Great Living Chola Temples: Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Darasuram Explained

The Chola kings, who ruled south India and beyond from the ninth to the thirteenth century, built some of the largest temples in the country. Three of them, all in the Kaveri delta of Tamil Nadu and all still in worship, make up the World Heritage Site called the Great Living Chola Temples.

At a glance

• Location: Thanjavur and Ariyalur districts, Tamil Nadu
• Inscribed: 1987 (Thanjavur); extended in 2004
• Type: Cultural
• Period: eleventh and twelfth centuries
• Dedicated to: Shiva

Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur

Rajaraja I completed this temple in 1010. Its tower over the sanctuary rises about 66 metres, then among the tallest structures in the world, and is crowned by a dome-shaped block of granite said to weigh 80 tonnes. How it was raised is still discussed; a long earthen ramp is the usual explanation. A huge monolithic Nandi faces the shrine. Inscriptions on the walls list the king’s gifts, down to the names of the temple’s dancers, and Chola paintings survive in the passage around the sanctuary.

Gangaikonda Cholapuram

Rajaraja’s son Rajendra I built a new capital to celebrate his army’s march to the Ganga, and in about 1035 completed a temple there. Its tower, about 53 metres high, curves gently inward, giving it a grace that the Thanjavur temple’s straight lines lack. Rajendra was the king who sent a fleet against Srivijaya.

Airavatesvara Temple, Darasuram

Built by Rajaraja II in the twelfth century, near Kumbakonam, this is the smallest of the three and the most delicate. Its front hall is designed as a chariot with wheels and horses, and its base is carved with miniature panels telling the stories of the Shaiva saints.

Why it is a World Heritage Site

The three temples represent the highest development of the Dravida style and the achievements of the Cholas in architecture, sculpture, painting and bronze casting. They are called “living” because the rituals established a thousand years ago continue.

Visiting

Thanjavur is the best base. Gangaikonda Cholapuram is about 70 kilometres away and Darasuram about 35.

Image: The Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur during the Maha Shivaratri festival. Photo by Rainer Halama, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.