D r . C h it h r a M ad h a v an
Must Stopover
The Eternal
Moment ONE of the most magnificent architectural creations of South India is the stately granite temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in the town of Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu), the capital of the mighty Chola dynasty.
Rocky History The most eye-catching feature of this temple is the soaring vimana or the superstructure above the main sanctum that houses a colossal stone linga (the symbol of Lord Shiva). This vimana, seen from miles around, rises to a height of about 196 feet from the ground. It was built of granite like the other parts of the temple. But where did these blocks of granite come from? Thanjavur, with its flat terrain, is not a hilly or mountainous region. Archaeologists state that each and every stone block came from Pudukottai, a rocky area more than 20 km away. Then followed the stupendous task of chiselling these blocks to the required shape and size and then placing them one upon another. Written Splendour The inscriptions of this temple, numbering more than a hundred, deserve a special mention. They are neatly etched on the walls of the temple, the majority of them being in Tamil and the ancient Tamil script. They mainly record the numerous donations made to the temple by emperor Rajaraja, his queens, his illustrious son Rajendra and other members of his family in the form of land, gold, jewels, etc. These epigraphs also reveal that this
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culturama | January 2012