Pallava Architecture, Part I (MASI 17) c2.52

c2.52

Examples of the Māmalla style are only found at the Seven Pagodas. It will be remembered that it was Māmalla who founded Māmallapuram, naming the town after himself. Although most of the monuments there may be said to be in the Māmalla style, it is quite certain that all of them could not possibly have been excavated during his life-time, as the work must have taken over a century and even then was never finished. Therefore, we may presume that Māmalla's son and successor Mahendravarman II, and also the latter's son Paramēśvaravarman I, carried on the work begun by Māmalla, keeping more or less to the original style. Being rock-cut monuments their orientation was somewhat a matter of chance and not of choice perhaps, but most of them face the east or the west, usually the latter. A few were dedicated to Vishnu but most of them are dedicated to Siva and his consort Pārvatī, the latter sometimes in the form of Dūrga. Several of the temples were dedicated to Siva in the form of Sōmaskanda and these have a panel or niche carved in the back or west wall of the sanctum immediately behind the linga and facing the east. This panel contains a bas-relief sculpture representing Siva and Pārvatī seated on a pedestal with the child Skānda between them. Sometimes Brahma and Vishnu are depicted at the back of the panel as attendants on Siva.