28 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
as no such number exists here : they are dedicated to 
Vishnoo, the preserving power of the Indian Triad. 
Mahabalipuram signifies the city of the great Bali, a 
character famous in Hindoo fable, and respecting 
whom some very valuable information is given in the 
notes to that sublime poem. The Curse of Kehama, 
by Robert Southey. 
On the beach stands a very ancient Hindoo temple, 
much injured by constant exposure to the sea-air and 
to the violence of the monsoons. Antiquaries, and all 
searchers into the primitive history of the Hindoos, 
have been puzzled to fix the date of this temple and 
those in the neighbourhood ; the style of architecture 
is perfectly unlike that of any other part of India. It is 
said that the Egyptians colonized here ; and there are 
some ingenious theorists who give to the Indians the 
priority over the Egyptians in the attainment of a 
settled style of architecture of the most stately de- 
scription, when all the rest of the world were of 
nomadic habits, living in tents, or in the umbrageous 
recesses of the jungles. The character of the archi- 
tecture of the seven pagodas is a chaste blending of 
the simple with the ornamental; it is remarkably 
beautiful, and the sculpture, with which it is somewhat 
profusely embellished, is of the very highest quality. 
The sea has gained much upon this coast, and it is 
therefore to be presumed has swept much away ; it 
has certainly encroached to some extent upon the 
walls of Madras within the recollection of many per- 
sons now living.* 
* Bishop Heber mentions the sea as having receded from all 
parts of the Coromandel coast ; but the authority of a person. 
