Airavatesvara Temple, Darasuram – History
King Raja Raja II constructed this architectural and
sculptural marvel temple in his name called Raja Rajishwaram (at present Airavatesvara) in
1160 CE which took almost 2 decades to complete. Palaiyarai is ancient
temple city and the Capital of the Cholas. King Raja Kambeera
Mamannan, Raja Raja Chola II (1146 A.D. to 1172 A.D) changed his capital
from Gangaikonda Cholapuram to Palaiyarai and renamed it
as Raja Raja Puram (at present it is Darasuram).
There were 1000 Thaligai (temples) in Palaiyarai .There
were 4 padai veedus (Military Camps) on all the four directions of
the Capital. Thalicherippendirgal were appointed by the king to develop
fine arts especially music and dance in the temple during festival
occasions. It is a world heritage monument protected by UNESCO.
Built by the Chola king Rajaraja II (AD 1143-1173), this
temple is a gem of Chola architecture. Though much smaller in size when
compared to the Brihadisvara temple at Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram,
this temple is different as it is highly ornate in execution. The temple
consists of a sanctum without a circumambulatory path and axial mandapas.
The front mandapa known in the inscriptions
as Rajagambhiran tirumandapam is unique as it was conceptualized as a
chariot with wheels. The pillars of this mandapa are highly ornate.
The elevation of all the units is elegant with sculptures dominating the
architecture.
A number of sculptures from this temple like the full
set of Bhikshatana with rishi patnis is various moods, are now
preserved in the Thanjavur Art Gallery. They are the masterpieces of Chola art.
Remaining ones like Nagaraja, Agastya, dancing Martanda Bhairava,
Sarabhamurti, Ganesa etc., are equally gracious. The labeled miniature
friezes extolling the events that happened to the 63nayanmars (Saiva
saints) are noteworthy and reflect the deep roots of Saivism in this region. In
fact, the king made donation for the singing of hymns from Thevaram, the
Saivite sacred book in Tamil, in this temple.
The construction of a separate temple for Devi, slightly
later than the main temple, indicates the emergence of Amman shrine as an
essential component of the south Indian temple complex.
Rajaraja Chola II – Builder of this Temple
Rajaraja Chola II succeeded his father Kulothunga Chola II to the Chola throne in 1150. He was made his heir apparent and
coregent in 1146 and so the inscriptions of Rajaraja II count his reign from
1146. Rajaraja's reign began to show signs of the coming end of the great
dynasty.
The extent of the Chola territories remained as it were
during Rajaraja's predecessors. The Vengi country was still firmly under the
Chola rule.
The Chola central administration did show weaknesses
with regard to their control and effective administration over the outlying
parts of the empire, which became pronounced towards the end of Raja Raja-II's
reign. However, Raja Raja-II regained adequate control of provinces like Vengi,
Kalinga, Pandya and Chera territories. He probably even invaded Sri Lanka as is
explained in one of the Tamil poems written during his time. This is borne out
by the fact that not just Raja Raja-II, but also his successors like
Kulothunga-III bore titles like Tribhuvana Chakravartin attesting to their
military capabilities and cultural achievements.
During the last years of Rajaraja's reign, a civil unrest
as a result of a succession dispute convulsed the Pandya country, further weakening Chola influence there.
This was only to be expected as even though the Pandyas were subjugated by the
Cholas since the time of Aditya I and were firmly controlled until the time of
Virarajendra, the Madurai kingdom nevertheless kept making efforts from time to
time, for gaining their independence from their occupiers.
Later Pandyas like Maravarman or Maravarman Sundara
Pandyan, Jatavarman Vira Pandyan and Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan steadily went
on increasing their power and prestige and were to emerge as the most powerful
kingdom in South India during the period 1200–1300. These developments were
slowly but surely weaken the Chola kingdom, though there was a minor revival
during the fairly steady rule of Kulothunga-III (1178–1218).
Death & Succession
The last regnal year cited in Rajaraja's inscription is
26. That makes the last year of his reign 1173. It seems likely that Rajaraja
made Rajadhiraja Chola II heir apparent and coregent in 1163. It is very
likely that this was because Rajaraja Chola II did not have any direct suitable
descendant to ascend the Chola throne. Rajaraja Chola II was not destined to
live long. Since, Rajadhiraja himself was quite young, he would require the
help of Pallavarayar to usher the young sons of Rajaraja Chola II to safety.
