temple pattern with cell and front Mandapa.
whose temple is beside the Mandapa.
In later Mandapa of the Chalukyan series,
Outside this gopura is the ornate but small Nandi- Mandapa.
facing vimana and closed Mandapa and open porch in front.
The word"Mandu" is believed to be a Prakrit corruption of"Mandapa Durga.
The upper storey is connected with the floor of the Nandi- Mandapa.
These are examples of typical cave- temple pattern with cell and front Mandapa.
The Mandapa has two bays, at the front and
the rear, forming mukha- and ardha- Mandapas.
The porch Mandapa itself is designed to simulate a chariot on wheels drawn by horses,
opening into a larger and closed common Mandapa on its north, west and south sides.
The namaskara- Mandapa has profuse wood- carvings, while the
wall of the shrine has interesting mural paintings.
Pallavaram is the only example in the series where the Mandapa facade and shrine- cells face south.
The detached Nandi- Mandapa is four- pillared with flights of steps at the front and the rear.
The Mandapa carries above its prastara a ham of kutas at the four corners
and sala in between,
On the Mandapa walls, and carved in the recesses between the pilasters,
are sculptural compositions, Saivite and Vaishnavite.
To help the tourists
to worship the holy feet of Thiruvalluvar 140 steps are constructed inside the Mandapa.
In front there is the namaskara- Mandapa with a sloped roof and two projecting gables at either end.
The south and north walls of the mukha- Mandapa contain large reliefs of standing Brahma,
and Siva as Gangadhara.
The overhanging kapota of the Mandapa is supported by numerous finely-
carved female figures in graceful poses called madanikas.
The main temple of the group constructed in 1215 stands on a high platform,
with a Nandi- Mandapa in front.
Some of the excavations are merely shrine- cells scooped directly into
rock face, without a rock- cut Mandapa in front.
The Mandapa has open corners between the three shrines and on its two sides,
and its pillars inside are lathe- turned.
Cave 9, strictly speaking, is a long hall or Mandapa, with a prominent sculptured facadea poor imitation of Cave 10.
The Mandapa of a temple became highly ornamented
and adorned with various decorative motifs on the pillars, pilasters, ceilings and architraves.
Inside the Mandapa there are minor shrines arranged on the periphery,
five of them extant, as in the Palampet temple again.
The most prominent features of
Hindu cave architecture are the presence of Mandapa and ratha(chariot) that developed during the Dravidian period.
These cave- temples, including the chattya- mandiras,
may as well be called Mandapa- temples as they are designated in later inscriptions.
A Nandi- Mandapa is also to be seen in front in some cases as in the Lankesvara
cave at Ellora Kailasa complex.