Great Living Chola Temples description and photos - India (Topic)

Great Living Chola Temples description and photos - India. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Great Living Chola Temples.

Photo and description

The amazing ancient Chola temples, which are located in the south of Hindustan, were built over almost two centuries - from the X to XII centuries. The complex is a unique architectural and historical monument, by the example of which one can trace the process of social and cultural development of the great Tamil Chola empire.

The first temple of the complex - Brihadeshwara, was created in the city of Tanjora in 1003-1010 during the reign King Rajaraj. This is a huge, built in honor of one of the main Hindu deities - Shiva - a building in the Dravidian style, the "staff" of which consisted of several hundred priests, 400 devadasis - dancers performing sacred ritual dances, and 57 musicians. The revenues of the temple were so huge that they were enough not only for its development, but also to provide loans to all those in need.

A high rectangular wall measuring 270x140 meters was erected along the entire perimeter of the territory belonging to Brihadeshwar. The gate was made in the form of a massive gopuram tower, which is 30 meters high. The first wall is followed by a second, more modest size. The temple itself is built of granite slabs and, in part, of bricks. Its spatial arrangement is similar to the religious buildings of the Pallava dynasty. Inside, it is a series of halls and vestibules that lead to the main sanctuary of the temple - the pyramidal 13-level vimana tower. Its height is more than 60 meters, and the top is crowned with a monolithic stone "dome" weighing about 70 tons. The outer walls of Brihadeshwara are decorated with carved columns and panels, granite figures. And inside the building you can see beautiful statues depicting dancers in 108 ritual dance poses.

In 1987, the temple received the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Topic: Great Living Chola Temples description and photos - India.