According to the inscription, Pallavarayar took steps
immediately after the death of Rajaraja Chola II for the protection of the
king's children, aged one and two years. According to historian
Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Kulothunga Chola III who is widely considered as the
last great Chola sovereign was the son of Rajaraja II.
Socio – Religious Achievements
One of the most important achievements of Raja Raja-II
was that despite being considered a weak king, it appears that he did enjoy
periods of calm and peace especially during the latter half of his 26 year
rule. It was during this period that he initiated construction of the very
famous Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram near Kumbakonam. This royal Siva
temple, which is one of the trinity of the Great Living Chola Temples along with
the Brihadeeswarar Temple and Gangaikonda Cholapuram all of which are World Heritage Sites.
The Airavatesvara Temple was begun later than at least
the Halebidu Temple but was completed earlier, either by the time the rule of
Raja Raja-II ended or during the initial period of his successor,
Rajadhiraja-II. The Airavatesvara Temple is considered an architectural marvel
of the Later Chola period and this tradition was carried on by Kulothunga-III
who built the Kampahareswarar Temple at Tribhuvanam in commemoration of his
conquest of Madurai, Kalinga, Karuvur and his defeat of the Hoysala King Veera Ballala II.
This temple contains innumerable miniature freezes
containing stories from Ramayana, Periya Puranam and other stories devoted to
Siva-Parvati, Vinayagar, and Karthikeya etc. The temple is also a symbol of
continuing architectural tradition of the Chola craftsmen for it also has
musical stairs called the Saptasvaras near a small shrine for Ganapati.
The Muhamandapam or the Mukhyamandapam of this temple is
a real architectural marvel containing many great architectural specimen and
was a continuation of the Later Chola tradition of building temples in the
shape of giant elephant – driven Rathas or Chariots as like as in Melakadambur Siva temple built by Kulothunga I, which was also
carried on not just by later Chola kings such as Kulothunga-III but also by the
kings of Kalinga and culminated in construction of the Sun Temple of Konarak by
Eastern Ganga king Narasinghdeva. This is one of the later Chola temples which
have remained unparalleled in terms of architectural excellence to date, that
left a lasting impression on the succeeding dynasties to the Chola rule.
Raja Raja-II also made numerous grants to the temples at
Tanjore, Chidambaram, Kanchi, Srirangam, Tiruchy as well as to the temples at
Madurai. He was also believed to be a regular visitor to the temples in
Parasurama's country (Kerala), which were also recipients of his grants. During
his time the chola navies did remain dominant in the western sea as well as
eastern sea.
Overall he was a benevolent king who did put up good
management processes, as evidenced by his relief measures to the people during
the times of both the famine and civil unrest, which though did take some
effort to subdue, but which finally ensured that he retained the loyalty and
respect of his ministers, commanders and the general sections of the populace.
Extent of the Empire and Summary of the rule and
legacy of Raja Raja-II
Even though there was a famine which further caused a
civil disturbance, Raja Raja-II nevertheless, kept most of his adversaries
under control and also succeeded in largely maintaining the Chola territories
consisting of their possessions in Tamizhagam including Kongunadu, Madurai and Tirunelveli,
Nellore-Guntur areas (with Renandu and Telugu Cholas having allegiance to Raja
Raja-II but controlling their areas with more authority than before), Visayavadai
(Vijayawada) – Eluru – Rajahmundry – Prakasham (Draksharama) areas traditionally controlled
by Vengi kings, Kalinga (whose King was a tribute paying subordinate and a
supportive feudatory to Chola over lordship) up to the banks of Hooghly.
In addition, he also had Northern Sri Lanka (as was the
case during the time of his illustrious predecessor, Raja Raja-I) under his
loose control while as compared to before, even though he had subdued Chera
kings, due to the re-emergence of Pandya power, he was forced to allow more
autonomy to Malai nadu kings with whom he was believed to be having marital
relations. But somehow, Raja Raja-II proved not strong enough to regain control
of the eastern Gangavadi province, which was lost to the Hoysalas by his
predecessor, the great Vikrama Chola.
Possibly, the Hoysalas themselves were trying to free
themselves from the control of Western Chalukyas and other rapidly growing
adversaries like Kalachuris and Kakatiyas, who were as hostile to the Chalukyas
and Hoysalas, as they were to the Cholas and even the Pandyas, as would be
evidenced in the later years.
