Varaha Cave Temple,
Mamallapuram
Varaha Cave Temple (also Adivaraha Cave Temple) is a
rock-cut cave temple located at Mamallapuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal in Kancheepuram District in Tamil Nadu, India. It is part of the hill top village, which is 4 kilometers
(2.5 mi) to the north of the main Mahabalipuram sites of rathas and the
Shore Temple. It is an example of Indian rock-cut architecture dating from the late 7th century.
The temple is one of the finest testimonials to the ancient Vishwakarma Sthapathis, of
rock-cur cave architecture, out of many such caves also called mandapas. Part of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, the temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as inscribed in 1984 under criteria i, ii, iii and iv.
The most prominent sculpture in the cave is that of Lord Vishnu in the incarnated form of a Varaha or boar lifting Bhudevi, the mother earth goddess from the sea. Also carved are many
mythical figures.
Exquisite, small jewel of the ancient South Indian architecture
is Varaha Cave Temple- rock-cut Hindu temple located in the ancient city
of Mahabalipuram. This sanctuary belongs to UNESCO World Heritage site named
"Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram".
Mahabalipuram (ancient name – Mamallapuram) was flourishing port
city of Pallava dynasty during the 7th – 9th centuries. In many respects
Mamallapuram was the second capital of Pallavas next to Kanchipuram. This city
at the second half of the 7th century experienced unprecedented flourishing of
art and architecture, here were created multiple unique artworks. As far as we
can judge now, artists at Mamallapuram made courageous experiments, using the
natural landscape to create striking, unusual monuments.
Numerous monuments of architecture and art in Mahabalipuram show
gradual movement from rock-cut architecture to structural buildings. Varaha
Cave Temple in this sense is one of the most primitive buildings in
Mahabalipuram.
But don’t be deceived by the word "primitive" because
Varaha Temple is far from being primitive – it is sophisticated,
architectonically rich structure. This small temple is shaped in low rock
outcropping, only a bit higher than the temple itself.
This temple is known as the Varaha Cave Temple, because the main
sculpture here is that of Lord Varaha, one of the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu.
Lord Vishnu, in the form of a Varaha or boar, is the major sculpture here. Here
Lord Varaha is seen lifting Bhudevi. There are lots of figures depicting Hindu
mythology in this temple. This temple is just about 4 km away from the major
tourist spots of Mahabalipuram like Panch Rathas and the Shore Temple. This
temple is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the
respected Group of Monuments in Mahabalipuram. The history of the temple dates
back to around 7th century. This temple, located on the Coromandel Coast of Bay
of Bengal, is one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture found in
Mahabalipuram.
The cave chamber is of the measurement 33x14 and it there are four
huge pillars and pilasters at the entrance of the temple. This temple falls
into the monolithic rock cut temple category. There are various styles of
architecture like Roman, Greco-Roman and European evident from the sitting
statutes of the statues in this temple. It would be apt to say that this temple
laid the foundation for the birth of Dravidian style of architecture in South
India.
The panels inside the cave are intricately carved and sculptured
here. The sidewalls of these panels contain a huge sculpture of Lord Varaha
lifting Mother Goddess, Bhudevi. The sculpture contains four arms, two at the
back of the idol holding the Sangu and Chakra and two in the front holding the
Goddess. There is also a fresco painting of Goddess Durga on a lotus, Lord
Vamana (yet another incarnation of Lord Vishnu) and other mythological
sculptures in the main Adivaraha Cave.
At the back wall is the Gajalakshmi panel, where one can witness
the sculpture of the Wealth Goddess, Lakshmi. The sculpture of the Goddess is
extremely beautiful and divine looking. She holds lotus flowers in her hands
and is attended by four guards with elephants showering the Goddess with water
from the vessels. Inside the Durga panel, we can find the sculpture of Goddess
Mahishasuramardhini as a symbol of victory of Good over Evil. Next is the
Tiruvikrama panel, where Lord Vishnu is seen as the Lord of the three worlds.
Next is the Brahma Panel, where one can witness the statue of Lord Brahma with
three hands, in a standing position.
Towards the northern wall of the temple, one can witness the
statue of Gangadhara or Lord Shiva. This sculpture has four hands and the Lord
is seen in a standing posture. In addition to these mythological sculptures,
one can also find the sculptures of a couple of Pallava rulers along with his
queens. From the inscriptions available here, it is found out that these kings
are Adhiraja Simhavinna Potra and Adhiraja Mahendra Potra. In the local
dialect, these kings are commonly known as Narasimha Vishnu and his son
Mahendra Varman III.
Geography
Varaha Cave Temple is located on the hills of Mahabalipuram town,
4 kilometers (2.5 mi) to the north of the main Mahabalipuram sites of
rathas and Shore Temple, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal of the Indian Ocean. Now in the Kanchipuram district,
it is approximately 58 kilometers (36 mi) from Chennai city (previously
Madras) and about 20 miles (32 km) from Chengalpet.
History
The cave reflects a transitional style of architecture in its
columns mounted on seated lions and frescoes carved on the walls inside the
cave which evolved during the rule of Pallava kings Mahendra Varman I and Rajasimha or Narasimhavarman I
known as Mamalla. This style was continued by Mamalla's son Parameshvaravarman
I. Historical research has also confirmed that Mahabalipuram town came to
be established only after it was named after Mamalla and the caves and rathas
are all attributed to his reign during the year 650 AD.
