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In Hindu temple architecture, a ratha is a vertical offset projection on the plan of a structure, particularly of the shikhara above the sanctum. [1] [2] The term has the same meaning when applied to the forms of the bases of statues. A ratha is generally carried up from the bottom of the temple to the superstructure.
Pancha Rathas (also known as Five Rathas or Pandava Rathas or Ainthinai kovil) is a monument complex at Mahabalipuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Chengalpattu district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Pancha Rathas is an example of monolithic Indian rock-cut architecture.
The Ratha may be pulled by devotees with rope, or pulled by horses or elephants. Rathas are used mostly by the Hindu temples of South India for Rathoutsava (Temple car festival). During the festival, the temple deities are driven through the streets, accompanied by the chanting of mantra, shloka or bhajan. [citation needed]
Elevation of Dharmaraja's Ratha Section of Dharmaraja's Ratha. All the Pancha Rathas are aligned in a north–south direction and share a common plinth. 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. [8]
Similar to the Arjuna and Dharmaraja Rathas, the stone temple is a replica of an earlier wooden version which preceded it. [13] Bhima Ratha is an ektala or single tiered oblong temple, with a barrel-vaulted roof and ornate columns. It is the third ratha after Draupadi and Arjuna Rathas, carved over an extended long pink granite rock out crop ...
Like the other four Pancha Rathas, this stone edifice is a replica of a wooden version which preceded it. [17] Though it is considered to be a monolith temple, "temple" is a misnomer given that the five rathas were never completed, [13] as evidenced by uncarved bedrock at the pinnacle. Hence, the rathas were neither consecrated nor worship offered.
Like the other four Pancha Rathas, this stone one is a replica of a wooden version which preceded it. [13] Though it is considered to be a monolith temple, "temple" is a misnomer given that the five rathas were never completed, [14] as evidenced by uncarved bedrock at the pinnacle. Hence, the rathas were neither consecrated nor worship offered.
The architecture of the rock-cut temples, particularly the rathas, became a model for south Indian temples. [117] Architectural features, particularly the sculptures, were widely adopted in South Indian, Cambodian, Annamese and Javanese temples. [3] Descendants of the sculptors of the shrines are artisans in contemporary Mahabalipuram. [38]