English: This is a JPEG format plan and architectural drawing of a historic Indian temple or monument. An alternate SVG format (scalable vector graphics) version of this file – for web graphics, design studies, print, dynamic and interactive applications – has also been uploaded to wikimedia commons.

The drawing:

• The group of monuments at Mahabalipuram are a UNESCO world heritage site, about 60 kilometers south of Chennai. The cave temples, mandapas, ratha and structural temples here are generally dated to 7th to 8th century CE.

• This is the floor plan of the Koneri Mandapa. It has five sanctums, but they are empty. The dvarapalas have Shiva-iconography. Two dvarapalas are females, others male. This suggests that it is was likely a Shaivism-related temple, possibly for the five forms of Sadashiva.

• The architectural plan follows the square and circle principle found in historic Sanskrit texts.

• GPS location of the monument:

12° 37′ 06.7″ N, 80° 11′ 28″ E

View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap

12.618528; 80.191111

• The relative scale and relative dimensions in this architectural drawing are close to the actual but neither exact nor complete. The plan illustrates the design and layout, but some intricate details or parts of the temple may not be shown. In cases where exact measurements were not feasible, the drawing uses best approximations and rounds the best measurements feasible.

Note: Please do not overwrite this file. To modify or correct or load a new version, please upload a new separate file and link the new other version(s) to this file as recommended by wikimedia commons guidelines.