Thursday, September 8, 2011

Tiger's Cave, Mahabalipuram

Tiger's Cave is located in a small village Saluvankuppam 5 kms from Mahabalipuram. Don't be surprised, if you do not see neither a tiger nor a small dark den of the tiger.

This is actually a 8th century temple dedicated to Goddess Durga. This was built during the reign of Pallava Kings. The shrine is known by this name as there are series of carved heads of a animal that resembles tiger surrounding the entrance of the shrine.


48 comments:

George said...

It looks as if this temple must be approached by water. It is definitely an interesting and unusual temple, but impressive just the same.

Teamgsquare said...

Wonderful .

Aarti said...

Nice one... was here recently and there was just a small puddle of water in front of the cave...

Would be sending you a mail regarding a project am working on...

Anuradha Shankar said...

nice one! i wanted to visit this place when we went to mahabalipuram in may, but by the time we got through the main temples and caves we were so tired that no one wanted to go anywhere else! now will show them ur pics and demand another visit!

Travel France Online said...

you're sure no tiger is hidden behind a pillar? Is the temple on a small island in a pond?

Sridharan said...

I visited this place sometime back. Nice place. You seem to have gone there after some rains.. Did u drop by at the beach behind this monuement?

Unknown said...

WOW! Fantastic!

Al said...

That would be something to see. And it's many times older than my country. Nice shots!

Liz said...

Interesting cave. Happy sky watching.

Liz @ A Simple Life

Sylvia K said...

Lovely temple against the peaceful skies! Terrific captures as always, Rajesh! Hope your week is going well!

Sylvia

Unknown said...

Another great post Rajesh!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

VALKYRIEN said...

Very interesting building!

Pearl Maple said...

That is an intersting place to visit, the stories behind these places can be fascinating

Karen said...

Such an old temple, still beautiful. Is that water in front of it?

My name is Riet said...

THis is so interesting. Just great

Kay L. Davies said...

A very interesting place, Rajesh. I can see the "tiger" faces well in the second photo.
— K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Leovi said...

Nice pictures. I like the tiger's cave, spectacular.

Carver said...

That's a very interesting looking shrine.

eileeninmd said...

Rajesh, your temples are beautiful. Great shots, happy skywatching!

Indrani said...

I was not aware of such a wonderful place there. Great pic.

Penelope Notes said...

This is an interesting rounded structure unlike most temples I’ve seen here. Not only is it decorated with tigers it also seems to be surrounded by water.

forgetmenot said...

Another interesting temple. It looks like it comes right to the water's edge. Have a nice weekend. They sure get here quickly. Mickie :)

Anonymous said...

Wow - what an amazing place! Looks as if you have to get there in a boat.

alicesg said...

Very interesting to see this. If you have not mentioned, I thought the centre part is a door for the tigers to be released.

eden said...

Impressive temple. Beautiful photos.

thomas said...

A special temple fit for the kings.

Rajesh said...

Thank you. I am glad you all liked it.

Anu: Happy that you plan to visit this place again.

Sridhar: No, I did not had enough time to visit the beach.

Sorry, I forgot to mention that this temple is in a low lying area. Hence the water around the temple in the the rainy season. I will update the same in the post soon.

Míriam Luiza said...

Surpreendente foto!

Kim, USA said...

An amazing place to behold. But I won't messed up with the tigers ^_^

Sky View

Tania said...

Oh, that`s a really great cave! Your wonderful places as always.
Happy weekend!

'Tsuki said...

Well the tiger cave is something, my gosh... Those sculpture are impressive.

Pietro Brosio said...

Fantastic temple!

Jeevan said...

Excellent capture on the Tiger's cave! In childhood days i love to visit this place and even climbed on it. It was very quiet then.

robin. said...

great shots - many shadows abound.

Francisca said...

A most unique temple with a rather intimidating entrance. Awesome carvings.

Anonymous said...

What an amazing building!

Tatjana Parkacheva said...

Nice post and photos of this interesting temple.

Regards!

genie said...

I think it is time you take all of your BEST photos and put them not a book of the ancient temples. They are so amazing...and your writings which accompany them are so informative without being too much. This is a very different one from some of the other you have posted, but in its simplicity it is still awesome. genie

LV said...

A most interesting sight and the history behind it.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I'd be just as glad not to see a real tiger in there, that's for sure!
The carvings are beautiful.

genie said...

Another amazing and very different temple today. The name is so appropriate. I like how some are low nag long whilemothers are so tall. Genie

Jackie said...

Very interesting photographs of these ancient and historical buildings. Lovely shot.

Rajesh said...

Thank you all. I am glad you all appreciated this heritage.

Chapters From My Life said...

It is very fascinating and held me breathless for a while.. something very alluring about this place. Thanks for sharing this

Sujatha Sathya said...

oh we hadnt visited this one :(

Deepa Gopal said...

Gorgeous one! Love the strcuture:)

Anonymous said...

nice to know about this place and superb pics

Rajesh said...

Thank you all for appreciating this heritage.