Rathas, mandapas and the Shore Temple: the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram

Background

The Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, in Tamil Nadu on the Coromandel Coast of southeastern India, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1984.
The monuments were carved by the Pallava dynasty, which ruled the area between the sixth and ninth centuries, with the carving dated to the seventh and eighth centuries.
The property includes five monolithic temples, each hewn from a single boulder and locally called a ratha, meaning chariot.
It also includes rock-cut cave temples or mandapas, among them Konerimandapa, the Mahishmardhini cave and Varahamandapa.
The structural temples are Mukundanayanar, Olakkanesvara and the Shore Temple, which UNESCO describes as the most refined example of a Dravida vimana layout, fringing the sea; excavated remains have been uncovered from the sand around it.