The Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram was built under the Pallava king Narasimhavarman II, also called Rajasimha, who reigned from about 700 to 728, and was completed around 725. The article also says work started in the mid-7th century, which conflicts with that reign. It is a five-story structural temple rather than rock-cut, and its shikharas follow the Dravidian style. The small Bhuvaraha shrine has a circular Vesara-style shikara.
Builders used sculpted granite blocks hauled from a nearby quarry, and the Dharalinga is carved from black basalt. The main tower is 60 feet (18 m) high, on a platform 50 feet (15 m) square, and the sanctum is 12 feet (3.7 m) square. The article says it marks the culmination of Pallava architecture.
It survived the 2004 tsunami with damage limited to the bali pitham, the jetty steps and the base of the Varaha shrine. UNESCO listed it in 1984.
Comments