A thousand years ago..

There lived a king. He was strong and he was loved.  So began many a tale that my grandmother told me before bed time growing up in erstwhile Bombay.

So this summer I decided to see what all the fuss was about the kings of yesteryear and the land they governed and the temples they built.

I suppose governance would get highest marks outside of lavish buildings and large armies.  King Rajaraja Chola (his son Rajendra Chola I also continued the tradition) fit the bill.  His attention to details in areas of city planning, logistics for large temple complexes, managing his human resources, farming, etc is detailed in the literature available at the temple complex and the many Tamil inscriptions along the granite walls and steps in the compound.

If you have a king make it like the ones they did a thousand years ago and not as show pieces to ogle over like the western world tends to do today.

Here are some vistas from the city of Thanjavur (or Tanjore) in Tamilnadu state that showcase the scale and might of the empire.

King Rajaraja Chola (who was Rajendras dad) built this granite behemoth below in 8 years - the 1,000 year celebrations took place in 2010.

It is called the Big Temple or Brihadeeshwara Temple, and is one of the largest temples in the world recognized by the UN as a heritage site.  The tower or the sikhara is very high and decorated with sculptures showing the great Lord Shiva in various dance poses.  Shiva's dance is famous in Indian mythology.  I was doing my own when taking these pictures since the stone below my feet was probably at 120 F.

View of the eastern façade with the Nandi standing guard - The Nandi was likely added by the Nayak rulers in the 16th century is the second largest in India

13 feet tall, Granite Nandi (2nd largest) was Shiva's vehicle of choice according to legend.  The largest such idol is in Lepakshi AP.

View of main temple from the rear with a smaller building in foreground hides its true height of 225 ft

Side view of Big Temple @ dusk.

One of the many deities or dancers adorn the side courtyards

Multi pillared hallways along the outer perimeter

Vegetable pigment based art from the 16th century remains intact

Lingam collection

One of many moods of the elephant - this one calming down after a riot (the detail of his ear, trunk and trot are significant markers to determine the artist's intention)