Temples are a part of the Tamil Nadu’s landscape and culture. There are plenty of temples situated here with their lofty gopurams, vimanas and majestic madapams (pillared halls). The brillant polychrome of the massive gopurams is visible across the flat Tamil landscape. Inside the Mandapams the legends tell myths and stories about Hindu God and goddesses. They often tell the tales about the building of the temple. South Indian Temples are full with daily visitors and pilgrims. Some of the better known large temples, are pilgrimage shrines or are visited by the people on some special occasions such as Pongal (harvest festival) and birthdays whereas, small temples are visited daily.

South Indian Hinduism is a personal, ritualistic religion. Almost any object –a tree or a rock can be an object for worship. Hindus worship at a temple in a variety of ways like some devotees do "Puja"which consists of visual communication with the image of the deity. While some other worships a specific carved image in the Mandapam.And still others go to the sacred 'peepul' tree and tie a ribbon around it. After the worshipping is over, the devotees sit outside in the Mandapam for a few minutes observing the temples. Some of the famous temples of this place are: The shore temple, Trimurti cave Temple, and the Kurinji Andover Temple.

This is a famous temple situated in Mamallapuram. The Trimurti cave temple is dedicated to three different Hindu Gods named as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva .In this temple a separate section is dedicated to each deity.

SHORE TEMPLE

It is a beautiful and romantic temple. This temple is surrounded by Sea. The shore temple represents the final phase of Pallava arts. This temple was originally constructed in the middle of the 17^th Century, it was later rebuilt in the reign of Narasimha Varman II .The two main spires of the temple contain shrines for Shiva, and the third shrine is dedicated to Vishnu .The original linga of the temple is facing east and west, it captures both sunrise, and sunset. The temple carving is remarkable, which still remains inside the shrines.

MANDAPAMS

There are many mandapams (pillars) which stand in front of the temples. These Mandapams feature internal sculptures, which are scattered over the main hill. The Kotikal Mandapams in the Trimurti cave temple is dedicated to Durga. The Krishna Mandapam is an early rock cut temple. Its carving shows scenes of Krishna lifting the Govardhana Mountain. The Ramanuja Mandapam and the Dharamraja Mandapam are the oldest monuments surviving in Mamallapuram. Both of these have shrines dedicated to Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu.

The Mahishmardini Mandapam and Olakkannesvara Temple have got scenes from the puranas, depicted on the mandapam with the sculpture of the goddess Durga. This is considered as one of the finest Mandapam in Mamallapuram.