Arjuna's Penance(Mahabalipuram)-Biggest open-air rock canvases in the world,Location & Introduction,History,Theme,How to reach

Arjuna's Penance(Mahabalipuram)-Biggest open-air rock canvases in the world,Location & Introduction,History,Theme,How to reach

Location & Introduction:

Location: Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu

Carved In: Mid-7th century

Significance: One of the largest bas-reliefs in the world

Other Nearby Attractions: Shore Temple, Pancha Pandava Rathas, Krishna Mandapa, Varaha Cave and Krishna's Butterball

Best Time to Visit: Throughout the year

History:

Arjuna's Penance or Bhagiratha's Penance is the name of a massive open air bas-relief monolith dating from the 7th century CE located in the town of Mahabalipuram in Southern India. Measuring 96 feet long by 43 feet high, the bas-relief is also known as The Descent of Ganga. The bas-relief has two names, because there is not full agreement regarding which stories the mural depicts.

Mamallapuram, popularly known as Mahabalipuram is famous for its splendid 7th and 8th century art and architecture, especially the stone carvings. The monolithic rock sculptures, shore temple, carvings and wonderful beaches make Mahabalipuram a beautiful tourist destination. The Arjuna's penance is one of the most famous stone carvings at Mahabalipuram. It is an enormous relief made on two massive boulders. One of the biggest open-air rock canvases in the world, the Arjuna's penance is 31m long and 9m high. The surface of the rock has detailed carvings, showing the most endearing and natural renditions of animals especially the elephants and monkeys.

Theme of Arjuna's penance:

There are many schools of thoughts over the theme of Arjuna's penance. One school believes that the sculpture shows Arjuna undertaking a penance to obtain a rare weapon against his enemies. The other School believes that it portrays the legend of the River Ganges's descent to earth. Whatever the reasons, Arjuna penance remains one of the most beautifully carved structures at Mamallapuram. Arjuna's Penance has over 100 figures of gods and semi divine creatures, birds and beasts, man and saint.

How to Reach Mahabalipuram/ Mammalapuram

Air

Chennai is the nearest airport from Mahabalipuram, located around 60-km away. You can get flights for almost all major destinations in India and abroad.

Rail

The nearest railway station is Chengalpattu, around 29-km away from Mahabalipuram. You can easily get trains for Chennai and several other major cities in South India.

Road

Mahabalipuram is well connected by road to Chennai, Kanchipuram (65-km), Pondicherry and other towns and cities of Tamilnadu.

Mahabalipuram Beach-Location & Introduction,Hisorty,Major Attraction,How to reach,Hotels

Mahabalipuram Beach-Location & Introduction,Hisorty,Major Attraction,How to reach,Hotels

Location & Introduction:

Place:Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram), Kanchipuram district, Tamilnadu

Highlight:One of the longest Beach in India and magnificent monuments besides this beach.

Best time to visit:November to February

Mahabalipuram Beach is Dakshinachitra, 28 km from Chennai, a heritage spot with exhibition and workshops of the arts and crafts as well as conventional home architecture and the stage artists of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka

The old port town of Mahabalipuram also known as Mamallapuram on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, has a coastline spanning a distance of over 20 km with beautiful beaches. Located 58km from Chennai on the Mahabalipuram road, the golden sandy beach is a picturesque place bounded by the shimmering sea and rolling hills. Identified as the most pristine beaches of Tamil Nadu, the beach attracts thousands of tourists throughout the year. The beach is an idle place for sunbathing and lazing around. The sea is rough and swimming is not recommended.

A crocodile farm, Snake venom extracting center, Schools of art and sculpture and a wide choice of resorts along the beach draw holiday-seekers all round the year. Mahabalipuram beaches are a good place for sunbathing and other related activities. The resorts that lay scattered all along the Coromandel offers a range of leisure activities such as diving, wind surfing and motor boating

History:

The temples of Mamallapuram, portraying events described in the Mahabharata, built largely during the reigns of Narasimhavarman and his successor Rajasimhavarman, showcase the movement from rock-cut architecture to structural building. The mandapa or pavilions and the rathas or shrines shaped as temple chariots are hewn from the granite rock face, while the famed Shore Temple, erected half a century later, is built from dressed stone. What makes Mamallapuram so culturally resonant are the influences it absorbs and disseminates. The Shore Temple includes many bas reliefs, including one 100 ft. long and 45 ft. high, carved out of granite

Some important structures include:

• Thirukadalmallai, the temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It was also built by Pallava King in order to safeguard the sculptures from the ocean. It is told that after building this temple, the remaining architecture was preserved and was not corroded by sea.
• Descent of the Ganges - a giant open-air bas relief
• Arjuna's Penance - relief sculpture on a massive scale extolling an episode from the Hindu epic, The Mahabharata.
• Varaha Cave Temple - a small rock-cut temple dating back to the 7th century.
• The Shore Temple - a structural temple along the Bay of Bengal with the entrance from the western side away from the sea. Recent excavations have revealed new structures here. The temple was reconstructed stone by stone from the sea after being washed away in a cyclone.

