Secret of the seven pagodas: Mamallapuram

[Guest guest]

-*Frontline, Volume 22 - Issue 22, Oct. 22 - Nov. 04, 2005*

*Another surprise in Mamallapuram *

 

T.S. SUBRAMANIAN

Photographs: S. Thanthoni

 

*The discovery of a late Tamil Sangam age temple 50 km from Chennai

strengthens the view that a string of Seven Pagodas existed along the

Mamallapuram coast. *

 

 

 

*At the site of the excavated brick sanctum sanctorum near Tiger Cave

in

Mamallapuram, Dr. T. Satyamurthy, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI,

Chennai

Circle, and his team. *

 

THE remains of an ancient brick temple, possibly 2,000 years old,

have been

discovered on the beach near Tiger Cave in Mamallapuram, 50 km from

Chennai.

According to archaeologists involved in the excavation, the temple;

dedicated to Muruga, also known as Karthikeya, may date back to the

late

Tamil Sangam age, between 1st century B.C. and 2nd century A.D. An

inscription in Tamil on a rock near the excavated site led to the

discovery

of the temple. The rock, lodged in sand, was exposed fully by the

tsunami

that struck Mammalapuram on December 26, 2004.

 

The original temple was damaged severely by what archaeologists think

was a

tsunami or a massive tidal wave action. Subsequently, the Pallava

kings

converted it into a granite temple in the 8th and 9th century A.D.,

which

too fell to tidal waves or a tsunami.

 

 

 

*The sanctum sanctorum built of 27 courses of bricks. *

 

The credit for discovering this temple complex goes to the

Archaeological

Survey of India (ASI), Chennai Circle. Its Superintending

Archaeologist, T.

Satyamurthy, who is the director of the excavation at the site, said

the

brick temple "definitely belongs to the late Tamil Sangam age. There

is no

doubt that it is 2,000 years old. It is the most ancient temple

discovered

so far in Tamil Nadu. I can say that with authority."

 

According to G. Thirumoorthy, Assistant Archaeologist, ASI, the

Pallava

rulers filled the sanctum sanctorum of the brick temple with sand,

placed

granite slabs over it and used it as a foundation to build a new

temple.

This temple had a *vimana* (tower) made of granite blocks with

carvings. So

the temple had two distinct phases: the late Sangam age and the

Pallava

period.

 

 

 

*The outer brick wall of the temple, made of lime plaster and granite

blocks. *

 

The temple could have had a third phase of construction, according to

Satyamurthy. The *ardha mantapa* and the *mukha* (entrance porch) of

the

temple complex, which have been unearthed, could have been built by

the

Cholas, he said.

 

The late Sangam age artefacts that were excavated include broken

stucco

figurines, which were perhaps under worship in the brick temple; a

painted

hand portion with a bangle of a stucco figurine; terracotta lamps;

beads;

roofing tiles made of terracotta; spinning whorls; a broken terracotta

animal figurine; and hopscotch. The ASI has also brought to light the

*

prakara* (compound wall) of the brick temple.

 

 

 

*Granite blocks with the images of Ganesa, elephants and so on,

carved on

them. *

 

An important discovery was that of two carved, granite pillars of the

Pallava period. Both the pillars have inscriptions in Tamil. While one

pillar mentions the seventh regnal year (813 A.D.) of the Pallava king

Dantivarman, the other has an inscription belonging to the 12th

regnal year

(858 A.D.) of another Pallava king, Nandivarman III. The inscriptions

on the

pillars speak about donations made to a Subrahmanya temple at a place

called

Thiruvizhchil, which is the present-day Salavankuppam, where the

Tiger Cave

monuments are located.

 

Other Pallava age artefacts unearthed include carved granite blocks

from the

collapsed temple *vimana*, a bronze lamp with a carving of a cock (the

vehicle of Muruga or Subrahmanya), and roofing tiles. The granite

blocks

have carvings of Ganesa, elephants, mythical animals and floral

motifs. A

copper coin belonging to the Chola period was found on the surface of

the

site.

