Airavatesvara Temple
Airavatesvara Temple | |
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ஐராவதேசுவரர் கோயில் | |
Religion | |
Affiliation | Hinduism |
Deity | Shiva |
Location | |
Location | Kumbakonam, India |
Location in Tamil Nadu | |
Geographic coordinates | 10°56′54″N 79°21′24″E / 10.9484°N 79.3567°E |
Architecture | |
Creator | Rajaraja II |
Completed | 12th century AD |
Inscriptions | Tamil |
Part of | Great Living Chola Temples |
Criteria | Cultural: (ii), (iii) |
Reference | 250-003 |
Inscription | 1987 (11th Session) |
Extensions | 2004 |
Airavatesvara Temple is a
The Airavatesvarar temple is one among a cluster of eighteen medieval era large
The stone temple incorporates a chariot structure, and includes major Vedic and Puranic deities such as
Location
The Airavatesvara Temple is located in
The nearest airport with regular services is Tiruchirappalli International Airport (IATA: TRZ), about 90 kilometres (56 mi) away.[9] The temple is on highway 22 connecting Tiruchirappalli, and highway 36 connecting it to Thanjavur. The nearby cities of Tiruchirapalli and Chidambaram are connected daily to other major cities by the network of Indian Railways and Tamil Nadu bus services.[10][11]
The temple though inland, is near the Kollidam River, within the Kaveri (Cauvery) delta with access to the Bay of Bengal and through it to the Indian Ocean.[12]
Nomenclature
The Airavatesvara Shiva temple has a water tank. This tank has a connected channel that brings in Cauveri River water where Hindus gather annually to take a dip. The local mythology narrates how Airavata, or Indra's (malla) white elephant was restored to clean, white skin after he took a dip in this tank. This legend is carved in stone in the inner shrine, and this Indra's elephant gives this temple its name.[13]
Description
The
The Airavatesvara temple is another square plan structure completed in 1166 CE.[15] The surviving[note 1] inner courtyard is almost six stacked squares of 35 metres (115 ft) side, measuring a total of about 107 metres (351 ft) by 70 metres (230 ft). The Nandi mandapa and the stambha are found outside of this main temple courtyard and they are aligned with the main temple's east–west axis.[14]
It is classified as Karakkoil, a temple fashioned after temple chariots which are taken in procession around the temple during festivals.[16] The temple sanctum is a 12-metre-sided (39 ft) square, have thick walls on which the vimana superstructure rises to a height of 24 m (79 ft). The circumambulatory path is not provided immediately around the sanctum, as is found in the Thanjuvur big temple and the Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple. Rather, this path is outside in the courtyard.[14] The sanctum garbha griya is connected to the mukha-mandapa through the ardha-mandapa supported on pillars and flanked by two massive dvarapalas. The maha-mandapa is a rectangle of about 24 metres (79 ft) by 18 metres (59 ft), with six rows of right pillars (forty-eight in total).[14] These have reliefs and intricate carvings. Towards the east of the maha-mandapa is the agra-mandapa also called the Rajagambhiran-tiru-mandapam after the king.[1] This hall is shaped like a chariot, provided with stone horses and wheels. The design is similar to the Nritta-sabha (community dance hall) of the Chidambaram temple and the Konark Sun Temple near Puri, Odisha.[14][17]
Singing steps
The agra mandapa has an attached square porch of 7 metres (23 ft) side. It has ornately carved steps that go from east to west. On its east, outside the main podium, is the bali-pitham. It is unusual, in that it is produced as intricately carved balustraded steps. When one walks or steps on them, they produce a musical note. They are therefore called the "singing steps".[6][14][18]
Sculpture
This temple is a storehouse of art and architecture and has some exquisite stone carvings. Although this temple is much smaller than the Brihadeesvara Temple or the Gangaikondacholapuram Temple, it is more exquisite in detail.
