Travel Photo of the Day: Airavateeswara Temple, India

One of the 3 temples from the Great Living Chola Temples, the Airavateeswara Temple located near Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu is famous for its  intricate and detailed carving and for its chariot structure (similar to that of the Konark Sun Temple). It is the pinnacle of architecture out of the 3 Great Living Chola Temples, which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

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Brihadeeswarar Temple: More than 1000 years of Heritage

It is one of India’s most precious architectural sites. It’s temple tower is among the tallest of its kind in the world. It is a part of the Great Living Chola Temples, an UNESCO World Heritage site. It is known by many names, the Peruvudaiyar Kovil, Raja Rajeswara Temple, RajaRajeshwaram and Big Temple, but it is etched in the books as Brihadeeswarar Temple, named after Lord Brihadeeswara, the main deity of the temple.


This Hindu temple was built in the early 11th century under the supervision of Raja Raja Chola I of the Chola kingdom of the Tamil Nadu. It is located in Thanjavur, the rice belt of Tamil Nadu and at one point in history, the headquarters of the Chola kingdom.


The Brihadeeswara Temple was built to be the royal temple to display the emperor’s vision of his power and his relationship to the universal order. This temple made out of granite is the largest one out of the three Great Living Chola Temples. The other ones being Airavateeswarar Temple at Darasuram and the Gangaikondacholisvaram Temple.


Even to this day, this temple is fully operational and people throng to the temple to offer their prayers and seek blessings from the moolavar, Lord Shiva. It is said that during Shivaratri, during the month of February, the temple overflows with pilgrims and devotees. This temple is also one of those rare temples, which as statues for ‘Ashta-dikpaalakas’ – Indra, Agni, Yama, Nirti, Varuna, Vayu, Kubera and Isana.


Even though the temple is open from sunrise to about 8 in the evening, the Karuvarai or the inner sanctum is only open for half of those hours. If you want to see the main deity, the best option is to visit the temple during the early morning hours for abhishekam and deevaram or during the evening hours for the maha manglarti.


One can visit this temple either as a devotee or as a tourist. Typically, people try and visit all the 3 Great Living Chola Temples in one go along with may be a short visit to the Tanjore Palace and the museums. The best time to visit the temples is during the winter months when the weather in Thanjavur and around is pleasant. If you cannot visit these temples in winter, try to accommodate your trips around the sunrise and sunset times when the weather is more bearable. The midday sun can be pretty strong here and is best avoided.


To reach Thanjavur by air, the nearest airport is Trichy and you can check GoAir, Air India and other low cost or fully loaded airlines to book your flight tickets. Thanjavur is also well connected by train and road with the rest of the country. It should be fairly straightforward to book a ticket from any big city in India.

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Airavateeswara Temple: The best of the Great Living Chola Temples

The Great Living Chola Temples are really special. For all those who don’t know about the Great Living Chola Temples, there are 3 of them, Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur, Gangaikondacholisvaram Temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram and the Airavateeswara Temple at Darasuram. All 3 of these Great Living Chola Temples together carry the UNESCO World Heritage tag.


While, the Brihadeeswarar Temple is the largest temple out of the three, the Gangaikondacholisvaram boasts of the largest Shiva Linga. But, the one that will appeal to you the most is the Airavateeswarar Temple with its intricate architecture, heavily ornamented pillars and richly sculpted walls that is housed in a very small compound.


The Airavateswara Temple was built in the 12th century by Rajaraja Chola II and it is located at Darasuram, a small town about 3 kms from Kumbakonam. One can easily visit this place as a day trip from Thanjavur or Trichy. You can easily find cheap flights to Trichy from all over the country. The rail and road network to these places is also great.


This temple of Dravidian architecture is dedicated to Lord Shiva, who is known here as Airavateeswara, because he was worshipped at this temple by Lord Indra who is also known as Airavata. The main deity’s consort is Periya Nayaki Amman and her shrine is located adjacent to the Airavateeswara temple.


This temple is a storehouse of art and architecture. The front mandapam, which is in the form of a huge chariot drawn by horses is one of its main sights. This stone chariot closely resembles the chariot at Konark’s Sun Temple and Hampi’s Vittala Temple. I am guessing that Rajaraja Chola wanted that class to be reflected in his temple. Generally, kings used their temples to show their class and I am assuming that this was no different.


Hence if you walk around the temple, you will see this class in Chola art and architecture in multiple forms. For example, you will see an advanced water flow system, you will see stone carvings of Indian epics, yoga poses, mythological creatures, shapes and forms, the circle of life and many more.


You will find a lot of interesting stories from our history and culture as you walk the temple courtyard. At lots of places, you will come across the sculpture of yaali, a mythological creature. You will also see the tryst between Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva where all 3 of them together make up one body. Imaginations have also been well portrayed here. For example, you can see a lion and elephant tussle carved in stone.


The sight of the abhishekham water coming from a gargoyle’s mouth is very innovative. In fact, most of the temple’s water drains from a gargoyle’s mouth. This shows great skill and imagination. I totally loved this piece of the architecture and I am sure a lot of you will too.


