Chola art and architecture

They utilised the wealth earned through their extensive conquests in building long-lasting stone temples and exquisite bronze sculptures, in an almost exclusively Dravidian cultural setting.

The golden palace that Aditya Karikala supposedly built for his father Sundara Chola is an example of such a building.

This architecture style formed the foundation from which the Cholas, who were in close contact with the Pallavas during their periods of decline, took some valuable lessons according to Nilakanta Sastri, in his A History of South India.

The Vijayalaya Choleeswaram near Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu is an example of a surviving early Chola building.

It has an unusual arrangement of a circular garba griha (where the deity resides) within a square prakara - circumbulatory corridor.

There are carvings and rock cut temples similar to the Pallava architecture dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

The Koranganatha Temple dedicated to Lord Ranganatha (a form of Maha Vishnu) at Srinivasanallur near Thottiyam is an example of the period of Parantaka I.

[6] Muvarkovil Temple in the Pudukkottai area was built by a feudatory of Parantaka II during the second half of the tenth century.

[9] The maturity and grandeur to which the Chola architecture had evolved found expression in the two magnificent temples of Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram.

[10] The magnificent Siva temple of Thanjavur, completed around 1009 is a fitting memorial to the material achievements of the time of Rajaraja.

In spite of the massive size of the gopuras, the vimana, rising majestically to a height of 190 feet, continues to dominate and it is only in the subsequent period that a change in the gradation of magnitude takes place.

The inscriptions give, apart from a comprehensive history of the times, a full enumeration of all the metallic images set up in the temple.

Huge Nandis (figures of the sacred bull) dot the corners of the Shikharam, and the Kalasam on top by itself is about 3.8 metres in height.

The most important difference lies in the introduction of curves in the place of the strong straight lines of the Thanjavur vimana.

The Airavateswara temple at Darasuram near Thanjavur built during the reign of Rajaraja II is a magnificent structure typical of the stage of architectural development reached in the 12th century CE.

This temple has artistic stone pillars and decorations on its walls, in a style bordering on mannerism, with an emphasis on elongated limbs and polished features.

[20][21] The final example of this period is the Kampaheswarar temple at Tribhuvanam near Kumbakonam which has survived in good repair as built by Kulothunga III.

[24] Among the existing specimens in the various museums of the world and in the temples of South India, may be seen many fine figures of Siva in various forms accompanied by his consort Parvati and the other gods, demigods and goddesses of the Saivaite pantheon, Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi, the Nayanmars, other Saiva saints and many more.

[1] Though conforming generally to the iconographic conventions established by long tradition, the sculptor could also exercise his imagination within the boundaries of the canonical Hindu iconography and worked in greater freedom during the eleventh and the twelfth centuries.

While the stone sculpture and the inner sanctum image empowering the temple remained immovable, changing religious concepts during the period around the 10th century demanded that the deities take part in a variety of public roles similar to those of a human monarch.

The lay public thronged the processional route to have a darshan and admired their beloved deity for the lavish depiction of the figure and the grand costumes and jewelry.

When in worship, these images are bedecked in silk costumes, garlands, and gem encrusted jewels, befitting the particular avatar and religious context.

The bronze figure thus obtained is then cleaned, finer details are added, blemishes are removed, smoothened, and polished well.

There is gentle grace, a restrained and quiet elegance, an ethereal, out-worldly beauty, and above all else - a life that throbs and pulsates and thereby enlivens the bronze sculpture.

By means of the facial expressions, the gestures or mudras the overall body posture and other accompanying bronzes we can imagine the surroundings and the religious context of the figure of the god or goddess; what instrument or weapon he or she is holding; what he or she is leaning on; and what he or she is doing or about to do.

For example, in the Rishabaandhika or the Vrishabavahana murthy pose, we see Shiva standing with one leg youthfully crossed across the other and his arm elegantly flexed and raised as if resting or leaning on something.

In this elegant posture, it can be surmised that the youthful and athletic Shiva is leaning on his bull-vahana, Nandhi, on whose shoulders He is resting His arm.

His hair holds the crescent moon - another emblem - and a small image of Ganges, the river-goddess whose precipitous fall from heaven to earth is broken by Siva's matted locks.

The art of making ornaments of gold and precious stones had reached an advanced stage about the beginning of the 11th century.