A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c8.89

c8.89

The history of the style begins in the seventh century with the Dharmarāja Ratha, the earliest of the rock-cut *rathas* at Māmallapuram, thirty-five miles south of Madras, commonly known as the Seven Pagodas, which were excavated in the reign of Narasimha-varman, surnamed Mahāmalla, the Pallava king who defeated Pulakesin II Chalukya in A. D. 642. All the Seven Pagodas are the work of one Pallava king or another during the seventh century. I give an illustration of the Ganesa Ratha (*cir.* A. D. 680), with a ridge roof (Fig. 11). Some of the others are crowned by domes.