Shore Temple in Mahabalipuram

Mamallapuram was developed as flourishing seaport by the great Pallava monarch, Narasimhavaraman I, and has ever since remained important in the history of south India. A naval fleet was despatched from here, by the same king, to Sri Lanka which was conquered and his vassal, Manavarman, installed on the throne. But above all, the grand conception of Rajasimha in cutting huge boulders of granite into exquisitely carved rathas has provided this seaside village with the most attractive and important monuments in India. The free standing monolithic temples called rathas, the lavishly sculptured cave-temples and the huge rock-face portraying the sculptures narrating the story or Arjuna obtaining the pasupata situated almost on the seashore, draw the admiration of the world. The charm of the place is enhanced by a temple with two towers, familiarly known as the Shore Temple.