Greetings!
Today was a long driving day, and Balu did another terrific job of it. We left after breakfast at 8am, and headed southwest (inland). Once again, we were to meet up with our guide (Ramesh) at the first of the three temples we would visit
(Chidambaram Nataraja Temple). Outside one of the four entrances, we found several large chariots, which are each dragged around the temple's 40 acre site in a festival in August. It takes 400 people, and a bunch of strong ropes, to pull the heaviest of them.
The present temple was built in the tenth century when Chidambaram was the capital of the Chola dynasty, making it one of the oldest surviving active temple complexes in South India. It has the earliest known Amman or Devi temple, a pre-13th century Surya shrine with chariot, shrines for Ganesha, Murugan, and Vishnu, one of the earliest Shiva Ganga sacred pools, and large mandapas for the convenience of pilgrims.
Shiva is the lord of the dance, and this place is designed to celebrate all things dedicated to movement.
Next, we drove to the town of
Gangaikonda Cholapuram, and its temple built by Rajendra Chola in 1035AD to celebrate his victory over a previous dynasty controlling most of southern India. The name means the one who conquered the Ganges, and he emphasized it by having the kingdoms he defeated each provide a pot of Ganges River water from their lands to a well in his temple.
Our last temple (
AiravatesvaraTemple) was also built by the Cholas, and together with the
Brihadeeswara Temple in Thanjavur (we're seeing it tomorrow), and the Gangaikondacholapuram (see above), they are considered the
Great Living Chola Temples.
We invite you to read the text at the links provided. Hinduism as depicted in these temples is far more interesting than we could describe. But our astonishment lies in the intricacy of the carvings, and the effort it took to construct the temples (over 1100 years of work and re-work).
To see lots more photos taken today, click on
Sunday, Feb 9th, Thanjavur, India.
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