Mahabalipuram complex and Descent of the Ganges - best of Indian heritage

  • 6 years ago
Mahabalipuram - also known as Mamallapuram is a town located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal in the Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu. It is situated around 60 kms south from the city of Chennai and is an ancient historical town. During the 7th century it was the port city of the Pallava dynasty.
The Pallava Dynasty ruled the southern parts of India for almost 500 years. It conquered the region of Thondai mandalam located at Pallavapuri. The Pallavas established their capital at Kanchi which gradually became popular and famous for its temples and as an epicentre of Vedic learning.

The Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram was built during the reign of the Pallava King Rajasimha in the 7th century. It is dedicated to the Hindu Gods Vishnu and Shiva.

The temple is listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO.

The Shore Temple comprises of three shrines, with the prominent ones dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. In one of the three shrines, the idol of Lord Vishnu is shown to be reclining on 'Seshanag' the serpent, a symbol of consciousness in Hinduism.

Another monument of Pallava architecture is Arjuna’s penance or descent of the Ganges. It depicts the story of Arjuna’s penance and the story of Bhagirath, who brought down the River Ganges to earth from the heavens.


This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of tens of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and admin@wildfilmsindia.com.