Mamallapuram and the Pallavas

Who were the builders of Mamallapuram? Why are most of the monuments unfinished? What is the chronology of the building of the monuments? This book is a collection of twelve articles which attempts to answer these and other questions. Brought to light for he first tie are such interesting things as the world's oldest children's slide and the very earliest Pallava free standing image of a deity carved in the round. The royal inscriptions of the Pallavas at Mamallapuram and from some other places in South India are translated and analyzed. This is an authoritative and original treatment of some of hte long-standing mysteries and problems of Mamallapuram studies.