AndreaV955081450 at 23:53, 28 March 2026

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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox temple
| name = Ganesha Ratha
| image = File:Ganesha Ratha Mahabalipuram Sep22 A7C 02582.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Ganesha Ratha, front view
| map_type =
| map_caption =
| other_names =
| proper_name =
| country = India
| state = [[Tamil Nadu]]
| district = [[Kancheepuram district]]
| location = [[Mahabalipuram]]
| elevation_m =
| deity = Initially Shiva Linga now replaced by [[Ganesha]]
| primary_deity_Godess=
| utsava_deity_God =
| utsava_deity_Godess=
| Direction_posture =
| Pushakarani =
| Vimanam =
| Poets =
| Prathyaksham =
| festivals=
| architecture =
| temple_quantity =
| monument_quantity=
| inscriptions =
| year_completed = {{circa}} 650
| creator = [[Mamalla]]
| website =
}}

'''Ganesha Ratha''' is a [[temple]] in [[Kancheepuram district]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]].
It is one of ten ''rathas'' ("chariots") carved out of pink [[granite]] within the [[Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram|group of monuments]] of the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallava Period]] at [[Mahabalipuram]], a [[UNESCO]]-inscribed [[World Heritage Site]] since 1984.<ref name=UNESCO/> The ratha is an example of [[monolithic architecture|monolith]] [[Indian rock-cut architecture]] dating from the late seventh century during the reign of King [[Mahendravarman I]] and his son [[Narasimhavarman I]].
Initially constructed with a [[Shiva Linga]], it is now deified with a [[Ganesha]] deity after the linga was removed.

==Geography==
{{Main|Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram}}
The temple is located in Mamallapuram, now known as Mahabalipuram,<ref name="RingWatson2012">{{cite book|first1=Trudy|last1= Ring|first2=Robert M.|last2=Salkin|first3=Sharon |last3=La Boda|title=Asia and Oceania: International Dictionary of Historic Places|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vWLRxJEU49EC&pg=PA912|accessdate=3 January 2013|date=12 November 2012|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-884964-04-6|pages=912–}}</ref> on the [[Coromandel Coast]] in the [[Bay of Bengal]] of the [[Indian Ocean]], within the Kanchipuram district. Within the UNESCO-inscribed area, there are scores of other monuments.<ref name=UNESCO>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/249/|title=Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram|publisher=UNESCO|accessdate=2007-02-08}}</ref> It is located on a hillock to the northwest and on the backside of the rock with the [[rock relief]] of [[Arjuna's Penance]] (or ''Descent of the Ganges'').<ref name=Planet>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/tamil-nadu/mamallapuram-mahabalipuram/sights|title=Arjuna's Penance|accessdate=30 December 2012}}</ref><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=6. Ganesha Ratha|accessdate=20 February 2013|publisher=Indian History and Architecture, Puratattva.in|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|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Situated {{convert|2|m}} from the [[Varaha Cave Temple]], the Ganesha Ratha is west facing.

==History==
[[File:Info Board Ganesha Ratha Mahabalipuram Sep22 A7C 02581.jpg|thumb|Info board by [[Archaeological Survey of India|ASI]]]]
The Ganesha Ratha is a fully completed rock-cut structure, while nearby rathas are incomplete.<ref name=Tatva/> The current stone ratha is a replica of a wooden version which preceded it.<ref name=ASI>{{Cite web|url=http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/mamallapuram/mam01.html|title=Pancha Rathas, Mamallapuram |accessdate=23 October 2012|publisher=Archaeological Survey of India}}</ref><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|accessdate=9 January 2013|year=2003|publisher=Laurence King Publishing|isbn=978-1-85669-371-4|page=75}}</ref> Its construction is credited to Narasimhavarman I who reigned 630-668AD.<ref name="JāvīdJaveed2008">{{cite book|first1=ʻAlī|first2=Tabassum|last2= Javeed|title=World Heritage Monuments and Related Edifices in India (500 B/W illustr.)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54XBlIF9LFgC&pg=PA173|accessdate=7 February 2013|year=2008|publisher=Algora Publishing|isbn=978-0-87586-484-6|pages=173–|last1=Jāvīd}}</ref> While it is conjectured that this ratha was built prior to the other rathas of the area, there is no historical evidence to confirm it.

