The Oldest Lighthouse - Olakannesvara temple - Storytrails
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The Oldest Lighthouse – Olakannesvara temple

Which is the oldest lighthouse in India? The Olakannesvara temple, an 8th century Siva temple in Mamallapuram, is one contender for the title. According to local legend, this structure served as a beacon guiding sailors over 1200 years ago.

1.Pagodas at Mahabalipuram

John Landseer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_Salt_-_Pagodas_at_Mahabalipuram.jpg


2.Lithograph of Olakkanesvara temple from James Fergusson’s ‘Illustrations of the Rock Cut Temples of India’

Dibdin, Thomas Colman (1810-1893), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1839_lithograph_of_a_structural_temple_on_top_of_a_cave_temple_in_Mamallapuram,_Tamil_Nadu_India.jpg


3.Olakkanneshvara Temple above the Mahishasuramardhini Cave temple, Mahabalipuram

Nicholas and Company, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Durga_temple_or_Olakkanneshvara_Temple_above_the_Mahshasuramardhhini_Cave_temple.jpg


4.The Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram

Tanay Agarwal, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Shore_Temple,_Mahabalipuram.png


5.Aerial view of Olakkanesvara Temple, Mahabalipuram

Preeti Prajapati, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aerial_view_of_Olakkanesvara_Temple,_Mahabalipuram.jpg


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