The Colas c22.11

c22.11

We may not accept this high-flown account as literally true; but Cidambaram, the most celebrated of South Indian Śaiva shrines, had attracted the devotion of Cōḷa kings as early as the reign of Parāntaka I, if not earlier; and after the foundation of Gaṅgaikoṇḍa-cōḻapuram and the transference of the capital of the kingdom from Tanjore to that place, Cidambaram rose in importance on account of its proximity to the new capital and the possibility of frequent royal visits to it. Tanjore and Tiruvārūr, which held the chief position in the days of Rājarāja I, now took a somewhat secondary place. It seems probable that Vikramacōḷa's buildings and gifts in Cidambaram were meant to complete an extensive remodelling of the temple, a remodelling begun by Naralōkavīra in the closing years of Kulōttunga's reign, and that this chieftain had much to do with the planning and execution of Vikramacōḷa's projects in the holy city.²⁰ Later inscriptions call the first *prākāra* wall of the temple by the name Vikramaśōḻan-tiru-māḷigai;²¹ and one of the main streets round the temple bears the name Vikramaśōḻan-tengu-tiruvīdi.²² Though there is no epigraphical confirmation of the fact, the *Śrīraṅgam Kōyilolugu* states that Vikramacōḷa built the fifth wall surrounding the temple of Raṅganātha at Śrīraṅgam, besides some other structures including a temple of Rāma.