 

THE discovery of the temple complex has strengthened the arguments of

those

who believe that a string of Seven Pagodas (temples with *vimana*s)

existed

on the Mamallapuram coast. Although many dismiss it as a fanciful

imagination, the discovery in February 2005 of the remains of a

massive

temple, dedicated to Siva, close to the Shore Temple at Mamallapuram,

revived the debate about whether the Seven Pagodas did exist after

all.

After last year's tsunami washed away the beach sand and revealed

dressed

rock in a square area close to the Shore Temple, the ASI excavated

the spot

and ran into the remains of a temple, which would have rivalled the

Shore

Temple in size and grandeur (*Frontline*, May 7, 2005). The Shore

Temple,

which is on the fringes of the sea, is said to be one of the Seven

Pagodas

and it is the only one that exists.

 

The monuments at Mamallapuram were built by the Pallava kings, whose

reign

began in the 4th century A.D. Kancheepuram, situated about 55 km

away, was

their capital, and Mamallapuram, their port. Mahendravarman I, who

ruled

between A.D. 580 and A.D. 630, was a builder of repute and a poet,

playwright and musician. Under his son, Narasimhavarman I (A.D. 630-

668),

the Pallava rule is believed to have reached the heights of glory. The

Pallava reign came to an end when the Cholas overran them in the 9th

century

A.D.

 

 

 

*Granite blocks of the Pallava period Subrahmanya temple. *

 

The Atiranachandesvara Cave Temple, popularly known as the Tiger Cave

and

which is located 2 km ahead of the Shore Temple, has two temples: the

one on

the southern side resembles a tiger's head and has bas relief of

elephants,

and the one on the northern side has a Sivalingam.

 

The tiger-headed temple is actually a porch or a *mantapa*, from

where the

king perhaps gave audience. The one with the *lingam* has Somaskanda

panels

on the rear and sidewalls and a panel of Mahishasamardini. Although

some

scholars believe the cave temple was built by Mahendravarman (A.D 582-

610),

it was actually built by his son Narasimhavarman I (A.D. 630-668).

There are

bilingual inscriptions in Pallava-Grantha and Nagari scripts in

Sanskrit

language on the walls of this temple. On the floor are found

inscriptions in

Tamil belonging to Raja Raja Chola, who built the Brihadeeswara

temple in

Thanjavur around 1,000 A.D.

 

Scholars differ on whether the cave temples were built by

Paramesvaravarman,

who is also known as Narasimhavarman II and Rajasimha. The Shore

Temple and

the Kailasanatha temple at Kancheepuram are the creations of

Rajasimha (A.D.

690-728).

 

ON the beach, about 300 metres to the north of the cave temple is a

rock

with three inscriptions on its sides. The inscriptions in Tamil on the

western and southern sides belong to Parantaka Chola and Kulotunga

Chola.

The inscription on the eastern side was revealed after the tsunami

washed

away the sand around it.

 

S. Rajavelu, Epigraphist, ASI, found that the inscription in Tamil

belonging

to Rashtrakuta king Krishna III who ruled the area in 9th century A.D.

praised him as the "conqueror of Kachi and Thanjai", that is

Kancheepuram

and Thanjavur, and spoke about the existence of a Subrahmanya temple

at

Thiruvizhchil in "Aroor kottam (division)".

 

This inscription raised the curiosity of the ASI archaeologists. "So

when we

excavated [the mound nearby], we got a good result," said Satyamurthy.

Thirumoorthy said: "We first found an outer wall which gave us hope.

Then we

found the plinth of the temple. It was square in plan. It had an

inner core,

built of both brick and granite."

 

 

 

*The outer brick wall of the temple complex. *

 

The finding of the inscriptions in Tamil on the two carved granite

pillars

thrilled them the most. The inscription on one pillar speaks about a

Brahmin

woman called Vasanthanaar, wife of Sri Kambattar of Sandilya Gothram,

hailing from Maniyir, presently Manaiyur, near Trivellore. She

donated 16 *

kazhanchu* (small balls of gold) to the Subrahmanya temple. The

*sabaiyar*(the village assembly) of Thiruvizhchil was to use the

interest accrued from

the gold to keep the lamp of the temple lit perpetually.

