Pancha Rathas is a monument complex at Mahabalipuram in India. The coastal city is a suburb of Chennai on the coast of the Bay of Bengal in Southern India and was a major seaport of the ancient Pallava kingdom. The monument site consist of five monolithic temple structures built by the Pallavas in the early 7^th century AD.

While the site looks like several stone structures the entire complex was carved out of a single large boulder. There are five separate temple structures along with a carved elephant, lion and cow.

The four photos below are a series of photos the show all five of the temple structures.

The largest temple is in the center of the complex and in front of that temple is the second largest temple. These temples are impressive with columns supporting the sides and lot of details on the roof structures.

The three smaller structures are in the back of the complex along with the carved animals. While these temples are smaller than the first two, the carvings on the exterior are similar and just as impressive.

The Dust on My Shoes

During my travels, I see lots of impressive modern day sites. I marvel at some of the tallest buildings ever built and I enjoy seeing big city skylines. I admire the creativity and design of our architecture and the complex functions that go into some of the multi-colored light shows. The compound at Pancha Rathas seems simple compared to our modern day sites but I am equally amazed that someone could have the vision to create a site like this out of a single rock.

Creating something that is different than anything like it is impressive to me. One of the most important things that I get from my travels is to see creations that are unique from anything that I have ever seen before.

“Seeing places like Pancha Rathas helps me to be more creative and to see a solution where other just see an obstacle, like a large unmovable rock.”

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