Five Rathas (Pancha Rathas)
Seventh-century monolithic temples carved from one pink granite outcrop, beside a stone elephant.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Five Rathas at Mahabalipuram, near Chennai, is about stone rather than kings: how five seventh-century Pallava shrines came out of a single ridge of pink granite, and what that method demanded of the carvers who worked it. It touches the wooden and thatched buildings they copied into rock and the question of why these temples never received a god. Best heard standing beside the long barrel-roofed shrine, where you can see the whole row.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
Mahabalipuram
Pallava-era seaside port of rock-cut shrines, giant reliefs and a granite temple on the surf line.
Arjuna's Penance
Colossal Pallava-era rock relief of gods, ascetics, elephants and a sly praying cat across twin boulders.
Mahabalipuram Shore Temple
Eighth-century granite temple on the sea's edge, with twin Shiva shrines and a reclining Vishnu.
Krishna's Butter Ball
Giant granite boulder perched on a steep rock slope, seemingly defying gravity for centuries.
Valluvar Kottam Monument
Granite temple-chariot memorial to a Tamil poet, with all his couplets carved in a vast hall.
Arulmigu Sri Parthasarathyswamy Temple
Pallava-founded Vishnu temple whose moustached Krishna bears battle scars, with a sacred lily tank.