Krishna Cave Temple

About

Mandapa of Krishna or Krishna Mandapam is a monument at Mahabalipuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is part of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1984. It is located on a hillock next to the open rock relief of Descent of the Ganges (Mahabalipuram).

It is constituted by an originally open-air bas-relief dedicated to Krishna, dating to the mid-seventh century, which was later enclosed within a mandapa in the 16th century during the Vijayanagara Empire. Notable carvings inside are sculpted panels that bring out the story of Krishna lifting the Govardhana Hill to protect the cowherds and gopis (milk maids) from heavy rains and floods – the "most poetic and endearing" Indian or Angkor sculpture-based representation of this legend – and there are also scenes of Krishna frolicking with the milk maids.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.