Location of this monument: <table class="toccolours mw-content-ltr layouttemplate commons-file-information-table" style="width: 100%;" dir="ltr" lang="en"><tbody><tr><th class="type fileinfo-paramfield">Object location</th><td style="border:none;"><span class="plainlinks"><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><a class="external text" href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=File:Arjuna_Ratha,_Mahabalipuram,_Tamil_Nadu.jpg&amp;params=012.608997_N_0080.189667_E_globe:Earth_class:object_type:object__&amp;language=en">12° 36′ 32.39″ N, 80° 11′ 22.8″ E</a></span></span> <a class="mw-kartographer-maplink no-icon" data-mw-kartographer="" data-style="osm-intl" href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Map/13/12.608997/80.189667/en" data-zoom="13" data-lat="12.608997" data-lon="80.189667" data-overlays='["_8067d6bdb475bcff7dfc84b735d9750b7a0b1cf2"]'><img alt="Kartographer map based on OpenStreetMap." src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Openstreetmap_logo.svg/20px-Openstreetmap_logo.svg.png" decoding="async" title="Kartographer map based on OpenStreetMap." width="20" height="20" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Openstreetmap_logo.svg/30px-Openstreetmap_logo.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Openstreetmap_logo.svg/40px-Openstreetmap_logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="256" data-file-height="256"></a></td><td style="border:none;">View this and other nearby images on: <a class="external text" href="https://wikimap.toolforge.org/?wp=false&amp;cluster=false&amp;zoom=16&amp;lat=012.608997&amp;lon=0080.189667">OpenStreetMap</a></td><td style="border:none;"><a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Geocoding" title="Commons:Geocoding"><img alt="info" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/OOjs_UI_icon_help.svg/18px-OOjs_UI_icon_help.svg.png" decoding="async" width="18" height="18" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/OOjs_UI_icon_help.svg/27px-OOjs_UI_icon_help.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/OOjs_UI_icon_help.svg/36px-OOjs_UI_icon_help.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="24" data-file-height="24"></a><span class="geo" style="display:none"> 12.608997;   80.189667</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One of many temple-themed monuments at the Mahabalipuram UNESCO world heritage site. 
</p><p>The ratha temples are located in southern part of Mahabalipuram, along the coast of Tamil Nadu. They are so called because they have the shape of chariots carved out of naturally-occurring blocks of diorite and granite in sand. The Arjuna's ratha belongs to the Five Rathas or the Pandava Rathas group. In the Mahabharata, the Pandavas are five brothers. Although the symbolism and grouping of the temples have led to these popular names, they are neither true rathas nor dedicated to the Pandavas; they are temples dedicated to Hindu deities.
</p><p>The five-ratha group is on a north–south axis with the Dharmaraja Ratha at the south end, followed by the Bhima, Arjuna and Draupadi Rathas. All the temples have a west entrance except the Nakula-Sahadeva Ratha, which has a south entrance.
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The floor plan is square, while the ardhamandapa consists of two stacked squares.
<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Ms_Sarah_Welch" title="User:Ms Sarah Welch">Ms Sarah Welch</a>
<span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>