There is no other temple in India that can compare to the magnificent example of early temple building found in the entire set of monuments at Mamallapuram. Other than the monolithic rathas, also referred to as the “Seven Pagodas,” there are ten “mandapas,” or excavated halls. The two show quite distinct styles of building. Because the mandapas are only 5 or 6 meters high, their architectural impact makes them all the more amazing. These mandapas are unique because to the way their pillars are shaped and designed, their roll cornices, and the way the architecture and figure sculpture fit together so well.

The pillars are notable for their elegance and beauty, especially those on the front of the mandapas devoted to Durga and Var aha, which feature a lion motif as their base. A sense of harmony and strength is created by the skillful molding of the fluted shaft, the lovely curves of the’melon’ capital, the lotus design above, and the broad abacus.

These temples, like those of Ellora, demonstrate the artists’ endeavor to successfully fuse building and sculpture. The Durga and Varaha mandapas’ inner walls feature a panel of sculptures that are housed behind pilasters and mouldings, making them the best examples of their sort. The most famous ones are the ones that show Vishnu as the boar Varaha and the dwarf Vamana, Durga killing the buffalo monster Mahisha, and the two secular groups that represent the monarchs of the Pollavas, Mahendra and Simhavishnu, along with their wives.

The monolithic rathas’ architecture is predicated on a very different concept. They are derived from the earlier Viharas of Buddhism. The Draupadi Ratha, which honors Draupadi, the queen of the Pandavas, the Mahabharata’s heroes, is the lone exception. The tiniest and most basic of them is an artistic re-creation of the hermit’s hut, which is only a cell. The rathas are all square or oblong in shape and have pyramidal elevations; they are designed to resemble the Vihara, or monastery.

There are five in this category, with differences in size and little features. The largest and most comprehensive of these, the Dharmaraja Ratha, combines the pillars in the portico with the rampaging lions, the pyramidal tower, and the turreted roof that are typical of the Pallava temple. The architecture of the Chaitya hall served as the model for the oblong-plan Bhima, Ganesha, and Sahadeva rathas. They are two or three stories high, with a barrel roof that has the Chaitya gable at each end. We saw the earliest traces of the enormous Dravidian gopurams, which would emerge approximately six centuries later, in this multi-story building with a barrel roof.

The Mamallapuram collection of temples’ superb figure sculpture served as a model for the advancement of plastic art in following years. This movement was soon to give rise to Javanese and Cambodian classical art. Percy Brown notes that “these figure subjects of Mamallapuram are endowed with that same passionate spirit which pulsates in the Christian art of Europe of the corresponding date but with even finer feeling for form and more experienced craftsmanship.” The second architectural phase of Mamallapuram dates to the latter part of the seventh century and was based on the rock-cut technique. Supported by Narasimha II, also known as Rajasimha, this new movement favored structural design, which the skilled masons must have greatly appreciated as it provided an additional venue for showcasing their abilities. These stone temples have thin pillars that are not held up by squatting lions, but rather by lions that are running amok.

The shore temple at Mamallapuram and the temples of Kailasanatha and Vaikunthaperumal at Kanchipuram are the two most notable examples of these structure temples. With the exception of the Kailasanatha temple, they are all from the 700–800 A.D. era. The fact that the seaside temple, which was constructed shortly after, has endured the merciless attack of the monsoons, the beating of sea waves, and the treachery of drifting sands for more than a millennium attests to the strength of its masonry.

The temple’s original enclosure was a thick wall, and its design essentially followed the Dharmaraja ratha. An uncommon aspect of the temple is that it is approached from the west rather than the cast. The cella has two other shrines attached to it, one of which has a smaller vimana, or tower, that when combined with the larger one on the cella, produces an aesthetically attractive effect. The previous Buddhist vihara was surpassed by the tapering vimana’s light, graceful, and proportionately rhythmic structure.