 

The inscription on the second pillar, belonging to the reign of

Nandivarman

III, spoke about a Kirarpiriyan of Mamallapuram, who donated 10

*kazhanchu*of gold to that temple. The interest that accrued from the

gifted gold was

to be used by the *ooraar* (residents of the village) and *sabaiyar*

to

celebrate a festival during the Tamil month of *Kaarthigai*. This

pillar has

a carving of a *trishul* (trident) on one side.

 

The inscriptions confirmed that the ASI had excavated a Subrahmanya

temple.

This motivated the team to dig further.

 

The sanctum sanctorum of the temple, built entirely of bricks, is

almost

square in size, measuring 2 m by 2.2 m. It has 27 courses of bricks.

The

bricks were laid over a foundation made of three courses of laterite.

There

are other brick structures as well.

 

The outer surface of these structures has a thick coat of lime

plaster to

prevent water from seeping through. The bricks measure 40 cm x 20 cm

x 7 cm.

Some bricks are smaller in size. The bricks have been sent to the

University

of Manipur for optically stimulated luminescent dating.

 

 

 

*The inscription on one of the two granite pillars. *

 

The bricks are similar to those that had been found earlier at

Kaveripoompattinam near Thanjavur, Orayur in Tiruchirapalli district,

which

was the capital of the Cholas of the Sangam age, Mangudi near

Tirunelveli,

and Arikkamedu near Pondicherry.

 

"We have got the full layout of the temple," said Thirumoorthy.

Although

similar structures (which could date back to 2,000 years) have been

found at

Kaveripoompattinam, it cannot be definitely said that they were

(Hindu)

temples. They could be Buddhist structures. "However, for the first

time, we

have discovered a brick temple in Tamil Nadu, dating back to the

Sangam

period," he added. A painted, stucco figurine of Muruga must have

been in

the sanctum. Since the sanctum is small, no rituals would have been

conducted within, he said.

 

Satyamurthy was sure the brick temple belonged to the pre-canonical

period,

that is, before *Agama* texts and *shilpa sastras* came into

existence in

the 6th or 7th century A.D. For these texts entail that temples

should face

east or west, whereas the excavated temple faces north.

 

 

 

*Artefacts such as roof tiles, terracotta lamps, spinning wheels and a

pointed hand of a stucco figurine. *

 

According to P. Aravazhi, research scholar, ASI, three working levels

were

exposed just outside of the temple, which indicated that the temple

must

have been built in three phases.

 

On its eastern side are deposits of shells in various layers of the

earth.

Satyamurthy said: "What is interesting is not the discovery of the

brick

temple but that we can record stratigraphically the remains of the

paleo-tsunami deposits.... If not tsunami, a tidal wave had pulled

down the

temple on the eastern side. We are finding more debris on the eastern

side

and less on the western side."

 

Geophysicists from the Centre for Earth Science Studies,

Thiruvananthapuram,

have taken up the study of the deposits to date them.

 

Dr. Terry Machado, scientist of the Centre for Earth Science Studies,

was,

however, circumspect. He said if it was tsunami, there should be

continuity

of deposit all along the coast. "We are looking for similar deposits

in

other excavated sites such as Kaveripoompattinam, Arikkamedu and

Korkai...

Whether the temple was destroyed by a tsunami or a storm surge, we

cannot

say. If it was a storm surge, it would have been localised around the

Mamallapuram coast."

 

**

 

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*The secret of the Seven Pagodas *

 

T.S. SUBRAMANIAN

Photographs: R. Ragu

 

*The mighty tsunami shifts the sands of history to reveal the

remains of a

hitherto undiscovered temple at Mamallapuram, reviving the debate on

whether

the Seven Pagodas really existed. *

 

THESE are exciting times for the Archaeological Survey of India

(ASI).