Each pillar in the temple has a story to tell. Whether it is the Shiva Parvathi wedding story or any other mythological story, each wall or pillar depicts the story very well to the tourist. To keep you company are also interesting gods that you would rarely see in other temples like Agastyar Muni, Naradar, Saraswati and more.

 
Overall, the temple is a fantastic package if you love history, are spiritually inclined, love rich architecture and/or wish to soak in rare sights. The ‘Great Living Chola Temples’ as a whole is fabulous and within it, the small courtyard housing the Airavateeswara Temple is the best.


To reach Airavateeswara temple, you can either make your base at Kumbakonam, Thanjavur or Trichy. Each city is well connected by road. If you seek luxurious facilities, make Trichy your base as it is well connected by an international airport and you can make your airline bookings to here easily.

 
Go on and enjoy the beauty of the carvings at Airavateeswara Temple.

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The Chariot at Airavateeswara Temple, Darasuram

If you are interested in temples and history, then I am sure you know the 2 temples that are famous for their chariots. One of them is the Sun temple at Konark and the other one is the Vittala temple in Hampi. But, there is an unknown third one that has carved a niche for itself in one of the Great Living Chola Temples in the plains of the Cauvery in the South.


This temple is the small, but intricately carved Airavateeswara Temple at Darasuram, the third of the Great Living Chola Temples that was built by Raja Raja Chola, the third. The chariot in this temple may not be as exhaustive as the ones in the Vittala and the Sun temple, but it has a lot of similarities even in its miniature state. Do remember to check it out while in and around Thanjavur. This small temple campus packs quite a punch with its creativity.

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The Famous Tanjore Paintings

Tanjore paintings, as we all know is a classical form of South Indian painting native to Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. A lot of South Indian households would have at least one of them in their houses either from their grandparent days or as a recent acquisition from an art shop. These paintings are pretty ornate and are vivid in colour composition. The popular themes of these paintings are either Hindu gods and goddesses or episodes from Hindu history. This art form dates back to about 1600 AD, a period when the Nayakas of Thanjavur promoted art across their empire.

 
The Tanjore paintings can be seen pretty much in all art galleries across India, but if you wish to see where it is made, then you have to head to the South side of the Brihadeeshwara Temple in Thanjavur. It is here that this dwindling art form is still practised in the small households where it has been passed on in the family through generations. I made such a visit during my last trip to Thanjavur. A chat with the locals around the temple about Tanjore paintings will lead you to these traditional Brahmin households where the artist or his family would take you to the workshop or their own small gallery.

 
If you are lucky, you can actually see parts of the painting development process: making of the preliminary sketch of the image on a cloth pasted on a wooden base, use of chalk powder and a mild abrasive to make it smoother, decoration of the art with jewellery like Jaipur semi precious stones, pasting of gold foils and finally the usage of colour dyes. One can also buy these Tanjore paintings straight from the artist, though sometimes, the finish of the end product (framing, quality of glass, etc.) is not up to the mark. Though, I would recommend you buy just the painting and frame it elsewhere to the quality levels that you wish.

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‘Chess’ from the Chola Era

Have you ever wondered how the game of chess was played in the Chola era? May be in wood, may be in ivory, but definitely not plastic, like these days. But, did it even cross your mind that the chess pieces were given a true depiction during the yester years.



For example, the rook is depicted like an elephant, the knight is depicted sitting on a horse or a camel, the queen ornately decorated on an elephant, the king on a larger elephant and foot soldiers for pawns. I got a sense of this when I was scouring the shops near the Brihadeeshwara Temple in Thanjavur. It was during this visit that I spotted such a rare collection. All the pieces were ornately designed and looked brilliant. I would have bought the set, but for two reasons. One, it was very expensive and second, it was too bulky for a game of chess. May be, the people of the Chola era were used to such large size and weight while playing their game of Chess!

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Upcoming Travel: Great Living Chola Temples

Tonight, I am headed towards the Great Living Chola Temples, one of India’s more famous UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Great Living Chola Temples are located in and around the town of Thanjavur (Tanjore) in Tamil Nadu. The idea is to spend a near full two days exploring these temples and also may be soak in the scenes by the banks of the river Cauvery.

These Great Living Chola Temples were built by kings of the Chola empire, which stretched over all of South India and the neighbouring islands. The site includes three great 11th and 12th century temples: the Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur, the Gangaikonda Cholisvaram Temple and the Airavateswara Temple at Darasuram. These Great Chola Temples of Southern India are an exceptional testimony to the development of the architecture and ideology of the Chola Empire and the Tamil Nadu civilization in Southern India. They represent an outstanding creative achievement in the architectural conception of the pure form of the Dravida type of temple (characterized by a pyramid tower).

Giving me company on this trip are 3 more friends from office. We are leaving tonight in a Toyota Innova Car, staying at Hotel Gnanam in the heart of Thanjavur, exploring the 3 temples as much as possible and then returning to Bangalore by Sunday night making it a fully packed weekend trip. The last time I was at Thanjavur, I was a kid. I am so looking forward to this trip and promise hordes of photographs and loads of experience once I am back.

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