Yaali Mandapam
It's a lion...no, a tiger! Well, actually, it's a yaali. And what is a yaali? Let's find out.
From the Pancha Pandava Cave, walk back to the parking lot opposite the Arjuna’s Penance bas relief. You will need your vehicle to get to the next destination. Drive back to East Raja street, turn left and drive towards East Coast Road. On East Coast Road, drive north (towards Chennai) for about 5 KMs till you see a sign for Tiger Caves on your right. This is our next stop on this tour. Enter the monument and the Yaali mandapam is on your right.
This collection of monuments is commonly called the Tiger caves. The name is a bit of a misnomer because the carvings you see here are not of a tiger but of a mythical creature called the Yaali. Locally, this monument is called the Yaali mandapam. As you enter the complex, the Yaali mandapam is on your right. It is believed to have been sculpted around 700 CE, during the reign of Rajasimha.
What exactly is a Yaali? It is an imaginary creature that is often portrayed with the head of a lion, the tusks of an elephant, the body of a horse and the tail of a serpent. You will find such icons carved on temple pillars in most South Indian temples.
Here, you can spot eleven enormous Yaali heads carved neatly around a square niche in the rock. So what is this space and what are these Yaalis guarding?We don’t have a definitive answer. Some historians speculate that this was a temple to Goddess Durga – the goddess of war who rides a lion.
Others believe that it served as a pavilion where kings were entertained. Perhaps the king sat here and watched muscled wrestlers showing off their strength. After all, Narasimha Varman I was called Mamalla – literally meaning great wrestler.
Can you spot the heads and trunks of two elephants just below the two square niches, on one end of the Yaali Mandapam? Some believe this was a temple to Indra, the king of heaven, who rides on an elephant called Airavat. 2000 years ago, Indra was an important God in the Hindu pantheon and ancient Hindu scriptures list him among the top Gods. Over time, he seems to have slipped down the hierarchy and is today just one among the millions of Hindu Gods. Indra IS a God, but he has some very human weaknesses. He can be jealous, insecure, rash and sometimes downright petty. Hindu mythology is full of stories that are a direct result of Indira’s less-than-godly ways. You’ve already encountered a few of these stories among Mamallapuram’s sculptures.
Yaali Mandapam is also called the Tiger Cave, but the animal carvings are yaalis (mythical lions).
