Mahabalipuram - an archaeological celebrity - India, Tamil Nadu

On the Coromandel Coast, approximately 40 miles south of Madras, Mahabalipuram is, without contest, the most famous archaeological site in South India. Mahabalipuram, "city of the great Bali" (a mythical sovereign), is the actual name of the ancient Marnallapuram or town of Maharnalla. Mahabalipuram was, under the Pallava dynasty during the 7th century, a bustling port from which the Indian civilisation set sail for the far east, from Ceylon to Java.
The site includes temples, a huge bas-relief fresco and caves with scuplted high reliefs narrating the Hindu mythology. All are master pieces of Pallava art. The most famous sculpture is a grandiose bas-relief fresco carved in a rocky wall. It illustrates the legend of the Descent of the Ganges onto Earth passing through Shiva's hair, and Shiva's retreat to the Himalayas.