Shore Temple – Tamil Nadu

Shore Temple, Tamil Nadu is one among the famed Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, a group of sanctuaries founded by the Pallavas. As part of the group, it stands classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Situated in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is considered to be one of the oldest rock-cut temples in South India. It was built during 700-728 AD and was named as Shore Temple because it overlooks the shore of the Bay of Bengal.

The temple is famous for its five storied structure and was built with granite blocks, which could be traced back to the 8^th century AD. Since ages of its existence, it has is highly revered by Hindu devotees across the world.

The temple is designed in a unique way, quite different from the rest of the stone structured temples existing in India at present. The pyramidal structure in the temple is 60 feet high and rests on a 50 feet platform (square shaped).

The temple consists of three shrines. Two of the main shrines are dedicated to Lord Shiva and the third to Lord Vishnu. The shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva portray an orthogonal shape. Many large structures of Nandi could be seen in the temple complex. Its walls are extensively sculptured and provide a magnificent appearance to the interior as well as the exterior.

The religious significance of the temple surged many times during the 2004 Tsunami in southern part of India. Even the flooding water of Tsunami could not destroy this religious place and the water came down to safe levels within few minutes. This phenomenon is attracting a larger number of tourists, who’re left awed by the holiness of the place.

Sadly, it’s being noticed that the inscriptions on the walls of the temples are gradually being destroyed. The reason attributed to this is the lack of salt in the winds that strike from the sea.