town. Apart from the striking mammoth size, this is the place where the Nandi does not bow down his head in submission to Lord Shiva. There is lot of greenery around and the place is well maintained by Archaeological Survey of India.

Veerabhadra Swamy temple is built on a hill that is similar to the shape of a tortoise and hence is known as "Kurma Saila." The complex houses the main deity 'Veerabhadra Swamy' with excellent ornate mural paintings on the ceiling depicting scenes from Ramayana and different incarnations of Lord Vishnu and the wedding procession of Shiv and Parvati. The mural paintings made from vegetable colors and minerals stand as fine examples of creativity that seem to have withstood the test of time over all these centuries. The mural painting of 'Veerabhadra Swamy' in the inner sanctum is the biggest in Asia measuring 23 feet by 13 feet.

The most fascinating marvel here is the 'Hanging Pillar.' This mysterious pillar does not rest on the temple floor and hangs directly from the ceiling. It stills remains an unsolved mystery as to how this mind-blowing phenomena works. This pillar even today stands tall as a testimony to ingenious architectural engineering feat. Unfortunately, it is a little tilted thanks to the curious British engineer who wanted to unravel the mystery behind it.

Another classy structure is the Kalyana Mandapam. Though only partially finished, the magnificent architecture and craftsmanship casts a long lasting spell on you. The many pillars of the Kalyana Mandapam bear intricately carved sculptures of mythical creatures. The beautiful carvings on the pillars are the inspiration behind the well renowned Dharmavaram saree patterns. People spend months here studying the intricate carvings on the pillars to replicate it on the sarees as beautiful designs.

The unfinished Mandapam adds even more charm to the temple that you cannot help but imagine the beauty of the place during the Vijayanagar period. An era of kings, royalty, where the beauty of the temple is enhanced by the brightness of the moonlight and oil lamps and pillars are decorated with flowers. Truly history was royal and everything made or done was extravagant, unique and flawless. With no undo option, this finesse work required years of dedication and practice to master the skill with no place for a mediocre job.

Also, tucked away in the corner of the temple is a massive monolithic seven headed serpent shielding the Shivling. An interesting snippet about this carving is that it is believed to have been carved out at a lightening speed by the artisans while lunch was being prepared for them. On the other side of this huge rock is a massive sculpture of Lord Ganesha. We stood there awestruck on how a huge boulder was turned into a piece of fine art.

Take a walk around the temple and be spellbound by the carvings, the state of the art ancient drainage system, the rock solid structure and the creativity bringing life to these rocks and pillars. The temple is open throughout the year and daily rituals and pujas are performed. However, the inner sanctum is open from 7 am to 6 pm.

The temple hardly receives any crowd and hence is very calm and serene. It is a perfect place for soul searching. Time stands still here and you can forget all your worries and just live the moment. By sunset, birds of different feathers make the temple premises their home.

It is disheartening to see such an impressive piece of history and fine craftsmanship being neglected by the Government. In its heyday the temple complex is believed to have been spread over a whooping 100 acres but now it has been confined to mere 6 acres. Due to rampant encroachment by businesses, human settlements and government establishments, a great deal of history, artifacts, sculpture etc. are lost forever. The extraordinary mural art on the temple ceiling has not been preserved and has gone beyond a point of restoration.

To boost tourism, the Government has constructed a sparkling new Haritha Resort run by APTDC offering fine and spacious rooms at a reasonable price. Do use their online portal for reservations. The restaurant serves basic but exceptionally good food. This stay option is a steal deal for the money.

Another fine initiative championed by MLA Balakrishna is the water purifier plant for the benefit of the people.

Lepakshi, where life appears to be calm, peaceful and less chaotic. The entire town shuts down by late evening allowing one to soak in the beauty around. With too many rocks and boulders in the vicinity this place is perfect for rock climbing as well. Take the lesser known trail to Lepakshi before it becomes a hotshot tourist destination.

How to reach:

By Air: Bangalore International Airport 100 km from Lepakshi is the nearest airport.

By Rail: Hindupur 14 km from Lepakshi is the nearest railway station.

By Road: Brilliant NH 7 connects Lepakshi and Bangalore/Hyderabad.

