RAS question
The Pallava king who built the Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram was:
Correct answer: (D) Narasimhavarman II.
The Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram was built under the Pallava king Narasimhavarman II, also known as Rajasimha, in the 8th century CE.
Explanation
Narasimhavarman II, also known as Rajasimha, is linked with the Shore Temple as its 8th-century CE Pallava builder, and UNESCO's Mahabalipuram page says King Rajasimha introduced structural architecture on a grand scale. UNESCO describes the Shore Temple as the famous culmination of these structural edifices, set by the sea with a Dravida vimana. This matters because Mahabalipuram includes different Pallava building forms: rathas, mandapas, rock reliefs and structural temples. The Shore Temple belongs to the structural-temple phase, not to the earlier rock-cut or monolithic experiments. UNESCO lists the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram as a World Heritage property, confirming the site's wider architectural importance.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Narasimhavarman I, or Mamalla, is associated here with the rathas and rock-medium innovations, whereas the Shore Temple is tied to Rajasimha's structural architecture phase.
- (B) Nandivarman II is not the Shore Temple builder; he is associated instead with the Vaikuntaperumal temple at Kanchipuram.
- (C) Mahendravarman I is linked in the question data with the introduction of rock-cut temples, while the Shore Temple is identified as an early structural stone temple.
Concept
This tests Pallava art and architecture, especially the shift from rock-cut and monolithic forms to structural temples. RAS often repeats such questions because dynasty-ruler-monument matching is a standard way to test Ancient and Medieval Indian History.