The Colas c35.45

c35.45

shrines of the goddess comes from later reigns and from different parts of the Cōḷa empire.³⁶ In the reigns of Kulōttuṅga III and his successors, Rājarāja III and Rājēndra III, the addition of *tirukkāmakkōṭṭams* to existing temples and their inclusion in new constructions and lavish endowments in their favour appear to have become the order of the day as attested by the inscriptions of the time.³⁷ In his famous Tribhuvanam Sanskrit inscription Kulōttuṅga III claims to have himself embellished the temple of Śivakāmasundarī in the Naṭarāja temple at Cidambaram by the addition of a *gōpura* and the golden *prākāra-harmya*.³⁸ There can be little doubt that the last period of Cōḷa rule was characterised by many new constructions and endowments which emphasised the equal importance of the goddess with the god, and this continued in later times. The goddess's shrine was built usually on the northern side of the *mahāmaṇḍapa* and opening into it or in the forecourt facing south in front of that *maṇḍapa*; occasionally it was located at other points in the precincts of the temple as in the north-west corner of the north court in the Vaḻuvūr (Tanjore) temple.