The Colas c17.32

c17.32

Rājarāja's great reign is commemorated by the magnificent Śiva temple which he built at Tanjore, the Rājarājēśvara, which stands to this day, the finest monument of a splendid period of South Indian history and the most beautiful specimen of Tamil architecture at its best. The temple is remarkable alike for its stupendous proportions and for the simplicity of its design. A rectangular court, 750 feet by 250, is divided into two by a partition wall, which carries a low tower of beautiful design; the inner court is twice as long as the outer. The chief shrine occupies the centre of the Western half of this inner court and the *Vimāna*, which rises over the sanctum to a height of nearly 200 feet on a square base of about a hundred feet, dominates the whole structure. The boldly moulded basement, the huge monolithic Nandi, the simple and tasteful bas-reliefs and the decorative motifs on the *Vimāna* and the balustrades, the graceful sculptures in the niches on the sides of the *Vimāna* and the fine chiselling which marks the entire work, including the lettering of the numerous inscriptions, are not equalled by anything known in South Indian architecture. Viewed from any angle, the effect produced by the whole of this wonderful structure is pleasing and impressive. That the stone walls round the *garbhagṛha* right under the *Vimāna* in the interior of the temple were overlaid with a thin coat of chunam (lime) plaster, and painted, is beyond question. When he saw this great enterprise of his reign drawing to completion, on the 275th day of the 25th year of his reign, Rājarāja solemnly dedicated the copper-pot intended for adorning the finial at the top of the *Vimāna*. We have no authentic information as to how the colossal labour involved in transporting the huge blocks of granite over great distances, and the technical problems involved in raising them to position, were met. The conquered countries doubtless paid part of the cost. After its completion, the temple in the capital city had close business relations with the rest of the country; year after year villages from all parts of the empire were required to supply men and material according to a fixed schedule for the various requirements of the temple. Those nearer home took out perpetual loans from the numberless money endowments showered on the temple by the piety and the generosity of the court and its officials, and undertook to contribute regularly the annual interest in cash or in some other way previously determined. In the minute care and precision with which most of these arrangements were completed before Rājarāja's twenty-ninth year we see the hand of a masterful and imaginative administrator. Karuvūr Dēvar, a contemporary hymnist, celebrated the new temple in one of his sacred hymns. Tañjāvūr, it should be noted, was not among the numerous sacred spots of Śaivism consecrated by the hymns of the Dēvāram Saints, Appar, Sambandar and Sundaramūrti. The temple was altogether a creation of Rājarāja's policy.