Pancha Rathas at Mamallapuram

Pancha Rathas (Five Chariots) - five monolithic pyramidal structures named after the Pandavas (Arjuna, Bhima, Yudhishtra, Nakula and Sahadeva) and Draupadi. An interesting aspect of the rathas is that, despite their sizes they are not assembled — each of these is carved from one single large piece of stone.

How to reach Mahabalipuram Beach:

By Air: Chennai (58km) is the adjacent airport with both domestic and international terminus. Chennai is linked with all the major places in India through the numerous domestic flights. International flights operate from a variety of parts of the world to Chennai.

By Rail: The adjoining railway stations are Chengalpattu (29km) and Chennai (58km). From these stations one has to take road journey to reach Mamallapuram.

By Road: Buses are available from Pondicherry, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu and Chennai to Mamallapuram daily. Tourists can also hire a taxi from Chennai.

Budget Hotels and Resorts in Mahabalipuram, Chennai:

Green Coconut Beach Resort Mahabalipuram

58/1 East Coast Road,

Muttukadu,

Mahabalipuram,

Tamil Nadu,

India.

Airport – 20 kms

KG Emerald Beach Hotel Mahabalipuram

East Coast Road, Mahabalipuram,

Pin - 603104, Tamil Nadu,

Gopnath Beach,Guajarat-Location & Introduction,History,Lodging,Major Attraction

Gopnath Beach,Guajarat-Location & Introduction,History,Lodging,Major Attraction

Location & Introduction:

Locatation : Gopnath beach Gujarat is 275 km away from Ahmedabad, 75 km away from Bhavnagar which is well connected by rail and bus to Ahmedabad in India.

Touring Seasons : Through out the Year.

Gopnath Beach is a beach situated in the Talaja Taluka of Bhavnagar district of Gujarat state of India. It is located on the coast of the Gulf of Kambhat, at a distance of 75 km from the city of Bhavnagar. and 22 km. away from Talaja. Gopnath is a pristine beach known for its natural beauty. There is nice fort of king of Gohilvad in Gopnath.

Gopnath beach is known for its scenic beauty, limestone cliffs, natural surroundings and fascinating flora and fauna. A visit to the beach is an excellent way to relax, away from the hustle and bustle of the city life. The place is also home to a mansion built by the Maharaja for his comfortable stay. The mansion is now a tourist attraction for the people who come here. It was built in 1940s and has a huge complex, comprising of official chambers, residential quarters and cottages for the guests. Today, it provides limited accommodation facilities for the tourists.

Gopnath beach is an excellent break from the city during the summer months. Once Gopnath was the summer home of Maharaja Krishna Kumar Singhji of Bhavnagar. The Gopnath beach in Gujarat has lovely, soft sands for walking and shallow shore waters for wading, but the high tidal variance of the coast, makes the water murky and not very inviting for a long swim

Lodging in Gopnath:

Budget accommodations can be found in dharamshalas and guest houses near the temple. If you are search for a luxury class accommodation, you can find near Gopnath or Bhavnagar

Things to see in Gopnath Beach

Gopnath Temple

The 700 year elderly Gopnath temple is possibly the no more than one in India with flags of 2 colors - a white flag that denotes a Vishnu temple and a saffron flag on behalf of a Shiva temple.

Alang

Alang, is the leading ship breaking zone in the world. This harbor has attained this extraordinary specialization for the reason that of the nature of its tide. The twice monthly tides are incomparable at this harbor. The natural endowment of the region makes it a enormous tourist destinations in India.

Jhanjmer fort

Jhanjmer fort, supplementary down the coast, is an remarkable sight, named for the Kathi Rajput combatant chieftain, Jhanjhara Sinh of the Wala clan.

Gopnath BeachTalaja

Talaja, is a Jain temple compound meandering up to a 350 foot volcanic hill, which in turn is blemished by 1st century Buddhist caves - one of them espoused as hindu temples in India

Rajpara

Rajpara village has a gorgeous beach with white sand, extravagant rock formations. Though it is not exceedingly out of harm's way for swimming, it is enormous for the people who are in search of isolation and walks