Around the majestic Shore Temple on the edge of the sea at

Mamallapuram in

Tamil Nadu, the ASI has made valuable discoveries that have renewed

interest

in the debate on whether the Seven Pagodas, or Seven Temples, existed

on the

shore.

 

 

 

*The newly discovered ruins of a temple in Mamallapuram. *

 

A few hundred metres to the south of the Shore Temple, the ASI has

excavated

on the beach the remains of a massive temple which, when it existed,

would

have rivalled the Shore Temple in size and grandeur. The collapsed

temple

had been built entirely of granite blocks.

 

The parts of the collapsed temple that have surfaced include a square

*garbha

griha* (sanctum sanctorum), a wide courtyard, a thick *prakara *or

wall made

of granite boulders around the temple, an elegant terracotta ring

well, a *

kalasha*; a carved capstone; a stupika and a sitting lion sculpted

out of

sandstone. There is also a sandstone sculpture depicting perhaps the

Pallava

king Narasimhavarman I.

 

K. PICHUMANI

 

*Archaeologists believe this sandstone sculpture depicts

Narasimhavarman I.

*

 

The centrepiece of these discoveries is a fragmented stone

inscription in

Tamil, which reads: *cika malla eti... ma*. It provides evidence that

the

collapsed temple was built by the Pallava kings, said T. Satyamurthy,

Superintending Archaeologist of ASI, Chennai Circle. Besides, the

script

shows Pallava palaeography. "What is interesting is that there are no

inscriptions in Tamil belonging to the eighth century in the Shore

Temple,"

he said. The inscriptions on the floor of the Shore Temple date to

the 11th

century.

 

S. Rajavelu, Epigraphist with the ASI, said "Malla" was a title often

used

by Pallava kings. Narasimhavarman I was called "Mamallan", that is, a

great

wrestler. "Eti" was also a title used by the Pallava kings.

 

On the beach to the north of the Shore Temple, the ASI has discovered

blocks

of a wall that run to 70 metres. The wall extends into the sea

towards the

east. Found submerged in the sea behind the Shore Temple are carved

granite

blocks, boulders hewn with steps, and rocks with signs of human

activity.

 

 

 

*A close view of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. *

 

These discoveries onshore and offshore have fuelled a fresh debate on

whether the Seven Pagodas existed on the shore at Mamallapuram.

Satyamurthy

is sure that the Seven Pagodas existed. He said: "Earlier, the theory

that

the Seven Pagodas did exist was not accepted by art historians for

lack of

archaeological evidence. Now we have unearthed some evidence on the

existence of the Seven Pagodas and this will pave the way for further

investigation."

 

Mamallapuram, about 50 km from Chennai, was popularly known as "Seven

Pagodas" to European travellers of the 16th century. N.S. Ramaswami,

in his

book *Seven Pagodas, The Art and History of Mahabalipuram*, published

by Uma

Books in Chennai, has written elaborately on European travellers'

references

to the Seven Pagodas. He writes about the Italian traveller Gasparo

Balbi,

who sailed to Madras (now Chennai), landing at Santhome in May 1582.

Balbi

says in his book: "About three of the clocke the next morning (May

30), wee

came to a place which is called the Seven Pagods, upon which are eight

pleasant hillockes not very high... "

 

Elihu Yale, who later became Governor of Madras, and after whom a

university

in the United States is named, wrote in a journal of his 1682 journey

that

on December 15 that he sent a present to "Mahabalipur". Evidently,

Ramaswami

notes, some person of consequence lived there.

 

K. PICHUMANI

 

*The centrepiece of the new discoveries is this Tamil inscription on a

stone, cited as evidence that the Pallavas built the temple. *

 

Ramaswami writes: "Mamallapuram, under its European name of Seven

Pagodas,

enters the records of Fort St. George, Madras, in 1708. An entry

mentions a

letter sent to the `Super Gargoe or Commander of the English Ship

riding

near the Seven Pagodas." Another entry, dated November 17, 1721,

records a

letter from the "Chief of the Flemings at Covelong, advising that an

English

ship was stranded at Mauvalipuram... " A Frenchman called Sonnerat,

who

travelled in the East Indies and China "by order" of Louis XIV

between 1774

and 1781, visited Mamallapuram. He talks about "the temple named the

Seven

Pagodas, which one sees between Sadras and Pondicherry".

