Shore Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Chennai International Airport is one of the busiest airports in India.

• By road

  The temple is about 60 km south of Chennai. MTC and TNSTC buses run between Mamallapuram and Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Thiruttani.

Why devotees come here

The Shore Temple stands on the shore of the Bay of Bengal at Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu. It is one of the oldest structural stone temples of Southern India. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage group of monuments.

The Shore Temple is one of the oldest structural stone temples of Southern India. Structural means it is built from stone, not cut out of rock. It is part of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984. Marco Polo and later European merchants called the site Seven Pagodas, and the Shore Temple is believed to be one of them.

The temple is dated to about 725 AD. When it was built, the site was a busy port in the reign of Narasimhavarman II of the Pallava dynasty. The main temple faces east, so the sun's rays shine on the Shiva linga in the shrine. It is a five-storied structural Hindu temple, and its pyramidal tower stands 60 feet high on a 50 foot square platform.

The sanctum holds a Dharalinga of black basalt with sixteen faces, in Rajasimha style. A small third shrine between the two Shiva shrines is dedicated to a reclining Vishnu. The 2004 tsunami struck the temple and the garden around it, but the Shore Temple was not badly damaged.

Festivals

• December and JanuaryMamallapuram Dance Festival

  Held in Mamallapuram every year, in the town where the temple stands.

• For a month every yearIndian Dance Festival

  Dancers perform at Mahabalipuram for a month each year.

Tips for your visit

• The Descent of the Ganges, also called Arjuna's Penance, is a nearby open-air rock relief, one of the largest in the world.
• The Descent of the Ganges is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, the same group that includes the Shore Temple.

Questions people ask