Impregnable Devagiri Fort! Never Defeated In Battle

One of the most formidable Forts in India, the Devagiri fort, has only one accessible approach which was fiercely and ruthlessly guarded during the medieval Deccan era. This invincible fort with the most complex and intricate defense system remained undefeated in battle. Legend has it that during the Devagiri period the Royal family challenged people to try and gain access to the fort and claim rewards. However, the reward was never claimed by anyone. Numerous attempts by Mughal invaders to conquer this fort resulted in failure and finally they had to resort to treachery to rule over this fort.

It is believed that Lord Shiva resided in the surrounding hills and hence the name Devagiri 'Hill of Gods.' This fort was built by King Bhillama V of the Yadava Dynasty. After its conquest by Allaudin Khilji in 1926 AD, it remained under the Mughal rule and in 1328 AD, Mohammed Bin Tughlak changed the name from Devagiri to Daulatabad 'Abode of Wealth.' He was also responsible for shifting the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad forcing the entire population to relocate but due to lack of water and other resources, he was forced to move the capital back to Delhi. Just imagine the plight of a common man enduring such hardships, even the sick and old were not spared.

At a height of 200 mt on a conical hill, 16 km from Aurangabad, this 11th century fort, a blend of land and hill fort has three encircling fortification walls. These walls were built in a way that the entire town was divided into sectors- Amberkot for common people, Mahakot served as the residential area of the higher class of the society, the Kalakot was the Royal residential area with double line of fortifications and Balakot was the pinnacle portion where the pride of honor the flag fluttered. At every interval there were strong chambers that served both as guardrooms and storage place for grains and ammunition. The outer wall is 5 km in circumference with an average height of 6-9 mt and a thickness of 2-3 mt.

With flawless military engineering, this architectural marvel was defended well with its complex arrangement of bastions at regular intervals, maze like passages, lofty gates with iron spikes and strategic position of gun turrets.The rock around the fort was chiseled skillfully making the climb impossible. The fort was defended by moat around the hill at its foot and the only way to enter was via a mechanical drawbridge. In case of an attack, crocodiles in the moat hindered their entry, flaring torches were unleashed on the enemy forces, hot oil poured in their path, the iron spikes on the lofty gates to attack enemy's elephants and numerous confusing passages lured the enemy to their death.

Such exemplary defense system left us wondering if these pains were taken to protect something that valuable or was it more of a matter of pride and honor of being indomitable.

Once you enter the fort, you are greeted with a number of canons that are displayed in the courtyard near the entrance gate while others remain in their original places such as bastions on fort walls and circular towers. This huge collection of canons is a show of strength.

After crossing the passage post the entrance gate, we reached an open area from where the Hathi Tank and Bharat Mata Temple were on our left and a couple of hundred meters ahead of us were a fleet of steps leading to the pinnacle of the fort. Midway the Chand Minar standing tall was quiet a sight.

Hathi Tank or Elephant Tank- It is known as the Hathi tank because of its gigantic size. This fort is known for its unique water management system with a network of terracotta pipelines and drains that provided water to the entire city. The capacity is estimated to be at 10000 cubic m.

The site at which stands the Bharat Mata/Mother India temple was earlier a Hindu temple that was ransacked by the Mughal Invaders and converted to a mosque. Now, it has been restored to a temple dedicated to Bharat Mata. The present monument comprises of 106 pillars which were ransacked from Hindu and Jain temples. The ransacked pillars lying in the premises paint a picture of arrogance and a trial of destruction.

The Chand Minar stands tall at 63 feet and reminds you of the Qutub Minar in Delhi. It was erected in 1445 by Ala-ud-din Bahmani to commemorate his capture of the fort. This used to be covered in Persian glazed tiles all over but now only the structure remains with most of the prized decorations lost over time.

The Chini Mahal or China Palace, was a palace of great beauty then and it was here that Abdul Hasan Tana Shah, the last of the Qutub Shahi kings of Golconda, was imprisoned by Aurangazeb in 1687.

This fort is indeed mysterious, intriguing and very much unlike any other fort. No wonder, it remained undefeated in battle. One of the best constructed forts in the world, despite the ruthless history behind it, it seems to have survived unaltered.

The fort rich in history and the pride of many dynasties boasting an unachievable feat of being undefeated makes you want to venture out to this place, hardly visited by tourists, to appreciate it.