Shore Temple

Shore Temple Review

Facing the Bay of Bengal, the Shore Temple has been subject for centuries to the vicissitudes of sun, sea, and sand, including the force of 2004's tsunami, which revealed additional sculptures that had been buried in the sand. Despite the ravages of time, the temple still retains many of the details it had when it was built by the Pallava king Rajasimha in the early 8th century. You enter the temple from the back, through a courtyard surrounded by a massive wall topped by reclining bulls and two Shiva towers. Inside one shrine, the calm image of Vishnu, lying in cosmic sleep on the sea with the serpent Sesha at his side, is still easy to make out.