Mahabalipuram, or Mamallapuram, was a port founded on the coast by Narasinghawarman I (around 630–670 A.D.). The site comprises a group of eight ratha. They are not real ratha but stone imitations of wooden shrines, carved in large single rocks.
This so-called "Draupadi ratha" is in fact a shrine dedicated to Durga. The roof imitates perhaps palm fiber.
