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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox temple
| name = Arjuna Ratha
| image = Arjuna's ratha.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Arjuna Ratha
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| other_names =
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| sanskrit_translit =
| tamil =
| marathi =
| bengali =
| country = India
| state = [[Tamil Nadu]],
| district = [[Kancheepuram district]]
| location = [[Mahabalipuram]]
| elevation_m =
| deity = [[Shiva]]
| primary_deity_Godess =
| utsava_deity_God =
| utsava_deity_Godess=
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| Pushakarani =
| Vimanam =
| Poets =
| Prathyaksham =
| festivals=
| architecture =
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| year_completed = {{circa}} 650<ref>{{cite book|title=The Culture of India |isbn=9780852297629 |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |year=2010 |page=315 }}</ref> [[Common era]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Student Britannica India 7 Vols |page=5 |author=Ramchandani, Indu |publisher=Popular Prakashan |year=2000 |isbn=9780852297629 }}</ref>
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| coordinates = {{coord|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
}}
'''Arjuna Ratha''' is a monument from the [[Pallava Dynasty|Pallava Period]] at [[Mahabalipuram]], on the [[Coromandel Coast]] of the [[Bay of Bengal]], in [[Kancheepuram district]] of [[Tamil Nadu]], India. Dated to the seventh century, it is an example of early Dravidian architecture and of [[monolithic architecture|monolith]] [[Indian rock-cut architecture]] dating from the late 7th century during reign of King [[Mahendravarman I]] and his son [[Narasimhavarman I]] (630–680 AD) of the [[Pallava Kingdom]]. One of the [[Pancha Rathas]],<ref name="Allen1991">{{cite book|last=Allen|first=Margaret Prosser|title=Ornament in Indian Arch|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vyXxEX5PQH8C&pg=PA139|access-date=5 January 2013|year=1991|publisher=University of Delaware Press|isbn=978-0-87413-399-8|page=139}}</ref> it is believed to have been completed before the [[Dharmaraja Ratha]], and like that and the [[Bhima Ratha]], the stone temple is a replica of an earlier wooden version which preceded it.<ref name="Allen1991"/><ref name="MoffettFazio2003">{{cite book|last1=Moffett|first1=Marian|last2=Fazio|first2=Michael W.|last3=Wodehouse|first3=Lawrence|title=World History of Architecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IFMohetegAcC&pg=PT75|access-date=9 January 2013|year=2003|publisher=Laurence King Publishing|isbn=978-1-85669-371-4|page=75}}</ref> It is one of the [[Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram]] designated as a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] since 1984.<ref name=UNESCO>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/249/|title=Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram|publisher=World Heritage|access-date=2007-02-08}}</ref>

==Geography==
The structure is located at Mahabalipuram (previously known as Mammallapuram) on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal in the [[Indian Ocean]], in Kancheepuram district. It is approximately {{convert|35|miles}} south of [[Chennai]] (previously known as Madras), the capital city,<ref name=Gunther>{{Cite web|url=http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/mamallapuram/mam01.html|title=Pancha Rathas, Mamallapuram |access-date=23 October 2012|work=art-and-archaeology.com|first=Michael D. |last=Gunther}}</ref> while [[Chengalpattu]] is about {{convert|20|miles}} distant.<ref name="Ayyar1982">{{cite book|first=P. V. Jagadisa |last=Ayyar|title=South Indian Shrines: Illustrated|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NLSGFW1uZboC&pg=PA157|access-date=7 February 2013|year=1982|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-0151-2|pages=157–}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|Pancha Rathas}}
Like the other four Pancha Rathas, this stone edifice is a replica of a wooden version which preceded it.<ref name="MoffettFazio2003" /> The monument is incomplete.<ref>{{cite book|title=Art history |first=Marilyn |last=Stokstad |year=2008 |publisher=Pearson Education |isbn=9780131577046 |page=333 }}</ref>

==Architecture==
All of the Pancha Rathas are aligned in a north–south direction and share a common plinth which is north–south oriented and has a gentle slope. They have no precedent in Indian architecture and have proved to be "templates" for building larger temples in the South Indian tradition of Dravidian temple architecture.<ref name=Rathas>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/t/019pho0000472s1u00027000.html|title=The Rathas, monolithic Mamallapuram|access-date=19 February 2013|publisher=Online Gallery of the British Library}}</ref> Though cut out of monolithic rocks, they are carved in the form of structural temples in regular building form and hence termed as "quasimonolithic temple form".
[[File:The Arjuna Ratha.jpg|left|thumb|A close view of carvings on the external wall of the Arjuna Ratha.]]

===Layout===
The ratha is a simple structure, resembling a small palace or pavilion. It is carved over an elongated stone rock formation, a protrusion above the sand near the coast (which has a gradually rising slope from the north end to the southern end) of a moulded plinth, with a square plan similar to the Dharmaraja Ratha. It faces west and measures {{convert|11.5|x|16|ft}} and is {{convert|20|ft}} in height. It is on the same ''upapitha'' (secondary platform) as the [[Draupadi Ratha]] next to it.<ref name=Front>{{Cite web|url=http://www.flonnet.com/fl2023/stories/20031121000107100.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130410195340/http://www.flonnet.com/fl2023/stories/20031121000107100.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 April 2013 |title=A monumental effort |access-date=30 December 2012 |date=8 November 2003 |publisher=Front Line India's National Magazine from the publishers of [[The Hindu]] }}</ref>

