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Our 1st excursion - Arjuna's Penance & the Shore Temple

The first excursion on our yoga and meditation retreat for the day took us around the fishing village of Mamallapuram as we explore the Shore Temple and Arjuna's Penance. Along the shore lies a stunning series of temples and sculptures, carved from the living rock 1,200 years ago. Unlike many Hindu temples, the rocks show scenes of everyday life. The stunning Shore Temple, set at the edge of the waves features an altar to the god Siva that is lit by the rising and setting sun. Mahabalipuram has become a center for stone carvers, and hundreds ply their trade in the streets and alleys of the old town.

Here are photos from today's adventure.

Some of the amazing ancient carvings in this seaside village.

We explore one of the abandoned temples that was carved into a hillside. Angela from NYC (left), Robin from St. Louis (middle) and Amy from Arkansas.

There were so many school kids at the Shore temple who were very fascinated with our travelers.

The light in the lighthouse takes 11 seconds to go around which allowed me enough time to wait and capture this image when it pointed in my direction.

This crow flew right into my shot. I can't take full credit for it.

Our day ended with a lovely dinner by the beach overlooking the Bay of Bengal.

Ancient Temples Ancient temples of India Arjuna's Penance Mamallapuram meditation retreat Meditation retreat in India Rock Carvings Yoga Retreat yoga retreat in India

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