Mahabalipuram. Raths from northeast

The Pallava style, ultimately derived from Amaravati and its ancient prototype in the Toda hut dwellings, is the dominant style of early medieval art in South India and is of great international importance with respect to the architectural styles of both Cambodia and Java. Pallava architecture is also important because it had a pronounced effect on the styles of Central India, an influence due in part to the warlike nature of the Pallava kings, who repeatedly invaded the central part of India during the 7th century. The style is generally organic in character, its forms fluid and heavy in material aspects. From the site of Mahabalipuram, in the south of India on the coast, we are provided with a veritable architectural museum showing in five model 'Raths' (Chariots of the Gods) the development of the southern styles in a step-by-step fashion, from its origins in the Amaravati Buddhist stupas to the day of the building of the complex in the 7th century. In the present slide, we see four of the five shrines at Mahabalipuram, beginning at the extreme right, with the 'earliest' type: the Durga cell (shrine dedicated to the goddess Durga), the Arjan Rath, Bhima Rath, and the Dharmaraja Rath. Not shown is the Sahadeva Nakula Rath. All of the shrines were carved from the living rock of outcropped boulders of granite, phenomena which distinguish the site of Mahabalipuram from other sites along the coast. -- 7th Century (625-674). Pallava style