 

In 1778, William Chambers wrote an article on the monuments at

Mamallapuram

in the first volume of *Asiatic Researches* published from Calcutta

(now

Kolkata). He visited the site in 1772 and 1776. Ramaswami writes: "He

raises

two questions, the origin and significance of the European name of

Seven

Pagodas and the existence of a city or at least of buildings

submerged in

the sea off Mamallapuram."

 

 

 

*A bird etched on stone, the mason's signature. *

 

Chambers linked the two questions: "The rock, or rather hill of

stone, on

which a great part of these works are executed... is known by the

name of

Seven Pagodas, possibly because the summits of the rock have

presented them

with that idea as they (mariners) passed; but it must be confessed

that no

aspect which the hill assumes, as viewed on the shore, seems at all to

authorise this notion; and there are circumstances that would lead

one to

suspect that this name has arisen from such number of Pagodas that

formerly

stood here and in time have been buried in the waves."

 

Ramaswami, however, concludes, "But early writers accepted the

submerged

city. It was such a colourful notion... The notion died hard."

 

 

 

*A terracota ring well found among the ruins, thought to belong to an

earlier period, for no other ring well has been found among what

remains of

Pallava architecture. *

 

In 1813, Maria Graham recorded: "There is a tradition that five

magnificent

pagodas have been swallowed up at this place by the sea, the ruined

temple

(the Shore Temple) and one still entire in the village making the

seven

pagodas where the place had its name."

 

MAMALLAPURAM was variously called Mallai, Kadal Mallai and Mamallai.

Its

breathtaking monuments were built by the Pallava kings, who ruled

from the

3rd century A.D. to the 8th century A.D. from their capital at

Kanchipuram.

The monuments at Mamallapuram were built by Narasimhavarman I,

Paramesvarman

and Narasimhavarman II, who ruled during the 7th and 8th centuries.

The

monuments can be categorised thus: the rock-cut cave temples; the

monolithic

free-standing *rathas*; open air-bas-relief; and the structural

temples.

 

 

 

*The shikara of the collapsed temple. The Shore Temple is seen in the

background. *

 

The cave temples include Konerimandapam, the Adi-Varaha cave temple

and the

Mahishamardhi cave. The free-standing monolithic *rathas*, such as the

Draupadi, Dharmaraja and Arjuna *rathas*, were built by

Narasimhavarman I (

A.D. 630-668). There are four bas-reliefs. The most arresting is

Arjuna's

Penance, sculpted out of the rock face of a hillock, and

Goverdhanari. The

structural temples include the Shore Temple and the Olikanneesvara

temple.

Narasimhavarman II (A.D. 690 to A.D. 728), also called Rajasimha,

built the

spectacular Shore Temple which stands tall at the edge of the sea. The

Pallava reign came to an end in the 9th century A.D.

 

When the waves first receded about 500 m into the sea before the

tsunami

struck the Mamallapuram coast, including the Shore Temple, on

December 26,

2004, tourists saw a row of rocks on the north side of the Shore

Temple.

Behind the Shore Temple in the east were revealed architectural

remains of a

temple. When the waves subsided, these were submerged in the sea

again.

 

When the waves that engulfed the Mamallapuram beach receded, they

washed

away from the beach a vast quantity of sand into the sea. The ASI

staff were

surprised to see what lay on the beach a few hundred metres to the

south of

the Shore temple: dressed rocks in a square area. When G. Saravanan,

Senior

Conservation Assistant, ASI, Mamallapuram, saw them, he had no doubt

that

they were the remains of a temple.

 

Alok Tripathi, Deputy Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, who heads its

Underwater Archaeology wing, and his team lost no time in excavating

the

place. The excavation unearthed the massive remains of a temple, just

a few

hundred metres to the south of the Shore Temple. Tripathi said: "We

did not

expect there would be such a huge temple."