The temple was originally dedicated to Shiva but in the 1880s, villagers replaced the Shiva Linga with an image of Ganesha, after formally seeking permission from the District Collector, and may have been attributed to King [[George V]] of the United Kingdom.<ref name="Guides2012">{{cite book|author=Rough Guides|title=Tamil Nadu Rough Guides Snapshot India (includes Chennai, Mamallapuram, Puducherry, Thanjavur, Madurai, Kanyakumari, Kodaikannal and Udhagamandalam)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_YvJBMOjeiEC&pg=PT54|accessdate=23 February 2013|date=22 March 2012|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-1-4093-6215-9|pages=54–}}</ref> The original Shiva Linga is installed under a tree nearby.<ref name=Tatva/> Along with several other monuments, this temple gained UNESCO World Heritage Site distinction in 1984 as "Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram".<ref name="UNESCO" />

==Architecture==

===Layout===
[[File:Ratha detail face.JPG|right|thumb|[[gavaksha|Kudus]] (Horse-shoe shaped dormer windows) carved on the cornices for the entire length, above the pillars]]
It is built to a rectangular plan which measures {{Convert|20|x|11.5|ft}}, and is {{Convert|28|ft}} in height on the exterior. The interior rectangular chamber measures {{Convert|7|x|4|ft}}, and is {{Convert|7|ft}} in height. The ratha is three tiered and studded with images and other architectural features which are found in other [[South India]]n temples.<ref name=Tatva/><ref name="JāvīdJaveed2008"/> The facade is a columned [[verandah]] flanked by sculptures of ''dwarapalakas'' (guardians).<ref name=Tatva/><ref name=Ganesh>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/g/019pho000000027u00066000.html|title=Ganesha ratha, Mamallapuram|accessdate=23 October 2012|publisher=Online Gallery of British Library|archive-date=18 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218181653/http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/g/019pho000000027u00066000.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The columns are mounted on seated lions which are the typecast design of Pallava architecture. There are also two pilasters, which are also lion mounted, and they face each other. It is a rock cut structure. The cornices above the pillars have ''Kudu'' (Horse-shoe shaped dormer windows) depictions along its entire length and these ''kudus'' are also depicted at the gable ends of the roof. Below the gabled roofs, on both long ends windows are carved in horseshoe shape with three doors, the central door has a sculpture of a human head with a trident akin to Shiva. At the other end of the gable, this sculpture is missing. In the back wall between the pilasters, images are not carved.<ref name="JāvīdJaveed2008"/> The roof covering above the top floor is large, vaulted, and wagon-shaped, with arches at the corners. The top of the vaulted roof is fitted with a series of nine vase-shaped [[finials]] each consisting of a pot and [[trident]].<ref name=Tatva/><ref name="JāvīdJaveed2008"/><ref name=Ganesh/>

===Features===
There are 18 inscriptions in [[Grantha alphabet|Grantha]] and [[Nāgarī script]]s of the [[Sanskrit language]] inscribed on its west portico. Out of the fourteen verses in these inscriptions, the twelfth verse is ascribed to Narasimhavarman I's grandson, [[Paramesvaravarman I]], surnamed Atyantakama,<ref name="Jouveau-Dubreuil1994">{{cite book|last=Jouveau-Dubreuil|first=G.|title=Pallava Antiquities – 2 Vols.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QbYKPXQ3DaAC&pg=PA63|accessdate=23 February 2013|date=1 December 1994|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-0571-8|pages=63–}}</ref> who as the Pallava king was known as Atyantakama, Atyantakama-Pallaveshvara-Griham. Other verses are in praise of Shiva.<ref name=Tatva/><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 |accessdate=30 December 2012 |date=8 November 2003 |publisher=Front Line India's National Magazine from the publishers of [[The Hindu]] }}</ref>

==References==
{{Commons category|Ganesha Ratha}}
{{reflist}}

{{Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram}}

{{coord|12.6184|N|80.1925|E|source:wikidata|display=title}}

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

Ganesha Ratha - Revision history

AndreaV955081450 at 23:53, 28 March 2026