Ira Nakacami. Mahabalipuram: Monumental Legacy. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2008. xiv + 94 pp. $37.00, cloth, ISBN 978-0-19-569373-7.
Reviewed by Devika Rangachari
Published on H-Asia (February, 2010)
Commissioned by Sumit Guha (The University of Texas at Austin)
Mahabalipuram by R. Nagaswamy is a part of the monuments, noting that the names of some of the Monumental Legacy series of the Oxford Uni‐ the leading ones are preserved in inscriptions. versity Press that examines each of the twenty- Nagaswamy then goes on to discuss the in‐ two World Heritage Cultural Sites in India. As the volvement of the Pallava kings in this endeavor series editor Devangana Desai notes in her pref‐ and argues, with convincing force, that it was Ra‐ ace, these books are written by experts in the feld jasimha (690-728) who was the author of these to enable visitors to view the monuments in their monuments. He stresses the claim in Rajasimha’s proper perspective. Consequently, they difer inscriptions--that the king spent all his wealth on from the run-of-the-mill tourist/guide books and, temples--to support his argument. Nagaswamy at the same time, also from specialized mono‐ also points out that many of Mahabalipuram’s graphs. monuments bear one of Rajasimha’s titles--Atyan‐ What is immediately apparent from Na‐ ta-kama, and that some of the monuments’ foun‐ gaswamy’s work is that it is a labor of love. His dation inscriptions declare that they were his cre‐ painstakingly detailed account of Mahabalipuram ations. and its monuments takes the reader on a visually Rajasimha’s love for beauty and artistic ex‐ evocative tour and, at the same time, enables an pression is, according to Nagaswamy, clearly evi‐ appreciation of the grandeur and beauty in‐ dent in these monuments. An entire chapter is de‐ volved. The book commences with an introduc‐ voted to this king and his personality, where his tion to Mahabalipuram (originally Mamallapu‐ innovative abilities are detailed. An interesting ram) on the Tamilnadu coast and then discusses example is Rajasimha’s employment of script vari‐ the artists who were involved in the creation of ations in his records, like Pallava Grantha, in H-Net Reviews which calligraphic letters resemble birds and ani‐ In his discussion of the rathas, Nagaswamy mals, and the simple and ornate Nagari script. points to their uniqueness in that each temple is Subsequently, Nagaswamy discusses the vari‐ presented as a sculpture. The ten monoliths depict ous categories of monuments at Mahabalipuram-- twelve diferent varieties of temple towers, show‐ the cave temples, the monoliths or rathas, the ing a deliberate attempt to create architectural va‐ bas-reliefs, and the structural temples. Delineat‐ riety here. Thus, apart from the individual and ing the unique features of these structures, he distinctive tower of each ratha, two miniature notes that this is the only place where the concept temple towers appear as ornamental motifs, one of art forms assumes primary importance, while at the gable end of the Bhima ratha and the other religious and legendary themes only play a sub‐ on the facade of the Sahadeva ratha. sidiary role. The book makes another signifcant assertion: Another aspect of Mahabalipuram is that in‐ that the tradition of portraying the history of a dy‐ formation of a historical nature is seamlessly in‐ nasty in a sculptural sequence is frst seen in the corporated into the main narrative. The Pallava Shore temple at Mahabalipuram. Thus, the inner and Chola inscriptions in the Adivaraha cave, for walls of the temple’s enclosure bear a series of example, form an integral part of the discussion panels portraying the history of the Pallavas, of on its features. Interesting nuggets of information which only a few survive. Furthermore, works pepper the account, as, for instance, the earliest such as the Varaha sculpture, the Arjuna’s epigraphic reference to Bharata, the author of Penance panel, and the Krishna Govardhanadhari Natya-shastra, being found in an inscription in depiction reveal that the artists were adept at in‐ the Atiranachanda cave. Nagaswamy notes anoth‐ tegrating nature and environment into their cre‐ er interesting fact: that the portrayal of elephants ations. Thus, the Varaha, carved on a rocky and horses by the side of the cave temple of Durga pedestal, is placed right on the shore where the (or the Tiger Cave) recalls a widespread tradition waves dash against