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 The heritage town of Thanjavur was the
capital of the Cholas, the greatest ruling dynasty of South India. While the Maurya and the Sunga dynasties ruled the North, the Chola kings held sway in the South of India. A description of the Chola Kings is found in the famous book 'Peripleus of the Erythrian'. It is said that Karikala Chola, who ruled during the second century AD, fought a war against King Gangabaghu of Sri Lanka. He captured twelve thousand Sinhalese soldiers as prisoners of war. They were brought all the way to the Cauvery delta in Tanjavur. Their labour was used to excavate channels for drawing water from the river Cauvery and setting up a very detailed, intricate and elaborate irrigation system, which is being used till date. The setting of this canal system has resulted in making 'Tanjavur' the rice bowl of Tamil
Nadu.
The Chola dynasty reached its zenith during the rule of King Raja Raja Chola in the 10th Century AD. The feats of bravery of Raja Raja Chola spread as far as Quilon in Kerala, Coorg in Karnataka, Orissa in the North and Kanyakumari in the South. Apart from that he also brought Sri Lanka under his influence. Raja Raja Chola and his descendents constructed temples throughout the Chola Kingdom to glorify the dynasty and to offer thanks to the Lord for the many victories achieved by them over the vanquished kings. The Cholas were mainly Shaivites, the worshippers of Shiva, and hence most of the temples built by them were dedicated to Lord Shiva (though there is an occasional reference to Chola kings and queens having contributed to other types of shrines). The rise of the Cholas also saw the decline of Buddhism in India.
 It is quite possible that the thinking of Chola kings was influenced by the tenth century sage philosopher 'Adhi Shankara'. Shankara reestablished 'Advaita' (non-dualism) and Shaivism in India there by asserting the Snathana Dharama (the primordial religion) and marginalising the Buddhist influence which had earlier been quite strong in South India. The most important temple ever built by the Cholas is the Brahadeeshwara temple also known as the Big temple in Tanjavur. Lord Shiva in the form of Brhadeeshwara, and the big-mighty Lord is the presiding deity of the town. The sanctum of the temple contains one of the largest Lingas in the country. The statue of Nandi, the bull, (vehicle of Shiva ) is also one of the biggest seen anywhere and is very beautifully carved. The temple is built to perfect symmetry and is the prime example of excellence in temple architecture achieved by the Cholas. Constructed after observing the principles of Vaastu Shastra to perfection, the temple boasts of the finest stone craft in the country. Recently, it has been declared a world heritage center by the UNESCO. People from all parts of the world throng to see this temple.
The unique feature of this temple is the Buddhist style tenth Century Chola paintings on the outer walls of the sanctum. In fact, these paintings were discovered accidentally. During the Naicker Period, in the fourteenth century, these walls were redone in an inferior style of painting. Fortunately, old paintings were not destroyed in the process of repainting and were rediscovered, accidentally, when a bit of plaster peeled off from the wall. Now the archeologists have been able to painstakingly remove the later date paintings and reveal and conserve the most beautiful originals. These paintings are comparable only to the paintings of Ajanta. Another place where Buddhist /Jain paintings have been found in Tamil Nadu is Chttanavasal in Puddukottai Dist. However, due to over exposure Chittanavasal paintings have undergone considerable deterioration since I saw them first, twenty years ago.
 Cholas not only built the new temples for Shiva but also invited a lot of Brahmins to officiate as temple priests, mainly from Varanasi (Kashi) in North India. It is said that 3000 Dhikshit Brahmins called Thillai Moovayaram, were invited to serve the temple of Lord Nataraja at Chidambaram, which was part of the then Chola territory. The descendents of these Dikshits are now known as Dikshitars and are still serving the temple of Nataraja in a long and ancient tradition. Their only object in life is serving the lord, the supreme being.
(to be continued……)
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