The reliefs all along the base of the main temple narrate the stories of the sixty three Shaiva Bhakti saints called
On the outer walls of the main sanctum are sculpture niches, five on each side, with the middle one larger than others. They show various Hindu deities, with the middle one of each side showing Shiva in different aspects.[15]
Other shrines
In the south-west corner of the court is a mandapam having 4 shrines. One of these has an image of Yama. Adjoining this shrine are large stone slabs sculptured with images of the sapthamathas (seven celestial nymphs).[6] The construction of a separate temple for Devi, slightly later than the main temple, indicates the emergence of the Amman shrine as an essential component of the South Indian temple complex.[1]
Inscriptions
There are various inscriptions in the temple. One of these records the renovation of the shrines by
The inscriptions are also important in identifying the sculptures that once were a part of various ruined monuments. For example, the eastern gopurum has niches with inscriptions that label the sculpture therein. Most of these sculptures are now broken or missing. The inscriptions indicate that it had the following sculptures:[26]
- Northern face: Adi Chandesvara, Gangadevi, Tumburu Nardar, Vaisravana, Chandra, Maha Sata, Nagaraja, Vayu
- West: Devi, Rudrani, Vaishnavi, Brahmi, Varunani, Nandidevar, Periyadevar, Santyatita Sakti, Santa devi, Vidya Sakti, Pratishta Sakti, Nivarti Sakti
- Southern face: Daksha Prajapati, Yamuna devi, Rati, Kamadeva
- East: Agni deva, Agastya, Sri devi, Durga devi, Devendran, Padma Nidhi, Surya, Subrahmanya, Kshetrapala, Sarasvati, Visvakarma, Isana
History
The temple was built by King
The Airavatesvara temple was much larger than it is now. It had sapta veedhis (seven streets) and seven courts, similar to the Srirangam temple, according to the inscriptions. All are gone, except the one court with the main temple that survives. There are ruins of gopuram and some structures at some distance from the current visitor premises confirming that the site was badly damaged at some point like the other major Chola era temples and various Chola cities including the capital Gangaikonda Cholapuram.
The reasons for this destruction are unclear. According to Vasanthi, the
World Heritage Site
Airavatesvara Temple was added to
In popular culture
The American astronomer Carl Sagan visited the Airavatesvara Temple for his 1980 television documentary series, Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. In the tenth episode titled The Edge of Forever, Sagan talks about the Hindu religion and the Vedas, and narrates the legend of the god Shiva being considered a cosmic deity while displaying ancient Indian art.[28][29]
Palace Devasthanam
Gallery
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Nandi at the temple
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Shiva flanked by Brahma (left) and Vishnu
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Mandapa at night
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Interior
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Columns with Dravidian reliefs and carvings
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Sculptures carved on the walls
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Stone chariot madapam detail
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Front Gopuram in ruins
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Airavateswarar Temple
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Airavatesvara Temple Panoramic View
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Great Living Chola Temples". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 2004. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ Ayyar 1992, pp. 349-350
- ^ S.R. Balasubrahmanyam 1979, pp. 225–245.
- ISBN 978-81-903591-3-9.
- ^ a b S.R. Balasubrahmanyam 1979, pp. 225–234.
- ^ a b c Ayyar 1993, p. 351
- ISBN 978-0-520-28847-8.
- ^ Great Living Chola Temples, Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India
- ^ Ē. Kē Cēṣāttiri (2008). Sri Brihadisvara: The Great Temple of Thānjavūr. Nile. p. 5.
- ^ "NH wise Details of NH in respect of Stretches entrusted to NHAI" (PDF). Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India. National Highways Authority of India. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
- ^ "Thanjavur bus routes". Municipality of Thanjavur. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-4008-5784-5.
- ^ a b Ayyar 1992, pp. 350-351
- ^ a b c d e f S.R. Balasubrahmanyam 1979, pp. 225–227.
- ^ ISBN 978-81-321-0981-5.
- ISBN 978-81-7823-542-4.
- ^ Chaitanya 1987, p. 42
- ISBN 978-81-85692-20-3.
- ISBN 978-0-300-06217-5.
- ISBN 978-0-231-51524-5.
- ^ a b c Ayyar 1993, p. 353
- ^ Chaitanya 1997, p. 40
- ^ Vasudevan, p. 55
- ^ Srinivasan, G. (20 July 2011). "Darasuram: architectural marvel from Chola period". The Hindu.
- ^ Davis 1997, p. 51
- ^ S.R. Balasubrahmanyam 1979, pp. 227–228.
- ^ Ayyar 1993, p. 316
- ^ Says, Umesh Mehta. "The Great Chola Temples Thanjavur, Gangaikondacholapuram and Darasuram | Sahapedia". Retrieved 22 December 2023.
- ^ "Cosmos Carl Sagan s01e10 Episode Script | SS". Springfield! Springfield!. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
- ^ "Thanjavur Palace Devasthanam, Thanjavur - 613009, Thanjavur District [TM013967].,". hrce.tn.gov.in. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
- ^ தஞ்சாவூர் அரண்மனை தேவஸ்தானத்தைச் சேர்ந்த ஆலயங்கள், தஞ்சை இராஜராஜேச்சரம் திருக்குட நன்னீராட்டுப் பெருவிழா மலர், 1997
- ^ J.M.Somasundaram Pillai, The Great Temple at Tanjore, [Tanjore Palace Devastanams, II Edn 1958] Rpt 1994, Tamil University, Thanjavur
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