Pancha Rathas at Seven Pagodas, Southern India. 'Seven Pagodas' has served as a nickname for the south Indian city of Mahabalipuram, also called Mamallapuram in Kancheepuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This postcard shows a detail of the Pancha Rathas - shrines carved during the reign of King Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I. Each temple is a monolith, carved whole from a rock outcropping of pink granite. The five monolithic pyramidal structured shrines are named after the Pandavas (Arjuna, Bhima, Yudhishtra, Nakula and Sahadeva) and Draupadi.