Mamallapuram Things to Do

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This museum is located near the bus stand and exhibits sculptures and fragments excavated from the area as well as over 3,000 sculptures from local artisans who work with stone, wood, metal and even cement.

Open: 9am-5.30pm.

This statue is dedicated to the great poet Thiruvalluvar, author of the Thirukkural - Tamil verses and stands near the Shore Temple. There's a huge 133 ft (40.5m) statue to him on a small island off the coast of India's southern-most point at Kanyakumari, which I visited so I guess he visited here as well.

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The Shore Temple was built around 700-728 AD during the Pallava dynasty in the reign of It was built by Narasimhavarman II and is so named because it overlooks the Bay of Bengal, having been built on a promontory that now features a protective high wall. It is a structural temple (the oldest in South India), built with blocks of granite that have been weathered by sea and wind erosion over the centuries that give it an icing sugar kind of look.

Its pyramidal structure is 60 ft high and sits on a 50 ft square platform. There is a small temple in front which was the original porch. The temple is a combination of three shrines. The main shrine is dedicated to Shiva as is the smaller second shrine. A small third shrine, between the two, is dedicated to a reclining Vishnu and may have had water channelled into the temple, entering the Vishnu shrine.

Open: 6.30am-6pm. Admission: Rs250 for foreigners with combined ticket for the Five Rathas.

The shore temple in Mahabalipuram.
It is believed that there were seven such temples in the past and they submerged into the sea in course of time.
Apart from the shore temple,you could also visit other temples and caves which are interesting.There is also a sculpture college and artists all over working on sculptures.It is a good place to shop for soveniers.
there is also a light house.there are resorts,but not very great.on the way to mahabalipuram from the city of chennai,you would find many beaches which are not at all crowded.There is also a very beautiful ancient temple called Varahaswamy temple/nithya kalyanaswami temple in Thiruporur.It is amidst simple,but beautiful surroundings and is one of my favourite temples.
There is also a crocodile bank/park on the way and you get to see hundreds of crocodiles and alligators.You can also feed them if you ask in advance aboout this package.You can find this on the net if you google search,crocodile bank,near chennai.

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This magnificent carving is unique in the range of Indian art. Two large boulders with a narrow fissure in between have beeen chosen to represent a series of rows of gods and godesses like Chandra, Surya, pairs of Kinnaras and Siddhas, Gandharvas, Asparas and more, rushing towards a central point near the cleft where a sage stands on his left foot deeply engaged in penance involving physical mortification.

To his right is a four- armed Siva of majestic bearing carrying a trident in one of his hands and attended by dwarf GANAS. Apart from the celestials there are hunters, sages, disciples and wild animals like the lion, tiger, elephant and bear.

The group of elephants, so faithfully true to nature, are real masterpieces that enhance the charm of this wonderful carving.

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Behind (or above) the arjuna 's penance rocks, you will find a network of paths along which there are pillared halls excavated out of the rocky hillside, illustrating the development of the Dravidian temple style. It is a very pleasant walk offering also a nice point of view on the village and the countryside. There are also a lot of apes and it is always funny to see them playing on the carved rocks!

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Fantastic bas relief sculpted in the 7th century on two enormous adjacent rocks. It represents
either Arjuna's Penance or the Descent of the Ganga, or possibly both.

Arjuna's Penance is a story from the Mahabharata of how Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers, performed severe austerities in order to obtain Shiva's weapon. The idea, which pervades Hindu philosophy, is that one could obtain, by self-mortification, enough power even to overcome the gods. In order to protect themselves, the gods would grant the petition of any ascetic who threatened their supremacy in this way - a kind of spiritual blackmail, or "give to get." (This meaning of the word "penance," by the way, is specific to Hinduism. Unlike the Catholic rite of penance, it is performed to gain power, not to expiate sin.)

The Ganges story is of the same kind, in which the sage Bhagiratha (Rama's ancestor) performs austerities in order to bring the Ganges down to earth. Shiva had to consent to break her fall in his hair, because otherwise its force would be too great for the earth to contain.

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Well, maybe less a museum and more a random collection of items with sculpture-like qualities. Some of the things looked interesting, but there wasn’t any description or context. There weren’t displays so much as things left around on cupboards. Many looked to me to be along the lines garden statuary, except gods and dancing girls instead of deer and gnomes. There was one room devoted to very large photos of statues of gods.

Still Rs2 (plus Rs10 for a camera), why not. It’s along the road to the Five Rathas, and it’s shady.