The place is very close to Kumbakonam( 7-8 kms) and is the old chola capital. The cholas are supposed to have lived here before they shifted to Tanjore. We went searching for the cholarmaligai in this place but found nothing here... two very friendly local children guided us to an old aiyynar temple which apparently has been built in the very same place where cholar maligai existed ( dont know how far this is true !)....The temple that i wish to address in this post is the Shiva temple( Somanathaswamy) at this locality which is very much dilapidated.....the temple has been visited by appar , sambandar....the keys to the temple are with some local family who dont seem to have any connection with the temple authorities ( that is if that exists)..............many sculptures and oldies have been shifted from this place to pateeswaram and other locales.........and many have been robbed.......whatever heritage of cholas that we can save even today will serve as a great history for future generations.....as such chola history is very elusive due to distruction of loads of historical facts and proofs........what many of us know of chola empire is thanks to Kalki's ponniyenselvan which has an equal dose of fact and fiction...probably
Picked up a small stone from the temple to keep the memory intect.... but had to leave it behind as my mom adviced that " shivan sotthu kula nasam....."
Thursday, 16 December 2010
Sunday, 14 February 2010
Mayiladuthurai aka Mayavaram - the name needs no introduction , the town know for its rich culture and tradition and the own which produced great personalities like Mahavidvan Meenakshisundaram Pillai, Mayavaram Vedanayakam Pillai, Advocate Rajaram Iyer, Swami Iyengar and Kalki Krishnamurthi. Add to this stands the glorious Mayooranathar temple several hundred years old and a landmark of Tanjore District.
The temple was adorned by the songs of great tamil saints Thirunavakarasar and Gnanasambandar. The bank of river Cauvery called Tulaghat where people gather in december and january for a holy dip.
But unfortunately te temple today is in a dilabated and precarious condition. The temple inside is totally dark and poorly maintained. The temple tank is such a state that it cannot be used by human beings. The precious paintings on the roofs painfully withering like flakes....who can get it back in order ? The temple praharam is full of dirt and cow dung..the devotees can help the situation to some extent by not dirtying the place, by not scribbling on the temple walls, by not throwing plastic sheets and the like around, if a devotee sees another person doing so then he can gently be reminded of the temple's history and sgnificance and informed not to do so......Rest will be taken care by Shri Mayuranadhar
The temple was adorned by the songs of great tamil saints Thirunavakarasar and Gnanasambandar. The bank of river Cauvery called Tulaghat where people gather in december and january for a holy dip.
But unfortunately te temple today is in a dilabated and precarious condition. The temple inside is totally dark and poorly maintained. The temple tank is such a state that it cannot be used by human beings. The precious paintings on the roofs painfully withering like flakes....who can get it back in order ? The temple praharam is full of dirt and cow dung..the devotees can help the situation to some extent by not dirtying the place, by not scribbling on the temple walls, by not throwing plastic sheets and the like around, if a devotee sees another person doing so then he can gently be reminded of the temple's history and sgnificance and informed not to do so......Rest will be taken care by Shri Mayuranadhar
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Sri Ramanuja is the only personage whose remains are belived to be interred inside the Great Temple precincts in Sri Rangam (Sandalwood paste and saffron are used to maintain the body and no other chemicals are added). 2 kms from Tiruchirapalli, Srirangam is the most important temple in Sri Vaisnavism. The Deity here is Lord Ranganatha reclining on Ananta Sesa.
If one goes to this shrine today, the priest in charge of the shrine may show the fingers on the left hand, and point out that this is the body of Sri Ramanuja in an embalmed state. Many others believe that the body of Sri Ramanuja was buried under the current shrine to Ramanuja at Sri Rangam, and that this image was installed directly above the resting place of Ramanuja’s body. Another school of thought is that his mortal remains (thirumeni) have been interred inside the Sri Ramanuja shrine and on top of it his wax look-alike deity (the wax image has been covered with the saffron robes he had used when he was alive) has been consecrated and it is anointed with chandan (sandalwood paste) and saffron .
This being a plaster image, needs to be touched up on the occasion it receives the coating. The later-day photograph( on top) shows the visage distortion caused by careless 'dressing'.
The pictures of Shri Ramanuja are from www.ramanuja.org
Monday, 8 February 2010
Follow this link to see the sorry state of King Raja Raja Chola's grave- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpLsha2naao. The three ruling dynasties of old Tamil Nadu are written and pronounced in Tamil as Cheran, Cholan and Pandian (or Cherar, Cholar and Pandiar) but most English writers write them as Chera, Chola and Pandia.
