On Saturday, Ashwin and I set off on an impromptu afternoon drive down Chennai's East Coast Road and soon found ourselves pulling into a clearing next to a signboard that said 'Tiger Cave'.
Located in Saluvankuppam, about 5 kms before
Mahabalipuram, the Tiger Cave is a rock cut temple dedicated to Goddess Durga. The cave is supposed to be shaped like a tiger, with a cluster of smaller tiger heads forming the head of the tiger, but to me, it looked more like lions :) Like the temples of Mahabalipuram, this one too was built by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I during the 7th century AD.
.jpg "Tiger Cave Mahabalipuram") |
| The head of the tiger |
.jpg "Tiger Cave Mahabalipuram") |
| The cave is shaped like a tiger |
The complex also has a cave temple dedicated to Lord Shiva:
.jpg "Tiger Cave Mahabalipuram") |
| Cave temple for Lord Shiva |
.jpg "Tiger Cave Mahabalipuram") |
| A Shivaling outside the cave |
.jpg "Tiger Cave Mahabalipuram") |
| Inscriptions on the walls of the Shiva Cave Temple |
It wasn't a terribly hot afternoon, but it was blindingly bright and sunny, made worse by reflections off the sand and the sea - I could hardly open my eyes, leave alone take proper photos, so I'm thinking early mornings would be the best time to visit this place.
.jpg "Tiger Cave Mahabalipuram")