Artist: Unknown
Title: So-called "Nakula-Sahadeva ratha"
Material: Granite outcroping
Site: Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, India
Current Location:
Period/Date: Ca. 7th century, under the Pallava dynasty
Iconography/Iconology:
Stylistic Comments: The most distinctive feature of this shrine is the
rounded, apsidal (apse-like) plan rather than the more common square or
rectangular format. Although the exterior is rounded, the interior
shrine, the garbhagriha, is a regular square cell (Huntington, AOAI,
313). The tiered roof structure and the pilasters marking the exterior
walls is typical of the South Indian style of temple architecture. However,
in this shrine the niches are left bare, with no sculptural panels (Huntington,
AOAI, 310).
Huntington, Susan L.The Art of Ancient India, New
york, Tokyo: Weather Hill, 1985.
