Olakkannesvara Temple

About Olakkannesvara Temple
Vital Information for Visitors
Address:

Olakkannesvara Temple, Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu

Open & Close:

Open on all days: 06:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Entry Fees:

No Entry Fee

Duration:

Approx 30 minutes

History:

Built in 8th Century. Deity worship took place till 15th century

Significance:

No deity in sanctum sanctorum

The Olakkannesvara Temple, which is also called the ‘flame eye’ & the ‘old lighthouse’ stand on top of a hillock and is carved from a single rock. With spectacular views of the town of Mahabalipuram & overlooking the Bay of Bengal, this temple is one in the ‘Group of Monuments’ that classify under the UNESCO World Heritage sites. Very often, it is confused with the ‘Mahishasuramardini Cave Temple’ for it is located directly above it on the same hillock. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva & back in the day they would call it the ‘Ulaikkannisvaram’, which is for ‘Shiva, who has a crescent moon on his forehead’, perhaps also why they called it the ‘flame eye’. Many years ago it also served as a watch tower & land mark for mariners, and hence gets the name ‘Old Lighthouse’.

The grey-white granite structure is said to be similar to the well known Shore Temple, primarily because of the ‘shikara’ that it originally had, but now only a rectangular structure remains. The temple tower is also influenced by the Dravidian Architectural style. What stands out in this temple is the ‘half profile’ dwarapalas in the main shrine. Shift in architectural style from half-profile to full- face profile dwarapalas is reflection of maturing craftsmanship from Mahendra style to the Rajasimha style. It happened gradually from full front facing - to three-fourth - and then to half profile facing each other. While the dwarapalas are at the entrance, the interior walls have sculptures of mythological figures from the time. On the walls outside, one can see sculpted images of ‘devokashtas’ & ‘Shiva’ in multiple forms. There is Shiva as ‘Dakshinamurti’ under a tree - Shiva along with the beloved Parvati, on the Kailash mountain. In this depiction, Ravana is also seen trying to shake the mountain. In another image, one can see Shiva as ‘Natraja’, although, over the years these are less visible. Then there are panels with images of Shiva killing ‘Kaal’ (Yama), which are said to have been added on much later and are not from the Pallavas time. Along with these, there are also Lion pilasters on the walls outside to add to the beauty of it all. Although, it is said that in the past, it was a ‘live’ temple where the locals sometimes offered prayers but, in the current time, the Olakkannesvara Temple holds no idol in the sanctum and is not a place of worship anymore. The great city of monuments can be visited all round the year but winter is a good time to be here and enjoy its many stories and tales and have a blast from the past.

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Grand Tour of South India

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Destination : Chennai-Mahabalipuram-Kanchipuram-Pondicherry-Thanjavur-Thanjavur-Trichy-Chettinad- Madurai-Periyar Lake-Aleppey-Kochi-Bangalore-Mysore-Hassan-Hospet-Hampi-Badami-Goa

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