A Trailblazer Monument
South India is indeed a treasure trove of temple architecture. The Dravida Style is famed far and wide for the sheer grandeur of plan and workmanship. The first major works of that style were initiated by the Pallavas in the 8th. century . Hindu Temples, say the scholars, originally were simple shrines of wood and compacted earth, while it was the Jainas and Buddhists who thought of cutting into rock faces to make their Viharas. During the Hindu Renaissance period, many of these Viharas were converted into Brahminical temples. Inspired by these durable structures, free standing Rock Cut temples were experimented first by the Pallavas , Mamallapuram being a showpiece of their skill. Transition from rock-cut to regular, Structured Temples ( ie, made of assembled stone parts) was natural and organic progression, especially when regions north of Kanchi, (in Kalinga in particular), the Nagara style of temple building was blossoming in full strength. Pallava Narasimh