Monday, September 26, 2011

Krishna Mandapam, Mahabalipuram

Krishna Mandapam at Mahabalipuram is one of the interesting place. This is a cave temple.

It has a huge bas-relief carved out of a single rock. This carving is done some time in the middle of 7th century.

In Hindu culture, cows have great importance, and their association with Krishna during his life among the milkmaids. A calf is kept beside the cow to encourage her milk production, a practice which has been followed in most parts of the World.

The carvings on the panel depicts one of the stories of Lord Krishna. It mainly has the story of Krishna Govardhana, in which Krishna lifts up the mountain to shelter his followers from a storm.

There is also a cow at the top in one of the corner, overlooking the entire scene. This can be seen in the first image at the top.

58 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Very cool and different from your other temples. The cave carvings are neat looking. Thanks for sharing.

black eyed susans kitchen said...

Interesting pictures! The ancient carvings with the children posing.

Carol @ There's Always Thyme to Cook said...

Those are really amazing carvings! Great shots! Love the one with the kids! You can really tell how big the carvings are!

Kavita Saharia said...

The cows look life like real.Amazing carvings.Kids look adorable.Thanks for this beautiful share.

Teamgsquare said...

Love this place .

Mani said...

GREAT AND BEAUTIFUL......BLOG.

Elettra said...

Very interesting picture of a sacred place, good job, a hello to the children !!!!!!

Teacup-In-The-Garden said...

A intersting post! Thanks for sharing!
Have a nice week,
Markus

Zuzana said...

Beautiful wall carvings, and such cute kids depicted with them.;))
xoxo

Jim said...

Beautiful art.
Sydney - City and Suburbs

joshi daniel said...

super cool!

Anonymous said...

informative post...

Snap said...

A cave! How interesting. Love the contrast of the adorable children against the carvings.

Anya said...

Amazing
its fantastic art :-)

joo said...

These carves are really impressive!

Lowell said...

How did they do that in a cave. Amazing! Love the way you included the kids - that really gives the viewer a sense of scale.

How did the cow become some important in India? Do you think it was simply that the cow is such an important source of nourishment?

Sridharan said...

Reminds me of my Mahabalipuram visit. Nice snaps!

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts said...

Love these photos...thanks for posting them for us who will never get a chance to see this beauty!!!

Liz said...

Amazing art! Have a fabulous week.

Liz @ MLC

Maria @ LSS said...

Great shots! Happy Rt.

B i r g i t t a said...

Great pictures and lovely kids :)
You always show such interesting and cultural places and architecture!
Thanks for doing so!

carol l mckenna said...

Wonderful photos and informative post! ~thanks, namaste, Carol (A Creative Harbor) Happy RT ^_^

Al said...

That is extraordinary, I've never seen anything like it. In my state, there are cliff-dwellings where the Native Americans used to live, but they're nothing like that.

Penelope Notes said...

Such carvings must have been quite challenging done only with ancient tools of the artist. The children bring delightful color to the sculpture.

SandyCarlson said...

Thanks for the sense of scale! That's quite a cave.

Barb said...

What giant stone carvings! Seeing the people beside them helps to see their size. So many intricate pictures that tell a story. The children steal the show, though. They're very cute!

Karen said...

The beautiful stone carvings never cease to amaze me!

Anonymous said...

Amazing cave sculptures! And those kids of yours are just too adorable!

Anonymous said...

Nice photos! ( :

magiceye said...

beautiful set of pics!

Pietro Brosio said...

Very fine post, Rajesh! I really enjoy these magnificent carvings.

eileeninmd said...

Lovely carving, Rajesh! Your photos are wonderful. Happy Ruby Tuesday!

Kusum said...

I loved the pictures of two small children with those massive wall sculptures!!

Indrani said...

Delightful captures Rajesh. :)

LifeRamblings said...

the cave temple look very intriguing. great carvings.

alicesg said...

Fantastic to see such beautiful craftings on the wall of the caves.

Tania said...

Oh, wow! What a special and great art. Limestone? Wonderful

Roger Owen Green said...

love the Karvings, I mean, carvings!

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Leslie: said...

Unbelieveable art! Just fabulous.
Have a wonderful week,

Leslie
abcw team

Nanka said...

Well preserved and a place of great interest!! This 'World Heritage Site' is amazing!!

Unknown said...

Incredible!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Jeevan said...

Wow! Excellent and great in detail capture Rajesh. Its been very long time i entered this Mandapam and checked the carvings.

George said...

This is a fascinating temple -- I don't often think of temples being in a cave. But the carvings are as beautiful and amazing as any that you've shown.

Carver said...

What an impressive bas relief.

sush said...

beautiful pictures

RNSANE said...

Amazing carvings and the children look so sweet!

My Ruby Tuesday is at:

http://rnsane.blogspot.com/2011/09/ruby-tuesday-red-tipped-plant-and.html

Jackie said...

Fantastic carvings and so well preserved.

My mother worked at the Indian Embassy in London for many years, she was private secretary to the High Commissioner Krishna Menon until he became Defence Minister and returned to India.
She always had a fondness for the Lord Krishna.

Chronicles of Illusions said...

oh wow - fascinating

Arija said...

Very beautiful reliefs of the big bull and the cows, calf and cow being milked. Most life-like indeed.
It is good to see the degree of preservation due to the shelter of the cave. I loved your post.

Urmi said...

Mahabalipuram is a beautiful place and you have taken marvellous pictures in different angle and of various sculptures.

Shooting Parrots said...

I can only wonder at the amount of work that went in to creating the carvings.

Ash said...

Absolutely marvellous!

Aakash Kokz said...

Loved the carvings of cows. They depict ancient skills. Beautiful pics, loved them.

Rajesh said...

Thank you all for appreciating the wonderful craftsmanship. In Hindu culture cow is considered sacred.

MaR said...

This is very impressive and beautiful!!

My Little Home and Garden said...

It would be so interesting to visit India one day.

Kavi said...

1st time here... And you have the most brilliant travel blog! Truly! I'm your new, biggest fan! :D

Rajesh said...

Thank you all for appreciating the wonderful craftsmanship.