===Features===
This ratha is similar in form to the Dharmaraja Ratha except that it has one less tier at the top, and has an octagonal dome with a stone lion carved in the front yard. It is a monolithic rock-cut ratha with a ''garbhagriha'' (sanctum sanctorum), a ''dvitala'' (two-tiered) [[Vimana]] (flying aircraft) with a ''mukhamandapa'' (inner porch). It has two levels and has one shrine. It is also square in plan. In many ways, it rhythmically mirrors the Dharmaraja ratha. For example, the decoration and structure of cornice, ''[[Gavaksha|kudus]]'' and the ''haras'' are similar.<ref name=ramaswami39/> The shikhara of the Arjuna ratha, however, is octagonal.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Fergusson|first1=James|title=The Cave Temples of India|last2=Burgess|first2=James|publisher=W.H. Allen & Company|year=1880|pages=122–123}}</ref><ref name="Williams1981p57"/> The walls of the ratha are carved into panels with fourteen sculptures. Four of these are dvarapalas, one Vishnu, a [[rishi]] (sage) with a student, a Kartikeya (Murugan) which could alternatively be Indra, one Shiva with Nandi, and the rest are human beings shown in different stages of their life including couples.<ref name=ramaswami39/> The Arjuna ratha has a lion and Nandi bull on each side between it and the Draupadi ratha that follows next, but their orientation suggests that this ratha was not meant for Shiva.<ref name="Williams1981p57"/> According to Susan Huntington, it is unclear for whom this temple was meant and she states it could be [[Ayyappa]] (Dharma-shasta).<ref name="Williams1981p57"/> The tower consists of a round ''shikara''. The monument looks odd on its side, partly because its original pillars were lost and have been replaced with modern era restorative pillars that do not fit with the texture or style of the original creation.<ref name=ramaswami39>{{cite book|author= NS Ramaswami|title = 2000 years of Mamallapuram| year=1989| publisher= Navrang|pages=39–43}}</ref> There is a standing elephant to the northwest of the Arjuna ratha.<ref name=ramaswami44>{{cite book|author= NS Ramaswami|title = 2000 years of Mamallapuram| year=1989| publisher= Navrang|pages=43–44}}</ref><ref name="Williams1981p57">{{cite book|author=Susan L Huntington|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-qoeAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA59|title=Kalādarśana: American Studies in the Art of India|publisher=BRILL|year=1981|isbn=90-04-06498-2|editor=Joanna Gottfried Williams|pages=57–64|chapter=Chapter: Iconographic Reflections on the Arjuna Ratha}}</ref>

Surface ornamentation is a prominent feature in the ratha.<ref name="Michell1988">{{cite book|author= Michell, George|title=The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ajgImLs62gwC&pg=PA81|access-date=3 January 2013|date=15 September 1988|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-53230-1|pages=81–82}}</ref>

The ''adhisthana'' (platform of the main deity) is in simple ''[[Padabandha]]'' style.<ref name=Sites>{{Cite web|url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_whs_mahabalipuram.asp|title= World Heritage Sites – Mahabalipuram, Group of Monuments Mahabalipuram (1984), Tamil Nadu| access-date=23 October 2012|publisher=Archaeological Survey of India}}</ref> It has slit-niches between finely carved pillars displaying deities such as [[Vishnu]], [[Murugan|Skanda]] on an elephant and [[Shiva]] as Siva-Vrishabhantika (riding a [[Nandi (bull)|Nandi]] (bull), and figures such as [[Parthihara]]s, a [[Siddha]], a [[Chowri]] bearer, [[apsara]]s and others.<ref name=Sites/> The central sculpture is a depiction of Shiva crossing his legs and leaning on Nandi.<ref name="AA">{{cite web|url=http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/mamallapuram/mam04.html|title=Arjuna Ratha|publisher=Art-and-archaeology.com|access-date=5 January 2013}}</ref> One of the sculptures in the south wall is known as the "[[Ardhanareeswara]]", representing masculinity through the twist in the brows and the holding hands and femininity in the subtle raise of Uma's hips.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.varalaaru.com/Default.asp?articleid=741|title=The Five Rathas of Mahabalipuram|publisher=Varalaaru|access-date=5 January 2013}}</ref> On this wall the depiction of two ladies is also of note.<ref name="AA"/>

It has a life-size Nandi sculpture facing west.<ref name=Nandi>{{Cite web|url=http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/mamallapuram/mam05.html|title=Nandi|access-date=20 February 2013|publisher= Art-and-archaeology.com}}</ref> Dvarapalas or guards are not carved at the entry facade but are seen on the exterior faces of the ratha due to lack of space inside the shrine.<ref name=Tatva>{{Cite web|url=http://puratattva.in/2010/08/23/mahabalipuram-the-workshop-of-pallavas-part-iii-43.html|title=Mahabalipuram – The Workshop of Pallavas – Part III|work=2. Arjuna Ratha|publisher=Indian History and Architecture, Puratattva.in|date=23 August 2010|access-date=20 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225063607/http://puratattva.in/2010/08/23/mahabalipuram-the-workshop-of-pallavas-part-iii-43.html|archive-date=25 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Nandi at Pancha Rathas.jpg|[[Nandi (bull)|Nandi]] sculpture behind Arjuna Ratha
File:Draupadi and Arjuna temples.jpg|[[Draupadi]] and Arjuna rathas on the same ''upapitha'' (secondary platform)
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram}}

[[Category:Hindu temples in Mahabalipuram]]
[[Category:Pancha Rathas]]
[[Category:Historic sites in Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Architecture of Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Pallava architecture]]

Arjuna Ratha - Revision history

TameraWhitham at 23:53, 28 March 2026