Shore Temple

Walk towards the shore temple from the entrance and play the story after you cross the second entrance

What you see here is not one single temple, but a complex of three shrines. This complex has two shrines for Shiva, the god of destruction, and a Vishnu shrine in the middle. Vishnu is the god of protection. While the Vishnu shrine was built in the 7th century during the time of Mamalla, the two Shiva temples on either side were built in the early 8th century, during the reign of Rajasimha. It is generally believed that Rajasimha’s reign was one of peace and relatively free of wars. As a result, Rajasimha was able to dedicate considerable amounts of his time to temple building.

You will also notice that the two Shiva shrines have the finial - the lotus-bud shaped ornamentation, right on top of the tower. This means that these temples were consecrated as places of worship.

If you peep into the temple facing the ocean, you can see a lingam made of black stone inside the sanctum. The Lingam is an ancient symbol representing Shiva, the god of destruction, and it has been worshipped in India as early as the 3rd century BCE. By the time of Rajasimha, the Lingam had become a popular way of representing Shiva in these parts. Even today, in most Shiva temples, Shiva is worshipped in the form of a lingam.

Inside the Vishnu shrine is his statue in a reclining posture. This is a common posture in which Vishnu is portrayed in many temples across India. Why is he represented lying down? Hindus believe that all life in the universe, and time itself, is cyclical. When the world becomes too immoral and chaotic, Shiva destroys it so that a pristine new universe may be re-created. All the debris goes back to where it originated – the eternal, primaeval ocean. Vishnu, as the god of protection, guards this matter, floating in the ocean with his eyes closed. This is a period of absolute stillness, a momentary pause in time itself, before the new world is created. When it is time for creation again, a lotus would rise out of Vishnu’s navel. Brahma, the god of creation, seated in that lotus , would recreate the world. And Vishnu would then wake up and resume his duties as Lord Protector. Inside this Vishnu temple, he is in a reclining posture, reflecting THAT serene stillness between two creations of the universe. Absolutely calm!