it, thereby integrating its loca‐ in Tamilnadu of portraying standing elephants tion and environment and suggesting that it is ac‐ and horses of terra-cotta or stucco. tually diving into the ocean. This, according to Na‐ gaswamy, is one of the fnest portrayals of not just The book also highlights evidence of religious the animal but also of the aesthetic approach of rivalry pertaining to the monuments. From the re‐ the artists at Mahabalipuram. Incidentally, the an‐ maining outlines of the chiseled sculptures at the imal studies on display, in his view, remain unpar‐ rock-cut cave called Ramunuja mandapa, for in‐ alleled in Indian art. stance, one can discern that the cave was dedicat‐ ed to Shiva and that the central sanctum once Nagaswamy makes another point of historical contained a Somaskanda sculpture. The cave ob‐ interest in his discussion of the Talashayana Peru‐ viously sufered destruction during the revival of mal temple dedicated to the reclining form of Vaishnavism in the sixteenth century, which par‐ Vishnu (Anantashayi) that forms part of the Shore ticularly afected Mamallapuram. In this period, temple complex at Mahabalipuram. While indi‐ Shaiva religious marks on the pillars of some cating the various inscriptions found on the walls monuments were efaced and replaced by Vaish‐ of this temple, he notes that the religious saint nava ones like the namam, shankha, and chakra. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu paid a visit to Maha‐ This cave was converted into a plain mandapa for balipuram between 1510 and 1512 in order to the processional deity of the Vaishnavite saint, Ra‐ worship the deity in this shrine. Another notewor‐ manuja, which was brought here before an audi‐ thy observation with regard to this Vishnu temple ence during festivals. relates to its location. According to traditional ar‐
2 H-Net Reviews chitectural treatises, the Vishnu temple should be and the incorrect spelling of "sculptures" (p. 66) located in the center of the village. This indicates are some examples. These glitches apart, the book that the center of ancient Mamallapuram was the is a worthy attempt to capture the beauty and area of the Vishnu temple and, in fact, it continues majesty of the monuments at this World Heritage to be so even today. This, in Nagaswamy’s view, is site, and would appeal to the scholar and layman a fne example of a Pallava village following tex‐ alike. tual prescriptions as regards its layout. Towards the end of the book, Nagaswamy Grantha provides an interesting overview of Mahabalipu‐ ram through the centuries that details references to it in indigenous and foreign accounts. Dandin’s Avanti-sundari Katha, for instance, talks of the meticulous repair of a Vishnu sculpture at Mamal‐ lapuram, thereby providing, according to Na‐ gaswamy, the earliest record of scientifc sculp‐ tural conservation in India. Another striking ac‐ count is that of a Venetian traveler, Gaspero Babli, who, in 1582, talked of the "Seven Pagodas" and the "eight pleasant hillocks" at this site (p. 82). Na‐ gaswamy also includes, in this section, attempts by James Fergusson and other scholars to study Mahabalipuram on the basis of the inscriptions discovered there. The book concludes with a high‐ ly useful section on "Practical Tips and Informa‐ tion," with details of the weather at Mahabalipu‐ ram, as also housing and other facilities available to the traveler. In Mahabalipuram, the text is interspersed with visuals at regular intervals. These range from copies of site maps through the years to de‐ tails of the sculptures, architectural nuances, and artistic representations at the site. One would, perhaps, wish for more color spreads but even the black-and-white photographs lucidly express the beauty of these creations. While the book is a lucid and succinct view of Mahabalipuram and its historical monuments, it is consistently marred by shoddy editing. The text is rife with grammatical errors, inconsistencies in spelling, and arbitrary use of punctuation. The use of the word "stout" instead of "snout" in a de‐ scription of Vishnu’s Varaha (boar) incarnation (p. 41), the word "teaming" instead of "teeming" (p. 3)
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Citation: Devika Rangachari. Review of Nakacami, Ira. Mahabalipuram: Monumental Legacy. H-Asia, H- Net Reviews. February, 2010.
URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=25378
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