History, Importance, Architecture, Timings, Interesting Facts and Travel Guide of Panch Rath Temple, Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, India
Panch Ratha or five Pandava Rath or Five Chariot of Pandava brothers is the excellent example of monolithic India rock cut architecture located at southern edge of Mahabalipuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu, India. Sometime these are referred as Chariot temple or monolithic rock temple, constructed during the rule of Narasimhavarman I – 630 to 668 AD in honour of the Five Pandava Brother - great heroes of the Mahabharata. This is part of UNESCO World Heritage site described as Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. These five cave temple or monolithic temples of Mahabalipuram which resembles the Chariot which reflects the majestic architecture of Pallava rulers. This site has around 40 different monuments and Hindu Temples, including one of the largest open-air rock reliefs in the world- Arjuna’s Penance.
The Rock Temple is a very attractive place to the people who love to see the art on the stones and the Mahabharata lovers are very eager to visit this place as their heroes are given tribute here. It is yet unknown if these rathas have ever been used as temples and worship, as some of the works in these structures are still incomplete.
During the time of Pallavas, they built this Temple to give tribute to the Pandavas. The five Raths are made out of just one single piece of stone. The construction pattern of the temple is looks likes the Buddhist viharas and chaityas style. The Raths were of Yudhishthira or Dharmraja, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, and their beloved wife Draupadi. The temple is very nicely carved and the remaining portion was used to carve the animals in a very natural way.
In the Rath of the Dharmraja, the biggest one, there were the images of the Shiva, Harihara and Brahma. The Bhima Rath has the oblong shape and it has the image of the recycling Vishnu, The Arjuna’s Rath had the images of Lord Vishnu and Brahma and Lord Shiva. The Draupadi Rath is very simple and smallest which looks like hut dedicated to the deity of Devi Durga. Nakul and Sahadev Rath is near to Arjuna Rath which is dedicated to Lord Indra. There is a huge monolithic elephant right beside it. As the structure of this Rath looks like backside of an elephant, it is referred as ‘Gajaprishtakara’ and the style as ‘gajapristha’. You will also find the Ganesha and the Pidaris Rath also carve here.
How to reach Panch Rath, Mahabalipuram
As Mahabalipuram is UNESCO World Heritage Site and major tourist attraction of Tamil Nadu, India, it is very well connected via Air, Road and Rail network. Mahabalipuram is just located at 57 km from Chennai, 67 km from Kanchipuram, 96 km from Pondicherry, 290 from Trichy. The nearest airport from Mahabalipuram is Chennai international airport from where you can get flight to any city across India and world.The nearest railway station from Mahabalipuram is Chengalpattu, situated around 29 km away. You can get trains for Chennai and other major cities in South India from here. Via road, all major cities of Tamil Nadu are well connected with Mahabalipuram.
