5 Rathas
30.12.2017 - 30.12.2017
Day 9 Māmallapuram > Puducherry
Will the morning light and atmosphere be as good as yesterday? No it wasn't. But neither the less made the most of what was happening around me. So up at 7am / 07:00 and spent 30 minutes revisiting the sights and sounds that was happening in the immediate streets.
After yesterday hearty breakfast at Nameste Restaurant decided on a repeat muesli and American Breakfast for 280 rupees / NZ$5.90 / US$4.30. Not disappointed at all and thoroughly recommended.
Again the roads were jam packed with buses and people as the rest of the group went to the Shore Temple I took time out in the comfort of the bus as it drove around looking for a park having been there yesterday.
Why is there a scarecrow? To signify a building is incomplete. When the halfway through the process, they have the feeling of incomplete so hang a scarecrow in the front of the building construction to change the attention of the people who are passing the construction while looking at the construction. By hanging this kind of ‘dummy’, they expect that people won’t look at the construction or the building when their attention goes for the ‘dummy’.
If they are unable to build a scarecrow, at least they draw a scribble or a skeleton man and sometimes scribble snakes.
5 Rathas
Pancha Rathas (also known as Five Rathas or Pandava Rathas) is a monument complex at Mahabalipuram, is an example of monolithic Indian rock-cut architecture.
Dating from the late 7th century, it is attributed to the reign of King Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I (630–680 AD; also called Mamalla, or "great warrior") of the Pallava Kingdom. An innovation of Narasimhavarman, the structures are without any precedent in Indian architecture. The complex is under the auspices of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed by UNESCO as Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram.
Each of the five monuments in the Pancha Rathas complex resembles a chariot (ratha), and each is carved over a single, long stone or monolith, of granite which slopes in north-south direction with a slight incline. Though sometimes mistakenly referred to as temples, the structures were never consecrated because they were never completed following the death of Narasimhavarman I. Thanks Mr Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancha_Rathas
http://www.culturalindia.net/monuments/mahabalipuram-rathas.html
Continued passing rice paddy fields, salt flats, crabs and prawn farms towards Pondicherry (now known as Puducherry).
We passed a possession of a Hindu goddess.
Then stopped at a road side rural village Hindu temple.
Posted by bruceontour 23:07 Archived in India
