Mamallapuram - An Ancient Port City

Cross the road from the Five rathas ticket counter to reach the entrance of the Five rathas monument. You can play this story there.

Welcome to the ancient port town of Mamallapuram. How old is this town? A Tamil poem from the Sangam era – approximately 2200 years ago – mentions a powerful king named Thondaiman Ilanthiraiyan whose kingdom of Tondaimandalam included a prosperous port named Neerpeyyaru.

In the 2nd century CE, Ptolemy, the Greek scholar wrote about the busy port of Malange in the same region. Back then, Greek and Roman traders came to this coast and the Chinese came in from the opposite direction – all trading in pearls, gemstones, and ivory. An 8th century Tamil poet sang about a holy town by the seaside called Thirukadalmallai. Historians have concluded that Neerpeyyaru, Malange, and Thirukadalmallai, all refer to the same place - the ancient town of Mamallapuram.

Between the 3rd and the 9th centuries, this port was ruled by the Pallavas, an ancient southern dynasty which ruled over Tondaimandalam, comprising parts of present day northern Tamil Nadu, and southern Andhra Pradesh. It is believed that they were originally feudatories of the Satavahana kings, who ruled up to the 3rd century CE. Their big adversaries were the Chalukyas of Badami in modern day Karnataka, and the Pandyas in southern Tamil Nadu.

The Pallava kings were great patrons of art and architecture. They experimented with stone and built beautiful temples that are considered architectural marvels even today. Mamallapuram was their workshop and here you can see the evolution of the Dravidian style of temple architecture that is impossible to see anywhere else!

The Pallavas ruled until the late 9th century CE, when they eventually lost power to the Cholas. About 70 Kms west of this town is the ancient city of Kanchipuram, the capital of the Pallavas. Mamallapuram was their chief port.

Much of the stone work you see in Mamallapuram was created between the 6th and 8th centuries, when the Pallavas were at their peak. Three powerful Pallava kings built most of the monuments here, beginning with Mahendravarman I who ruled in the late 6th century. His son, Narasimha Varman I was considered to be one of the main architects of this town. He had the title Mamalla, meaning ‘great wrestler or great warrior’. So, historians believe that the town is named after him – as Mamallapuram. His great grandson, Narasimha Varman II, also known as Rajasimha made significant additions too.

What can you see at Mamallapuram? Many beautiful sculpted rock panels, exquisite cave-temples and monolithic shrines - most of them over 1300 years old. On this tour, we will take a closer look at many of them.