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Tiger Cave (Saluvankuppam, India)


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  • Variants

    • Saluvankuppam Yali Cave (Saluvankuppam, India)
    • Tiger Cave Mandapa (Saluvankuppam, India)
    • Tiger's Cave (Saluvankuppam, India)
    • Yali Mandapa (Saluvankuppam, India)
    • Yali Mandapam (Saluvankuppam, India)
    • Yazhi Mandapam (Saluvankuppam, India)

  • Broader Terms

  • Sources

    • found: Work cat.: Saluvankuppam Yali Cave, or Tiger Cave Mandapa, Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, India, ca. 8th-9th century A.D., via University of Washington digital collections, International Collections, June 21, 2021.
    • found: De Lippe, A. Indian mediaeval sculpture, 1978, via Google books, June 21, 2021:p. 155 (The Yali mandapa at Saluvankuppam, about two miles north of Mamallapuram)
    • found: Great monuments of India, 2009, via Google books, June 21, 2021:p. 257 (Tiger Cave, also known as the Yali Mandapam, is 3 miles from Mamallapuram; this rocky outcrop has a central stage, surrounded by 11 tiger faces)
    • found: Stott, D. Chennai & Tamil Nadu, 2014, via Google books, June 22, 2021:p. 61 (Some 5 km north of Mahabalipuram, on the coast, is the temple at Saluvankuppam. It holds the Tiger Cave mandapa with carvings of tiger heads)
    • found: Atlas obscura website, June 22, 2021(Tiger Cave, Mahabalipuram, India; along the shores of the Bay of Bengal; 5 kilometeres from Mahabalipuram; crown of 11 tiger-esque heads carved around the entrance; scholars believe the images are more likely that of a mythological animal called a "yeli," cross between a lion and a tiger; features a carving that depicts the Goddess Durga mounted atop one of these tigers (or yeli); debate as to whether Tiger Cave was built by Narasimhavarman I in the 7th century or Pallava King Rajasimha in the 8th century CE; archaeologists fairly certain it was once that of a portico from which the ruler either gave audience or observed festivities)
    • found: Sutherland, A. Tiger Cave: rock-cut Hindu temple complex dated to east India's Pallava Empire, via AncientPages.com, posted Jan. 19, 2017, viewed June 22, 2021(Tiger Cave; ancient religious site decorated with carvings of mythical creatures and ancient inscriptions and its name originates from tiger head carvings at the mouth of the cave; located 3 miles (5 kilometers) north of the port-city Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, India; one of the Mahabalipuram rock-cut temples constructed during the reign of a great warrior, King Narasimhavarman I; dedicated to the Hindu warrior goddess Durga, usually depicted seated on a tiger; Durga has its shrine inside the cave, whose name (beginning of the 8th century) was due to the heads of yali - lion-like mythological creatures carved at the entrance)
    • found: Tiger's Cave, Saluvankuppam, Mamallapuram, Chengalpattu, via Tamilnadu Tourism website, June 22, 2021(Tiger's Cave; a rock-cut Hindu temple complex located in the hamlet of Saluvankuppam near Mamallapuram in Chengalpattu District of Tamil Nadu; one of the Mahabalipuram rock-cut temples constructed by the Pallavas in the 8th century AD; a unique cave shrine)
    • found: Tiger cave, shrine more than an amphitheatre, via The times of India, posted Oct. 2, 2019, viewed June 22, 2021(carved out of a single rock at Saluvankuppam, some five km north of the proper town; incomplete; looks like an amphitheatre with a stage for dance performances, but was a temple complex for Shiva and Durga)

  • Change Notes

    • 2021-06-21: new
    • 2021-09-15: revised

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