Saturday, January 21 - Mamallapurum and Kanchipurum

Mamallapurum is an important pilgrimage center in India.  I suppose because of the noon closure of temples and also the strong midday sun, Donalakshmi asked to begin our day at 7:45 today.  I'm glad she did because not only did we beat the crowds but most importantly we had excellent light for picture-taking as the morning sun raked bas-relief carvings.  First stop was the Shore Temple carved of granite rock for the "twin brothers of Mamalla", Vishnu and Shiva, in the early 8th century.  One way to identify deities is by the "weapons" they hold in their hands.  Vishnu holds a conch shell and a wheel; Shiva holds trident and a deer.  Neither Ferris nor I have yet to be able to spot the deer leading to many misidentifications.  We will keep trying.  Brahma is shown as having three faces. 

Next was the temple of the Five Rathas, five small chariots cut into rock, which had a wonderful free-standing carved elephant. 

Next the Ajuna Penance Panel, a site that our guidebook calls the "descent into the Ganges".  This is the site I'd most been looking forward to seeing and I was not disappointed.  We couldn't have been there in more perfect light.  This is a huge rock wall panel carved in bas-relief, reminiscent of scenes from Angkor Watt.  In it you see Krishna carrying the mountain to protect the world from rain and the water of the Ganges flowing down from above. 

We walked around to the back and entered the Varatha Cave where we saw Krishna depicted in the form of a boar and Lakshmi being bathed by two elephants. 

By this time it was about 10am and we set off for Kanchipuram.  The drive is extremely picturesque.  It's a two lane road through farming villages and rice fields.  Houses were interesting and seemed to fall into one of two types: a thatched hut made of banana fronds or two to three story dwellings painted in bright yellow, purple or green.  Women wear colorful saris and men wear white loin cloths that hang long to the top of the knee.  People carry huge baskets on their heads or piles of bricks or pales of dirt.  Huge heavy things.  Meanwhile their bodies look emaciated.  Mens' legs look like twigs with huge knobby knees.  I don't understand how they're so strong.  Men laze on the street, sometimes almost lying in the street, in the filthiest imaginable conditions.  Bulls and cows mill about everywhere, wandering through traffic and cars swerve around them.  It's as if every person and every animal can go exactly where they please as they please and the rest of the world will easily accommodate.  Traffic (i.e. motorized vehicles of all types) operates the same way.

Bulls have tremendously long curved horns.  Many are painted bright colors.  We saw monkeys running along the top of walls.  Apparently they live near Tamarind trees (they like the seeds) and there are oodles of Tamarind trees in this area. 

It seems as if Kanchipuram is an even more important temple city than Mamallapurum.  In Kanchipuram our first stop was the Sri Eakkambaranathar Temple which is dedicated to Shiva and Parvati.  We heard the story of Parvati's penance for accidentally covering Shiva's the third eye.  This is a long story but many of the items within the temple relate to it; there are over 1000 Shiva linga within and relics of an important mango tree.  And after we stopped at two more temples (whew) and all of this done before lunch!

Woman meditating in a temple niche.

Had lunch at a local hotel then stopped briefly at a sari weaving factory (briefly being the operative word).  45% of Kanchipuram residents are employed in the silk weaving industry so this is something the town is quite know for, aside from its temples. 

Returned to Mamallapurum very late afternoon, hot, thirsty, exhausted but satisfied.