<P> The sanctum door is flanked by female dvarapalas (sculptures) on each side . One of the warrior women carries a sword in her right hand and a shield in her left; the other, in a tribhanga pose, holds the bottom of a bow with the toe of her raised foot and grasps the top with her hand . Both wear earrings which hang from their ear lobes almost to their shoulders . The female guardians suggest that the deity in the sanctum was probably Durga, the Hindu warrior goddess . In the square sanctum are a moonstone, adhiṣṭhāna (base), bhitti (partial wall) and kudu (gavaksha). One pillar has an inscription in the Grantha alphabet which transliterates as "Sri Vamankusa". Since no king or Pallava official is known by that name, it probably signifies that the temple was built by a patron (according to Ramaswami, possibly Telugu). Srinivasan dates it to the early Mahendra period . </P> <P> The Dharmaraja cave temple, also known as the Atyantakama cave temple, is on the south side of Mamallapuram hill near the Mahishamardini cave . It has a facade, mukha - mandapa and ardha - mandapa like the Kotikal cave . Slim, four - sided pillars create space for the two mandapas . Its ardha - mandapa is about three inches above the mukha - mandapa . The facade has two pillars and two pilasters, as does the space separating the two mandapas . </P> <P> The inner hall leads into three shrine cells sharing a common adhisthana . The adhisthana has four mouldings . It is unusual in lacking a recessed moulding (kantha), an upper fillet (kampa) and a thick moulding (pattika); it has an lower most moulding (upana), vertical moulding (jagati), three faceted moulding (tripatta - kumuda) and a lower fillet (kampa). The central sanctum, the largest dedicated to Shiva Linga, has two male dvarapalas . Although the cells on the sides were dedicated to Brahma and Vishnu (based on iconography), images are now missing . </P> <P> The temple has a fourteen - line Sanskrit inscription in the Grantha alphabet with an epithet . Ramaswamy attributes the cave to King Rajasimha (late 7th or early 8th century), but Srinivasan and Hultzsch date it to the 7th - century King Paramesvara - varman I; other scholars assign it to the Mahendra period, based on its style . </P>

Who built the group of monuments at mahabalipuram