• Under Raja Raja Chola (947-1014), the Chola empire expanded in all directions and the king (regnal 985-1014) was eulogised as the Lion among kings.
• But it is the Brihadiswara Temple, also known as the Big Temple, which stands as a reminder of this great ruler, 1,000 years after he consecrated it.

What makes the Big Temple special and more important, what inspired Arunmozhi Varman, who became Raja Raja or the King of kings, to raise a temple, which has become a symbol of Tamil architecture?

• Sthapati K. Dakshinamoorthy has delved into the background and come up with facts, which establish the Pallava influence, unmistakable in the structure of the Big Temple.
• The grandeur of the stone edifices that the Pallava kings erected, in Mamallapuram and other places across the country and beyond had an impact on Raja Raja, who modified and refined the techniques.
• Dakshinamoorthy sthapati specifies Dharmaraja Ratham — one of the five famous chariots at Mamallapuram — as the precursor to the Brihadiswara temple, in fact for all the stone temples, down South.
• The sthapati traces major monuments, which must have triggered the imagination of Raja Raja, quite a few of which belong to the Pallava period. At the one end of the spectrum are the cave temples, which were introduced south of the Vindyas by Mahendra Pallava (A.D. 600-630). In his Mandagapattu inscription, the king records that he has raised temples for Brahma, Vishnu and Siva without using brick, wood, metal and mortar.
• Narasimhavarma Pallava (630-668) introduced monolithic rock-cut temples.
• Dharmaraja Ratham, however, is an incomplete structure, the Big Temple rising as an example of its refined version, filling those gaps, which the Pallava ruler chose to leave.

Analpitam and Arpitam:

• Analpitam is gharbagriha (sanctum sanctorum) with two walls, which have a gap in between, called alindam.
• In Arpitam, the wall is not detached.
• The earliest example of analpita type of temple is Dharmaraja Ratham, which has flights of steps in cardinal directions (E-W-N-S) and the gap for pradikshina.
• The Kanchipuram Vaikunta Perumal temple, built by Nandivarma Pallava II (630-668), is an evolution of Dharmaraja Ratham, says Dakshinamoorthy. It has four entrances, deities in cardinal directions and a circumambulatory passage as well.
• The Kanchi Varadaraja temple, built by Nandivarma Pallavan again is a take-off from Dharmaraja Ratham.
• Two centuries later, the Thanjavur temple was built in the Analpita-Alpita style with four dwaras and four deities in cardinal directions and alinda pradikshina.

Other Achievements:

• “The Tiruvadigai Veerattanam temple, built by Parameswara Pallava, served as another main reference point for Raja Raja,”
• The main shrine of Brihadiswara is built in the Analpita style — from ground floor and for Tier 1. The Pallava architecture was improved by Raja Raja in several ways.
• The most significant, according to Dakshinamoorthy, is what is called Karnakuda — the dome at the edge of the gopuram. In the Kanchi Kailasanathar and Tiruvadigai cases, the first tier domes are big, the size getting significantly reduced in the next, a feature found in Thanjavur too. Generally, the size is gradually reduced as the tower tapers off to the peak. “By adopting the Alpitam-Analpitam combination and through the Karnakuda size, Raja Raja achieved the height and the magnificent design,”
• There are inscriptions to suggest that Raja Raja visited Kanchi Kailasanatha temple several times. Four of them, dating to his 12th and 15th regnal years, are available. An overawed Raja Raja calls the structure Kanchipurathu Periya Tirukkatrali (the big stone temples of Kanchipuram). Rajasimha’s accomplishments must have come as a great source of inspiration to the Chola king, asserts Dakshinamoorthy. The hundreds of titles that the Pallava ruler boasted, his devotion to Saiva philosophy and agama sastra must have impressed the king too.
• The Mamallapuram seashore temple has Rajaraja’s inscriptions dating to his 25th and 26th regnal years.

Sun among temples:

• As many as 24 inscriptions are available in Uthiramerur, 17 of which are in the Sundaravarada Perumal temple, belonging to the period of Dandivarma Pallava. Raja Raja must have seen the inscription, which said that the one who designs a temple like this (Sundaravarada) would be an expert in Vastu. This is referred to as the Sun among all temples.
• “The architectural significance of the Uthiramerur Vaikuntanatha Perumal temple, is often eclipsed by the historical evidence that its inscriptions bear regarding state administration.
• There is evidence of the Chola ruler’s visit to Tirukoshtiyur, where the famous Sowmyanarayana temple, is located. The Pallava temple from atop which Sri Ramanuja pronounced the Ashtakshara mantra and the one existing now are not, however, the same, informs the sthapati. So impressed was the king that he inscribed his appreciation on stone in a Siva temple close-by!
• Raja Raja came across several temples, either finished or in the making, many of them majestically rising to the sky. These included the Khajuraho Kandariya Mahadev temple, the Lingaraja temple of Bubhaneswar, the Ellora Kailash rock-cut monolithic temple, the Prambanan Trimurti temple and Borobudur Buddhist temples in Indonesia, Koh Ker temple that Jayavarman IV built in Cambodia and the Pre Rup temple (Rajendra Varman), and Phimeanakas of Rajendra Varman and Surya varman (both at Angkor, Cambodia).
• The Brihadiswara temple, called Dakshina Meru Vidangar — a temple as massive as the Meru, dedicated by Raja Raja, known as Sivapadasekara, to his favourite deity, Siva.

Source: The Hindu