Lingodbhava Time 20195/8/2021
Chola sculpture can be divided into three main types: decorative, icons, and portraits.The temple was meant to dominate Thanjavur as Thanjavur dominated the rest of South India at the time: it was indeed the masterpiece of Rajarajas rule.K. A. Nilkanta Sastri.
CE), and they developed certain typical characteristics of their own. The Cholas while keeping alive the Pallava features on monuments, made further improvisations and created an unique style of their own. So if we carefully observe, we will find that Chola niches are narrower than the early Pallava ones, while the carvings on the top of the niche appear rounder than the Pallavas (the image below: Chola on left and early Pallava on right). Similarly a closer look at the Pallava kudu shows the finial with a shovel-head (Mahabalipuram) while the Chola ones have a lion-head in their finials. ![]() The pillar capital and pillarpilaster differences are noteworthy too. The vimana in Pallava temples stand out prominently while the gopura is smaller and squatter ( Kailashnathar temple ). In Chola temples the vimana is colossal by the time of Rajaraja (example: Thanjavur, Gangaikondacholapuram, and Darasuram). While the gopuras in early Chola temples were relatively smaller (though not as squat as the Pallavas), in the late Chola period the gargantuan gopuras are bigger than even the main shrine vimana. The dwarapalas of the Pallavas are normal human figures with two arms, while the Cholas take their dwarapalas to another level altogether. Stern, four armed men, look down fiercely at the devotees as their fingers wonder and warn of the powers of the divinity inside. This temple like all other large Chola temples have a flight of steps that lead from sides to a platform, from which one enters the pillared mandapas and moves towards the sanctum. The temple balustrades are huge with ornamented outer sides, and curled up ends. The exterior walls show alternating koshtha-panjaras and kumbha panjaras, a typical Chola feature; while the niches show pilasters on two sides with a curved crown moulding decorated with two kudus having simha (lion) heads. The north facing wall shows Ardhanarisvara, Gangadhara, two dwarapalas, Virabhadra, Alingana-murti, Shiva with a spear, two more dwarapalas, Saraswati, Mahishasuramardini and Bhairava. The west wall niches hold Hari-Hara, Ardhanarisvara, two dwarapalas, and two Chandrasekharas (one has a halo). The temple faces east and a flight of stairs lead to a pillared mandapa of a later period. A nandi manadapa, also of a later period, sits in the courtyard facing the main shrine, and in it sits a huge monolithic black nandi. The nandi mandapa shows colourful paintings on its ceilings which are of a much later period (late 19th to early 20th century) done by local artists. There are two Chola era gopuras at a distance from each other. As one enters, he or she first crosses a gateway known as the Maratha gate, which is a basic gateway, and as the name suggests, built later by the Marathas. The next gate is the first of the Chola structures and is larger in size. After crossing it one sees the second Chola era gopura guarded by two huge dwarapalas, with beautiful carvings that show stories of Shivas marriage, Markandeya episode, Arjuna getting the Pashupata weapon, etc.
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