Tamil Nadu has many ancient cities, one of which is Mahabalipuram which is situated on the coastline. The history of this city is very ancient and grand. Brief information is presented here.

 

Nomenclature of Mahabalipuram: The city was named after the great Danavir Asura king Mahabali. Mahabali donated three steps of land to the Vamana avatar of Vishnu. Lord Vaman gave the trilokya measure in two steps and then asked where Rajan should keep the third step, Mahabali said that God is now only my head, you should keep your foot on it. Impressed by the generosity and veracity of Mahabali, the Vamana lord himself made him the watchman, making him the Chiranjeevi king of Patal Lok. It is said that even today Mahabali is alive. They are worshiped in Kerala.

 

It is said that later Pallava king Narasimha Varman, who was known as Mamalla, named Mahabalipuram as Mamallapuram. Even after Raja Narasimha Varman named Mahabalipuram as Mamallapuram, people today know this place more than the name of Mahabalipuram.

Many temples and places built by the Pallava kings of the 7th and 10th centuries are adorned here. It was the second capital of the Pallavas to rule Kanchipuram. The Pallava kings ruled South India after the decline of the Gupta dynasty. They continued to dominate from about the 3rd century to the end of the 9th century. During the reign of the Pallava kings, there were many great poets, play cars, artists, artisans, scholars and saints. In terms of workmanship, the empire of the Pallavas was the leading one.

Bodhidharma: The great monk was Bodhidharma under the rule of the Palvava kings. Bodhidharma was born in the royal family of Kanchipuram in the Pallava state of South India. He was the third son of Raja Sugandha of Kanchipuram. He left the kingdom at a young age and became a beggar. At the age of 22, he attained sambodhi (the first state of salvation). One who does not know Bodhi Dharman, one of the great monks of the world, would not even know the history of martial arts. Bodhi Dharman taught martial arts and learning like kung fu in China. After being enlightened, on the orders of Rajmata, she was sent to China for propagation of truth and meditation.

It is also said that when Hieun Tsang traveled to India, he came to Mahabalipuram and it was here that he gathered information about Buddhism.

Raja Mahabali: Raja Bali's kingdom was all over South India. He made Mahabalipuram his capital. Prahlada was the son of Hiranyakashipu, a descendant of the famous mythological character Vrittra (the first cloud). Mahabali was the son of Prahlad's son Virochan. Actually, Kashi Rishi's wife Diti had two principal sons Hiranyakashyap and Hiranyaksha. Hiranyakashyap had 4 sons - Anuhallad, Hallad, Bhakta Prahlad and Sanhallad. Raja Bali, son of Virochan was born to the family of Prahlad. Mahabali participated in Samudra Manthan.

Temples of Mahabalipuram: It is said that there were hundreds of temples in ancient times. This place was very famous for many magnificent temples, architecture and sea-shores. Mahabalipuram is believed to have 7 temples established on its banks in the 17th century and the remaining 6 temples were drowned in the sea except for one coastal temple.

Located on the beach of Mahabalipuram, this temple is an example of ancient architectural art. The Shore Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva and Vishnu, was built around 700–728 AD. This stone temple is called because the part of the temple is made of granite stone which looks very beautiful in view. There are stone statues of seven pagodas in the temple courtyard which is amazing to see. This temple has a different story.

 

The second temple on the seashore of Mahabalipuram is a temple called Panch Ratha or Panch Pandavas' Rath. It is a beautiful memorial complex built by Mahendra Varman I and son Narasimha Varman I in the 7th century. The five monuments of the Panch Rath have been completely built like the chariots, which are all carved out of granite stone. Artifacts depicting the story of Mahabharata are seen in it. All these nights are in this way from the biggest to the smallest size - Dharmaraja Rath, Bhima Rath, Arjuna Rath, Nakula and Sahadeva Rath and Draupadi Rath.

These monuments of Ganga descent are located in Kanchipuram district on the Coromondal coast of Mahabalipuram. This monument of 96X43 feet shows beautiful artwork. It is a big stone which has a very amazing depiction of the origin of Ganga by digging.

These caves are the finest artifacts of Mahabalipuram. Outside these are sculptures of lion embossed in stone. It was also built by the Pallava kings.

 

In Mahabalipuram, South India, a 1200 year old stone is placed in a very strange way. Looking at it, it seems that it will fall down a little, but it is not so. The width of this stone is 5 meters and height is 20 feet. In 1908, when this stone was noticed by the then Madras Governor Arthur, he felt that this stone could cause a big accident, so he pulled this stone with 7 elephants to move it from its place but this stone from its place Not even 1 inch moved.

 

Ignoring the laws of gravity, this stone rests on a sloping hill without rolling at an angle of 45 degrees. People also call this stone 'Krishna's butter ball' because they believe that this stone is the butter ball that Krishna dropped down in his childhood.

The ancient Pallava town was for Modi-Xi meeting as it was once port way, which had connections with South East Asian countries like China that goes back to 7th to 9th century. The Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram, group of monuments lies along the Coromandel Coast (facing the Bay of Bengal) around 60 kilometres from Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu. 

The monuments were declared as World Heritage Site in 1984 and are some of the finest specimens of stone architecture in South India. It is believed that the name Mamallapuram, meaning "the Land of the Great Warrior" , comes from King Narasimhavarman I of the Pallava Dynasty who was titled "Mamalla" or "great warrior", and is credited with establishing the port town. Mamallapuram came into historical prominence during the Pallava period, mostly around the seventh and eighth centuries. 

Mamallapuram is known especially for its rathas, mandapas, giant open-air bas-reliefs such as the famous "Arjuna's Penance" , and structural temples, including the Shore Temple.