In Varaha Swami, one of the pagodas at present in use, and surrounded by a modern walled cemetery, there is visible, on the exterior of the Temple, an inscription in Tamil, which is, however, utterly unintelligible to the natives. This inscription, deciphered latterly by Babington, refers to a donation to the pagoda by a sincere Hindoo believer, and gives the most complete detail, together with signature of the donor. The name Mahamalaipur,[110] the "City of the Sacred Hill," occurs frequently in it.
[110] Dr. Elliot writes Mamallaipuram; the natives call the place Mahawalipuram, obviously a mere corruption of the customary mode of spelling.
In the course of conversation with some of our Hindoo followers, we remarked that they made no difference between a "kovül" or praying-house, in which the divinities are never produced, but are guarded under lock and key, and a pagoda, which is a residence of the gods, from which they can be carried forth and afterwards brought back. Hence it is that a pagoda is more readily accessible than a kovül, the sanctity of which it is forbidden him to violate.
In 1845, Mr. Elliot, by a private arrangement with the Brahmins, was permitted, on payment of Rs. 30 (£3), to break away the partition which divided the inscriptions into two portions, in order to prepare three copies, and have them translated by three Tamil scholars. One of these translators was the learned Tandavaraya Mudaliar, of Chingleput. The inscription contains the history of two donations, on the enlargement and laying the foundation-stone of the temple, accomplished by the "Kanattan" of the village, and, lastly, a gift of 90 goats by the Siva Brahmin Paramesvara-Mahavara, on the stipulation that a lamp should be kept constantly burning in the temple: the whole dating from the year 1073. It results from this interpretation that the inscription was put up towards the end of the 11th century, thus supplying some clue to the age of this rock temple, which, according to Mr. Elliot's researches, does not exceed a thousand years.
ENTRANCE TO ONE OF THE TEMPLES.
To this Vahara Swami, which seems to contain their whole history, the natives wander regularly every morning, and sometimes two or three times during the day, to offer flowers, cocoa-nuts, and other fruits. A flight of steps cut in the rock leads to the highest platform, whence there is an excellent view over these monumental edifices.
That fancy has been called in to invest these unique unfinished sculptures with the character of pleasure-grottoes, baths, &c., &c., of historical personages, is readily intelligible. Thus, for example, the guide does not fail to point out to the stranger a sort of stone cistern hewn out of the solid rock, traditionally reported to have been once the plunge-bath of Dubrotis. This colossal basin has about 2½ feet water during the rainy season, which gradually evaporates, or is drawn off for use. The water, tinged with the yellow colour of the soil, leaves a mark behind on the stone sides, which naturally becomes very visible during the dry season. This the natives maintain marks the height of the water as often as Dubrotis, (Dharma Rajah's consort), bathed herself in it. Another similar block of gneiss was transformed into a stone couch, and is called Dharma Rajah's bed, at the upper end of which, near the head, a tiger is crouched to guard it. This gigantic ellipsoidal block of rock, which seems as though balanced on a sharp point, could neither be displaced nor made to oscillate by continued leaping. Some masses of rock piled up above the grottoes were once Siva's kitchen, and so forth. All these spots, however, have in reality not the slightest historic significance; it is only the present generation that have tacked on to them legends, traditions, and interpretations, which assuredly never were in the intention of the constructors.
On a slope on one side of the mountain are a number of sculptures of remarkable beauty, representing the history of Tapasa, or the deep penitence of Ardschuna. On the right hand, close to the figure of the penitent Ardschuna, one perceives a multitude of people, two elephants as large as life and wonderfully finished, a tiger, and a figure, half woman half serpent. This relief, one of the finest we have seen, is a huge sculpture on the rock, 20 feet long by 30 in height, comprising hundreds of figures, with an idol in the centre, to which from all sides worshipping deities, men, and beasts, bow the knee in supplicatory attitudes; along the edge are elephants, life size, with their young. The colour of the rock, somewhat resembling that of the animal, tends still more to deceive the eye, and make the beholder doubt whether he is looking upon sculptures or upon living elephants. Elliot and others who have described these rock temples, assign to them, as already mentioned, a comparatively small antiquity. They are representations borrowed from the poem of Mahabharata, in the Hindoo mythology. The five roundish temples to the south of the village are beyond all question the oldest of these monuments. They are pagodas that have never been completed; solid, and here and there showing marks of work, but only adorned externally, the interiors being masses of unhewn granite; each of these temples is 30 feet in length by 20 in breadth and height. Thus far, the inscriptions have been ascertained to be in threefold characters, of which two are as yet undecipherable. Babington was the first to attempt to decipher them, or at all events to find the key by which to decipher them. The most important has been copied and interpreted. But neither the inscriptions nor the various representations give the slightest historical clue as to the object of these monuments. Taylor's researches seem to establish the fact, that in the 17th century this district was inhabited by the Corumbas, a half-civilized race of the Dschaina religion. About this period, or a little later, in the reign of Abondai, one of the princes, whose capitals were Conjeveran and Tripetty, the Brahmins were introduced to this neighbourhood. The extent of these works, however, their nature, and the immense expense incurred, all point to a long-continued influence of the Brahmins. Most of these temples seem to have been first erected in the 17th century, under Prince Sinhamanayadu, and Elliot assigns to several even a much later date.