Mahabalipuram
Mahabalipuram used to be part of the Pallava Kingdom. The town was given its name after the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I; the ancient temples, seven pagodas temples built by Pallava Kings in the eighth century and during the rule of another Pallava king, Narsimhavarman II. The ancient name for the town of Mahabalipuram is Thirukadalmallai. The legend surrounding the town of Mahabalipuram is famous among almost the whole country, especially among the people of Tamil Nadu. The legend is as follows:
Prahalad was a devotee of Lord Vishnu, but his father refused to worship Lord Vishnu which disheartened Prahalad very much, he kept trying to invoke his father’s faith in Lord Vishnu, but his father was not to be moved. Once after a dispute between Hiranyakashyap and his son, Prahalad, the king exiled his son but later let him come back. Again, another dispute ensued, and Prahalad said that Lord Vishnu resides everywhere, even on every wall of their house; upon hearing this, the king kicked a pillar out of anger, and as a result, Lord Vishnu emerged from the pillar with a Lion’s head and killed the king. Prahalad was made king, and he prospered. He later had a grandson named Bali; Bali found the town of Mahabalipuram, hence the name of the town came to be known as Mahabalipuram.
The Secret of the Seven Pagodas
Mahabalipuram is a town in Tamil Nadu and part of the Chengalpattu District; it is located on the coast of Coromandel, which is a part of the Bay of Bengal. The town of Mahabalipuram is also called Mamallapuram. It has been nicknamed the Seven Pagodas because the legend surrounding the town of Mahabalipuram is that there used to be six more temples standing on the shore of the beach of Mahabalipuram alongside the one ancient temple of the shore.