Gangaikondacholapuram
The Chola trail gave me something more than simply a dose of history. A feeling of identity also. It is awfully tough to be objective and write about the trail, so I’m not even trying as of now. I’m just putting down some raw info to help understand the might and the glory of this dynasty, which was one of the strongest in South India and they established its supremacy in South East Asia too.
This traditional Tamil dynasty held sway for over 1500 years and its origins are entangled in fables and poetry as the chronology matches the reign of Emperor Ashoka ( 273 BC-232 BC ). Literature heralds the rulers to be descendants of the Sun God. Historically though the reign is split into 3 distinct eras the early Cholas (second century BC-9th century AD), the medieval Cholas (9th -11th century AD) and the later Cholas (11th -13th century AD) .Our story starts somewhere in the middle of tenth century and moves on to the 12th in the reign of Raja Raja Chola one and his son Rajendra Chola one and later on to Raja Raja Chola II.
Darasuram
All that’s left today as a witness to their might are The Great Living Chola churches. The Brihadeshwar temples in Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram and the Airaveteshwar church at Darasuram built by these kings are a part of UNESCO World heritage Site and this is where the trail essentially starts..
The Gigantic Brihadeshwara Church Thanjavur
We commence with Thanjavur, the first Enormous Brihadeshwara church, or the Periya Koil built by Raja Raja Chola one in the 11th century in Thanjavur.This was the instant I was waiting for, a second that defined this trail for me.My eyes follow the Vimana of the church as my neck crane to capture its height. It is an understatement to call it big. It is bigger than life .Consider this. At a height of 216 feet the soaring Vimana is the tallest of its kind in the world dwarfing the Gopura, or the outer tower. The shikara or the golden dome replete with many stucco figures weighs eighty tonnes. Elephants were reputedly used to draw this single granite block on a six km ramp to put it on top.
The Nandi weighs twenty-seven tonnes and is the second biggest in the country while the main deity, the Shivalinga is at a height of 8.7 metres, the biggest in the world. Life size representations of Gods and Goddesses fill the sculptured panels and the temple is a repository of records for posterity.
108 Bharatnatyam dance postures are outlined here and the corridors and ceilings are a decorative mix of fresco and wall decoration paintings wholly original to this dynasty.Architecturally the church is the most formidable structural granite church to be ever built in the world and therefore it’s the first to become a Great Living Chola church and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site .There is such a lot to say, but I will be able to end here for the moment about this temple.
I went to the 11th century when Rajendra Chola one, the following ruler had moved beyond South India and attacked East upto the Gangetic Plain and made ripples overseas in the East and overwhelmed all of today’s Srilanka, Maldives, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Yet, his capital,Gangaikondacholapuram that controlled this mighty empire for over 250 years has simply disappeared from the face of this earth. When Rajendra Chola one conquered the Gangetic plain, he needed to celebrate. He also wished to portray to posterity that he was likely larger than his pa Raja Raja Chola one who had immortalised himself with the Large Brihadeshwara church in Thanjavur.
So Rajendra took a step farther. In fact, he was the C-I-C in his dad’s military too. He moved away from Thanjavur, his pop’s capital and built another Brihadeshwara church in a new found capital called Gangaikondacholapuram which means the city of the Chola who caught even the Ganges. However he didn’t complete the church. And he finally made sure that his dad’s church was larger than his. Its tantalizing to dig deeper and share stories and information about the church, but I wouldnt know where to finish … The 3rd destination was Darasuram at the Airavateshwar church built by Raja Raja Chola II in the 12th century. Called Rajarajapuram, this is a sculpture’s dream in stone. A church formed like a chariot drawn by horses and supported by 100 obelisk pillars carved delightfully greet us. And eventually,a Chola trail is unfinished if one doesn’t refer to the golden Chidambaram church.
Chidambaram
