THE HOLY MOUNTAIN.
These singular and majestic specimens of architecture are about 3 miles from Sadras, being situated on the coast northwards, and about 500 paces from the canal. They consist of temples, grottoes, bas-reliefs, cisterns, stone-benches, and thousands of sculptures in long ranges of bas-reliefs, which afford an abundant store of antiquarian research. They go by the name of the Seven Pagodas (from Baghavati—Holy House, whence the European corruption, Pagoda), from the circumstance, that there are, upon the very brink of the ocean, seven temples hewn out of one piece of rock. The Brahminical legends speak of an entire city having existed here, of which only the fragments are now washed by the sea. But, according to Babington's and Heber's minute researches in this neighbourhood,[107] there seems no doubt that there never existed any large city here, but that the whole was a mere myth of the Brahmins, who procured a royal gift, an Agrabaram in this neighbourhood, and with subtle forethought left here a caste of stone-cutters, who from time to time, under the guidance of their priests, executed these sculptures for the adornment of their sanctuary, which are justly the objects of wonder to their descendants. To this day, even, there dwell here certain families of stone-cutters, who work these singular rocks as granite quarries, and make money by the trade. The Seven Pagodas, specially so-called, are monolith temples, hewn on the spot out of massive blocks of rock. The mountain itself, a huge block of granite, to which the entire locality owes its reputation as a site of works of art, is covered, behind as well as in the front slope, with innumerable figures.
[107] Benjamin Guy Babington. An Account of the Sculptures and Inscriptions of Mahamalaipuram, illustrated by Plates I.-XVIII., in the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain, London, 1819, p. 258. Bishop Heber's Narrative, London, 1828, Vol. III., p. 216.
After our arrival, we made a hasty circuit through the place, so as first of all to be able to identify them, and be in a position to recognize the various sculptures and bas-reliefs cut out in the solid granite rock. The greater number of the sculptures represent either the one or the other descriptions of the Avatars (the incarnations or transfigurations) of Vishnù, to whom the larger proportion of the temples is dedicated. In one of these temples, we perceived the god Vishnù in the fifth, or Dwarf Incarnation, in the course of which he had, under the guise of a Brahminical dwarf, begged of King Balitscha-Kravathi—who, by his piety, had acquired so much power over the gods, that they had to transfer to him the dominion of sea and land, and had in consequence waxed arrogant—as much soil as he could traverse in three steps! The wealthy Rajah made no objection to complying with the apparently moderate request of the pigmy being before him. On the opposite wall of the temple we now see, in a large admirably executed bas-relief, how Vishnù, represented on this occasion with eight arms, at once embraced heaven and earth with his left foot, and as there was thus no more room left for the next step, Vishnù released the haughty Rajah from his promise, on condition that he should descend to the infernal regions. From this feat, Vishnù bears the name of Triwikrama and Tripadas (thrice-stepper).
In the next rock grotto we came to, we beheld the Life of Krishna, the shepherd-god, represented, first as tending his sheep, surrounded by cows, goats frisking about, &c. Walter Elliot names this representation "Krischna's Choultry," or the abode of the priests. The temple has a frontage of 50 feet, is from 30 to 40 feet in depth, and has about twenty figures.
From this spot, our guide, a Brahmin, brought us to what is called the Ganeza Temple, a monolith Pagoda. When we expressed a wish to touch the face of Ganeza (a son of Siva), cut in stone and plentifully besmeared with oil and lard, one of the Hindoo attendants hurried forwards to prevent us from being guilty of insult to this much-beloved divinity. The inscription to the right, in front of the niche in which Ganeza, hewn out of a single block of granite, is represented in a sitting posture, consists of verses and prayers to Siva, written in Sanscrit.
THE GOD GANEZA.