It is the earliest known monument in Mahabalipuram though not the
most visited due its hidden location. The distinctive feature of the
Pallava style is that the frontage of the cave has, without exception, finely
carved columns mounted on lions in a sitting posture. The structure is
part of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
inscribed in 1984.
Architecture
The cave is located on a hill which is obscured by another stone
mandapa (pavilion) in front of it. The cave chamber, which faces west, is about
33 by 14 feet (10.1 m × 4.3 m) in width, and has a height of
11.5 feet (3.5 m). The entrance facade has four octagonal pillars and two
octagonal shaped pilasters, the latter abutting the rock face on the
sides. The temple is a small monolithic rock-cut temple with a mandapa carved into the rock face of pink granite formations, dating
from the 7th century.
The cave is of smaller dimension and has a simple plan. The fluted
columns separating the openings have cushion-shaped capitals and seated lions
at the base. Certain Greco-Roman architectural
styles could also be discerned and the
sitting statues are said to have likeness to the sitting styles seen in European architecture,
as against the Indian cross legged style. The style thus created at
Mahabalipuram became a forerunner for Dravidian style of architecture. The
walls inside the cave have several striking mythological scenes carved in
relief. Vishnu rescuing the earth, Vishnu taking three strides, Gaja Laksmi and
Durga are all impressive panels carved in the Adivaraha Cave.
Features
At the centre of the rear wall of the mandapa, opposite to the
entrance, guardian figures are carved on either side of a shrine. Inside the
mandapa, the walls have four large sculptured panels, good examples of
naturalistic Pallava art. The side walls have carved sculpture panels of Vishnu
as Trivikrama and northern panel,
which is very large, depicts Vishnu in the huge incarnated form of Varaha, the
boar, lifting Bhudevi, the earth goddess symbolically representing removal of ignorance
of human beings. In this panel, Varaha has four hands, two arms carrying shankha and chakra, which are shown towards the back and in one of the arms in the
front he is carrying Bhudevi. There are no attendants fawning on him. However,
the original panel has been plastered and painted. Fresco panel of Durga
sitting on a lotus and another panel of Vamana, another incarnation of Vishnu, is also seen in the cave.
The Gajalakshmi panel is on the rear wall which represents Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity. The religious significance of Gajalakshmi
is well brought out in the panel. She is shown with her hand holding lotus
flowers, fawned by four attendants, and carved in "perfect beauty and
gracious countenance". Two royal elephants are filling the water vessels
held by the attendants and one elephant is pouring water from the vessel on
Lakshmi and the other is about to take the vessel from the maiden's hand to
pour water over Lakshmi.
The Durga panel, also on the rear wall, is indicative of victory
over ignorance. The Trivikrama panel depicts Vishnu as the Lord of the three
worlds. Another strikingly impressive panel is of Durga slaying the demon
Mahishasura who is in an anthropomorphic form of a human with a buffalo head; the scene is reminiscent of
a battle between good and evil forces, with the side of Durga represented by
the confident looking ganas advancing and the other side of Mahishasura with his army
of asuras (demons) retreating.
This scene is a new architectural depiction which is appreciated
as to "enhance the drama and realism of the subject." The Brahma
panel is carved with Brahma having three heads in sambhaga or
standing posture.
The panel of Shiva as Gangadhara is shown on the north wall of the cave temple. He is
depicted with four hands and is in standing tribhanga pose; the lower left hand is placed over his thighs, a style
called the katyabalambita. The right lower hand is in a blessing
posture of varada-hasta. The upper left hand is holding an akshamala and right upper hand is "holding one of the tresses of
his hair to hold Ganga" which is a scene of Ganga in a human form
descending from heaven to be held in the tied up hair of Shiva.
Also seen in the cave are panels with carvings of two images of
Pallava kings with their queens. One panel located to the right of the
Gajalakshmi panel seated on his throne in his regal costumes and crown fanned
by his queens standing behind him. The inscription below this panel is titled
"The Glorious Adhiraja Simhavinna-Pottra (Simhavishnu Potta)’. In another
panel opposite to the first one another Pallava King in his royal splendour is
standing with his two queens, in a reverential posture below which the title
inscribed is "The Glorious Adhiraja Mahendra-Potta." These
inscriptions have been interpreted as representing Rajasimha, titled Narasimha
Vishnu in the first panel and the second figure (of standing king) of his son
Mahendravarman III.
Inscriptions
Inscriptions of Adivaraha Temple rise several unsolved questions.
Floor of rear hall contains inscription in Pallava Grantha script - it curses
those who don't worship Shiva. It is weird to find such a text in temple
devoted to Vishnu. It is possible that it has been added in the 11th century.
Another inscription above the Harihara relief lists ten avatars of
Vishnu. It is written in Pallava Grantha script, Sanskrit language. It lists
Buddha as one of avatars. Buddhism by this time (the 7th - 8th century) was not
a significant religion in this region - thus it is a mystery why Buddha is
mentioned here.
On the floor in front of the shrine is important Sanskrit inscription from the 9th century - it mentions Mahabalipuram. This is the first mention of this glorious city in written sources.
On the floor in front of the shrine is important Sanskrit inscription from the 9th century - it mentions Mahabalipuram. This is the first mention of this glorious city in written sources.
References
