Brihadeeswarar Temple – Murals/Frescos
The Chola fresco paintings discovered in 1931 by
Mr.S.K.Govindasamy of Annamalai University within the circumambulatory corridor
Aradhana Mandapam of Rajarajesvaram are of great interest. They are the first
Chola specimens discovered. The passage of the corridor is dark and the
enthusiast finds the walls on either side covered with two layers of paintings
from floor to ceiling.
The important point to be noted is the technology used
in the painting. A smooth batter of limestone mixture is applied over the
stones, which will take 2 to 3 days for setting. Within that short span, such
large paintings were painted with natural colors like fruit and vegetable
juices.
During the Nayak period the chola paintings were over
painted by the Nayaks. These have certain labels in Telugu characters mentioned
the names of Sevappa and Achyuthappa and others.
The Chola frescos lying underneath have an ardent spirit
of Saivism is expressed in them. They probably synchronized with the completion
of the temple by Rajaraja
Cholan the Great.
The temple has Chola frescoes on the walls around the
sanctum sanctorum portraying Shiva in action, destroying demonic forts, dancing
and sending a white elephant to transport a devotee to heaven. Paintings
portray the mythological episodes of the journey of Saint Sundarar and the Chera King to heaven, the battle scene of Tripurantaka
(Lord Siva) with Asuras (demons).
The Chola artists have proved their mettle by portraying
even the Asura women with a sense of beauty. Some of the
paintings in the sanctum sanctorum and the walls in the passage had been
damaged because of the soot that had deposited on them once upon a time.
Owing to the continuous exposure to smoke and soot from
the lamps and burning of camphor in the sanctum sanctorum over a period of
centuries certain parts of the Chola paintings on the circumambulatory passage
walls had been badly damaged. The Tanjore
Nayak kings replaced them
with a few paintings of their own, about 400 years ago. These 400-year-old
paintings have been mounted on fibre glass boards, displayed at a separate
pavilion.
It is at the Pradaksina-Patha surrounding the Vimana
that these paintings were found. A Pradaksina-Patha is a circumambulatory
passageway around a sacred image or building in which people walk while
reciting Sutras in a clockwise direction. The walls and ceilings were covered
with paintings in the Nayaka Dynasties in the 17th century over the top of far
older paintings from the 11th century, which have now emerged to be seen again.
On the south wall of the Pradaksina-Patha Shiva is
depicted preaching under a sacred tree, on the north wall Shiva is shown
exterminating demons residing in three cities, and on the west wall is Shiva
welcomes a saint on Mt. Kailasa in the Himalayas. In one scene, Shiva with
eight arms is on a chariot being lead by the god of creation, Brahma, and in
another scene, he practices yoga on a tiger skin, wearing a serpent on his neck
and upper arm. There is also a drawing of Rajaraja I standing with his Guru
(teacher) Karuvur Thevar.
In spite of the passage of long period of time, these
paintings are in a good condition thanks to the protection from outer air,
provided by the covering of thick stucco. They are quite precious as the only
surviving Chola paintings.
In retrospect, it was a blessing in disguise, according
to Dr. R. Kalaikovan of the Rajamanickanar Centre for Historical Studies. The
upper layer of the Nayak paintings had actually protected the Chola frescoes
underneath from further damage.
The Archeological Survey of India has, for the first
time in the world, used its unique de-stucco process and restored 16 Nayak
paintings, which were superimposed on 1000-year-old Chola frescoes at the Big
Temple Thanjavur.
The Indra
Gandhi National Centre for Arts holds
an impressive image gallery of the Rajarajesvaram (Big Temple) murals.
