Artist: Unknown
Title: Five shrines
Material: Granite outcroping
Site: Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, India
Current Location:
Period/Date: Ca. 7th century, under the Pallava dynasty
Iconography/Iconology: This group of free-standing monolithic buildings
have generally been called "rathas," or temple carts. This is
a misnomer as the five shrines are not designed to emulate temple carts
in any way (Huntington, AOAI, 304). The five shrines have also been
traditionally named after the five Pandava brothers and their wife, the
main characters in the Indian epic Mahabharata. Once again, this seems to
be a misnomer as there is little to suggest that the buildings were in any
way associated with the epic story (Huntington, AOAI, 304). As suggested
by the sculptural decoration on the wall surfaces, it is more likely that
the five buildings were individual shrines dedicated to various Hindu deities
(Huntington, AOAI, 305-13).
Stylistic Comments: Four of the five buildings are carved out a single
rock-outcropping, in that they are rock-cut, yet free-standing, monoliths(Huntington,
AOAI, 305). The five shrines are particularly important as they also
serve as a document of early south Indian temple architecture. The five
shrines, distinct in plan and decoration, almost appear as if they were
architectural models of other contemporary temple buildings during the Pallava
period (Huntington, AOAI, 305). The five shrines also attest that
by as early as the 7th century, clear distinctions between the northern
and southern styles of temple building were being made (Huntington, AOAI,
305).
Huntington, Susan L.The Art of Ancient India,
New york, Tokyo: Weather Hill, 1985.
