Mahabalipuram is a city on the Koromandel coast in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, 60 km south of Chennai. Us. 12 thousand Lives. (2001).
The city originated in the 7th century AD. as the main port of the Pallava kingdom called Mamallapuram (probably named after one of the kings). From the era of Pallavas (VII-IX centuries.) Various monuments of monumental sculpture and architecture, workings in monolithic rocks and saturated with Buddhist motifs have been preserved:
coastal temple - washed away at sea during the great tsunami of 2004, subsequently restored;
the small rock temple of Barah;
giant reliefs with scenes of Arjuna's repentance and descent from the Ganges sky;
the Pancha Rata Temple - five giant stone chariots that are named after the Pandavas.
All these monuments are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
From the XVIII century. in the literature there were reports that much of ancient Mamallapuram is now underwater. During the aforementioned tsunami, a retreating wave opened two-meter-long stone figures and other ruins of a previously unknown temple complex of the Pallavian era.