 

 

 

*A kalasha (pot) found among the ruins. *

 

Before the excavation of this temple on land got under way, the

Underwater

Archaeology wing began underwater exploration in the sea immediately

behind

the Shore Temple from February 11. The Indian Navy deployed its

vessel *

Ghorpad* for the task and naval divers took part in the exploration.

Sonar

devices were used too. The Underwater Archaeological wing had earlier

conducted offshore explorations here in 2001, 2002 and 2004. During

their

earlier missions, the divers saw submerged structures. Tripathi, who

is a

diver and an underwater photographer himself, said: "We had earlier

found

submerged rocks with certain indications of human activity... We

wanted to

confirm them now [February 2005]. We want to retrace the seaward and

landward formations of these structures."

 

The divers saw submerged rocks to the north of the Shore Temple, with

evidence of human activity on them. In between these rocks, a wall

had been

built. The ASI concluded that this wall in the sea would have

naturally

begun on land. So it began excavating on the beach to the north of

the Shore

Temple. It found a wall, made of stone blocks, running to about 70 m.

Since

the water table was very high on the beach, these stone blocks were

submerged in water, sometimes even at a depth of 1.5 m. Tripathi

said: "We

wanted to correlate the seaward and landward structures and find out

what

happened - whether there was a change in the sea level or shoreline.

There

was definitely a change because you find the same structures under

the sea.

Either the land has gone under water or the sea has come in."

 

The undersea exploration lasted from February 11 to 25. But the muddy

waters

in the wake of the tsunami thwarted the ASI's efforts to study the

submerged

structures fully.

 

 

 

*A sandstone lion found among the ruins. *

 

>From February 17, ASI men and women turned their attention to

excavating the

temple on the beach to the south of the Shore Temple, whose remains

on the

surface were exposed by the tsunami-triggered waves. The excavations

unearthed the remains of a temple that was 25 m long and 20 m wide,

larger

than the Shore Temple. The *garbha griha *measured 2.6 m by 2.6 m.

 

Why did this temple collapse, whereas the Shore Temple has survived

1,300

years, withstanding even the latest tsunami?

 

Satyamurthy offered this explanation: "The Shore Temple is built on

bed-rock. So it survived all these years. But this temple was

constructed on

sand and it collapsed." Tripathi was of the same view: "When such a

huge

temple is built on sand, it collapsed... There was subsidence because

it was

not hard ground. The temple [the *vimana* above the sanctum sanctorum]

tilted towards the south and fell. That is where you find all the

architectural members, particularly belonging to the superstructure

and the

*shikara* lying on the southern side." Besides, there was no special

arrangement such as a bed or a floor to distribute the weight of the

superstructure.

 

The experts are more or less agreed that the Pallavas built the newly

discovered temple. "Whatever architectural members we have found in

this

temple have a similarity to those in the existing Mamallapuram

temples. So

it must have been built by the Pallava kings," Tripathi said.

 

According to G. Thirumoorthy, there is other tell-tale evidence that

the

temple belonged to the Pallava period: the sculpture of a sitting

lion and

the "*hara*" with the carving of a human face, both of which are so

typical

of the period of Narasimhavarman I. The lion is coated with lime and

painted

in the manner of lions in other Pallava temples.

 

Interestingly, the ring well found in the temple complex belongs to an

earlier period. Rajavelu said: "It belongs to a pre-Pallava period.

So far,

no ring well made of terracotta has been found in any temple [in Tamil

Nadu]. Normally, wells are made of bricks or stone. This is the first

occurrence of a terracotta well in a temple complex."

 

Another interesting aspect of the remains are the mason's marks on the

granite blocks that have gone into the making of the sanctum

sanctorum.

These marks, which constitute sort of a signature by the masons, show

a bird

a bow and an arrow; there are two interconnected triangles which look

like a

butterfly; lamps and so forth. Tripathi said a study of the masons'

marks in

other Pallava temples would reveal whether the same group of masons

built

them.

 

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