Rajaraja Chola I (born as Arulmozhi Varman) is one of the greatest emperors of the Tamil Chola Empire and India, who ruled between 985 and 1014 CE. He established the Chola empire by conquering the kingdoms of southern India expanding the Chola Empire as far as Sri Lanka in the south, and Kalinga (Orissa) in the northeast. He fought many battles with the Chalukyas in the north and the Pandyas in the south. By conquering Vengi, Rajaraja laid the foundations for the Later Chola dynasty. He invaded Sri Lanka and started a century-long Chola occupation of the island. Rajaraja Chola I holds the distinction of being one of the six Indian Kings who never lost out on the battlefield to the enemies. His great warrior son Rajendra Chola is also one among that exclusive league. ( Source Wikipedia). Tamil readers who can relate to the great writer Kalki will understand that the novel " Ponniyin Selvan " narrates the story of King Raja Raja Chola.
Raja Raja was a great builder, and the Peruvudaiyar Koyil or the Big Tempie at Thanjavur was his creation. His son Rajendra Chola (1014 - 1044 AD) was a greater conqueror who marched all the way to the banks of the Ganges. This march was commemorated with a new capital Gangaikonda Cholapuram and another 'Periya Koyil'. Gangai Konda Cholapuram was the capital of the Cholas for about two centuries, although it is nothing more than a village now with this rather well maintained magnificient temple.
35 Kilometers from Thanjavur lies Darasuram, once known as Rajarajapuram - a part of the Chola's secondary capital of Pazhaiyarai. Here is the Airavateeswarar Temple built by Raja Raja II (1146 - 1173). It was during the reign of Kulottunga III (1178 - 1218) that the Kambahareswarar temple at Tribhuvanam was built.Rajaraja Chola the Great was the first Chola King to document archives of his rule in the form of written evidence on stone tablets and copper plates. These recorded his achievements, his philanthropy, his judicial decisions, his administration, irrigation and healthcare systems. In the famous inscriptions in the Rajarajeeswaram( Brahadeeswara temple) complex he records not only the donations given by him and his sister and relatives ,the noblemen but also the commoners who donated to the temple. The Udayarkudi inscriptions record the punishment Rajaraja Chola gave to the traitors who killed his brother the crown prince Aditha Karikalan in the second year of his rule. Interestingly Rajaraja Chola let his uncle Uthama Chola for 16 years after the assassination of the crown prince Aditha Karikalan and then ascended the throne. The punishment he gave is again very novel since the miscreants were Brahmins he couldnt sentence them to death instead he confisticated all their power and properties and evicted them with their families from his kingdom.
Rajaraja Chola I (born as Arulmozhi Varman) is one of the greatest emperors of the Tamil Chola Empire and India, who ruled between 985 and 1014 CE. He established the Chola empire by conquering the kingdoms of southern India expanding the Chola Empire as far as Sri Lanka in the south, and Kalinga (Orissa) in the northeast. He fought many battles with the Chalukyas in the north and the Pandyas in the south. By conquering Vengi, Rajaraja laid the foundations for the Later Chola dynasty. He invaded Sri Lanka and started a century-long Chola occupation of the island. Rajaraja Chola I holds the distinction of being one of the six Indian Kings who never lost out on the battlefield to the enemies. His great warrior son Rajendra Chola is also one among that exclusive league. ( Source Wikipedia). Tamil readers who can relate to the great writer Kalki will understand that the novel " Ponniyin Selvan " narrates the story of King Raja Raja Chola.
Raja Raja was a great builder, and the Peruvudaiyar Koyil or the Big Tempie at Thanjavur was his creation. His son Rajendra Chola (1014 - 1044 AD) was a greater conqueror who marched all the way to the banks of the Ganges. This march was commemorated with a new capital Gangaikonda Cholapuram and another 'Periya Koyil'. Gangai Konda Cholapuram was the capital of the Cholas for about two centuries, although it is nothing more than a village now with this rather well maintained magnificient temple.
35 Kilometers from Thanjavur lies Darasuram, once known as Rajarajapuram - a part of the Chola's secondary capital of Pazhaiyarai. Here is the Airavateeswarar Temple built by Raja Raja II (1146 - 1173). It was during the reign of Kulottunga III (1178 - 1218) that the Kambahareswarar temple at Tribhuvanam was built.Rajaraja Chola the Great was the first Chola King to document archives of his rule in the form of written evidence on stone tablets and copper plates. These recorded his achievements, his philanthropy, his judicial decisions, his administration, irrigation and healthcare systems. In the famous inscriptions in the Rajarajeeswaram( Brahadeeswara temple) complex he records not only the donations given by him and his sister and relatives ,the noblemen but also the commoners who donated to the temple. The Udayarkudi inscriptions record the punishment Rajaraja Chola gave to the traitors who killed his brother the crown prince Aditha Karikalan in the second year of his rule. Interestingly Rajaraja Chola let his uncle Uthama Chola for 16 years after the assassination of the crown prince Aditha Karikalan and then ascended the throne. The punishment he gave is again very novel since the miscreants were Brahmins he couldnt sentence them to death instead he confisticated all their power and properties and evicted them with their families from his kingdom.
This blog has been created to share views of all those who genuinely care about the temples and monuments of India which stand as witness to India's ancient culture and religious practices. They house the precious architecture of India which has and continues to reveal tales and secrets about India's history , culture and religion.
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