In South India Temple worship has been a glorious tradition; over the years there have been many schools of Temple building: the Ddravadin, Chalukya, Pallava, Hoysala and Pandya. The Temples were constructed with strict observance of the rules put down in the Agama Silpa Shastras (the book of Architectural techniques). 

The Pallava rulers of the 7th century are the pioneers of temple building in South India.  Arjuna’s Penance is a great- sculpted panel that has the distinction of being the world’s largest bas- relief. It is sculpted on the vertical face of two huge boulders, each some thirty meters high and over fifty meters wide.