Mandagapattu - The forgotten legacy of first ever cave temple of Tamil Kingdom

The temples in South India have always intrigued me. The inclination towards temple visits started with a close observation of the temple architecture in 2012/2013 alongside the main deity. My fascination towards temples grew after a number of visits to few temples across various parts of Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu is rightly called the ‘Land of Temples’ with thousands of temples of various Tamil dynasties adding to the beauty of the land. And a trip down south takes us down the memory lane of the great Pallava, Chola, Pandya rulers who have built the magnificent stone structures, brick temples and cave temples across Tamil Nadu that have stood the test of time and survived thousands of years. If stones could talk, the carvings of the great living temple of Tamil Nadu would reveal the secrets of the ancestral past. As we admire the Tamil kings for their creativity, architecture, urban planning, administration and their practices, their farsightedness to inscribe valuable information in the temples for the future generations, requires a special mention. 

Sasi from Walkwithus sharing details on the evolution of temples in Tamil Nadu

In March 2017, I signed up for a heritage trip with a group called ‘Walkwithus’, who shed in some more light on the evolution of temples in Tamil Nadu. ‘Walkwithus’ is a group of tamil history enthusiasts who organize free temple walks to create awareness about tamil heritage and are also actively involved in promotion and conservation of various places which hold significance in Tamil history.

Massive dwarapalas at the entrance of Mandagapattu cave temple

From small beginnings come greater things. As the history goes, the early Pallava rulers of the 2^nd-6^th century who were followers of Buddhism, Jainism and Saivism built the temples with bricks. However, in the 7^th century, King Mahendra Pallava I (மகேந்திரவர்மன் 600–630 CE) came up with a revolutionary concept to carve out a temple structure out of a rock mountain to come up with a rock cut cave temple (in Mandagapattu) that can survive thousands of years compared to the brick structures. The Ajantha/Ellora caves and the Badami caves were built even prior to the 6^th century, however, it did take some time for the idea and concept to travel down south. In the age of brick masonry temples, it was Mahendra Pallava I, the ‘Vichitrachita’, who took up the mission of carving out a temple from a 100 feet hillock. This early form of Pallava art shows the doorkeeper dwarapalas carved at both ends of the rock cut cave. The pillars are plain in the early Pallava architecture and there are no embellishments in the walls and pillars.

The rock cut structure has a slightly projected ardhamandapa to show its difference from the mukhamandapa

The lone inscription in the temple in Pallava Granta (Sanskrit) suggests that this could probably be the first of a kind timber-less, brick-less, mortar-less, metal-less mansion of Brahma, Vishnu and Ishwara.

अतद्निष्टकंद्रुं [मलो]-
हमसुधं [ विचित्रचि] त्तेन
निम्मर्पितन्न्रपे [ण] ब्रह्मो –
श्वरविष्णुल [क्षि] तायनं

Pallava Granta inscription describing the temple to be probably the first of a kind brick-less, mortar-less, timber-less, metal-less structure built for worshipping Brahma, Vishnu and Ishwara.

The Mandagapattu rock cut temple lies in a sorry state dumped with trashed and lacking proper maintenance, though it’s under ASI. Lost in the pages of history, Mandagapattu still holds a significant place in history signifying the evolution of long-lasting temple structure. It is strongly believed that the rock cut temples started from here and the Pallavas evolved slowly from this stage to the awe-inspiring Mahabalipuram rock cut temples. The next stage with some decorative embellishments in pillars are seen in the Thalavanur cave temple.

Reaching Mandagapattu:-
Mandagapattu is 140 kms from Chennai and 30 kms away from Villupuram.
There is no public transport available to this place.