BIBLIOGRAPHY
7.
Indian Architecture –
Hindu,Buddhist,Jain
Wednesday, 24 July 2013
INTRODUCTION
The rule of the Cholas forms an important part in
the history of South India. Chola rule saw remarkable progress in almost all
spheres of life such as polity, culture and economy. They primarily ruled in
the south of India from the 9th to 13th Century. The Indian Chola Empire
conquered not just the south of India but also extended their empire over the
sea and ruled parts of the Maldives and Sri Lanka. The Chola dynasty is an
important landmark in the history of India.
Chola Empire
Under Rajendra Chola
Architecture and art was at its peak during the
reign of the Cholas. They built small new stone temples dedicated to Shiva and
covered the brick built shrines of their predecessors with stone. Pallavan
architecture inspired the Cholas.The local administration system of the Cholas
was amazing and reminds us of the modern day Pahchayati raj.
TIMEPERIOD/TIMELINE
The Chola Dynasty can be divided into three periods.
The EARLY CHOLAS
Their early capitals were Urayur and Kaveripattinam.The main source for the available information of the early Cholas is the early Tamil literature of the Sangam Period. They are also mentioned in the inscriptions Pillars of Ashoka.
The MEDIVIAL CHOLAS
The rise of the Cholas under Vijayalayas leadership.
The Medieval Cholas under Rajaraja and his successors developed a highly organised administrative structure with central control and autonomous village assemblies. The system of government was a hereditary monarchy and the coronation of the king was an impressive ceremony. The royal household comprised of numerous servants of varied descriptions. Land revenue was the mainstay of public finance and great care was undertaken to recording land rights and revenue dues.
This period of the Chola rule saw the maturity of the Tamil Temple architecture. Rajaraja built the great Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur. His son Rajendra imitated this effort by building the temple at his new capital Gangaikonda Cholapuram.
This age also saw the Hindu religious revival in both Saiva and Vaishnava traditions. The Saiva and Vishnava canons were collected and categorised during this period. However the later half of this period saw the state sponsored persecution of those of the Vaishnava persuation. Their spiritual leader Ramanuja was persecuted and driven out of the Chola country.
The LATER CHOLAS
This period started from the third quarter of the 11th century.
TRADE AND MILITARY EXPANSION
REVENUE
The land revenue department was well organized. All lands were carefully surveyed and classified for assessment of revenue. The residential portion of the village was called Ur Nattam. These and other lands such as the lands belonging to temples were exempted from tax. The main items of government expenditure were the king and his court, army and navy, roads, irrigation tanks and canals.
Coins
TRADE
Commerce flourished under the Cholas. Trade was carried on with West Asia and China and South-east Asia. Foreign trade provided an additional incentive to an already developing local market.
Trade routes and territories of the Cholas
MILITARY EXPANSION
The Cholas had ruled as chieftains in Tamilnadu since the first century A.D.towards the middle of the 9th century, Vijayalaya (846-871) conquered Tanjore and declared himself the ruler of an independent state. Even more important was Parantaka I (907-955) who conquered the land of the Pandyas but suffered defeat at the hands of a Rashtrakuta King.Chola power became solidly established in the reign of Rajaraja I (985-1014) and his son and successor Rajindra I (1014-1044).
The Cholas maintained a regular standing army consisting of elephants, cavalry, infantry and navy. About seventy regiments were mentioned in the inscriptions. The royal troops were called Kaikkolaperumpadai. Within this there was a personal troop to defend the king known as Velaikkarar.
Rajaraja‘s policy of annexation was influenced by the consideration of trade. He began by attacking the alliance between Kerala, Ceylon and the Pandayas in order to break their monopoly of western trade. The Cholas paid special attention to their navy. The naval achievements of the Tamils reached its climax under the Cholas. They controlled the Malabar and Coromandal coasts.
The Chola Kingdom had exhausted its resources and was on the decline in the 13th century when it succumbed to an attack by the Hoysalas from the west and the Pandyas from the south. The new kingdoms were to last till the Turkish sultans overthrew the existing dynasties in the Deccan in the 14th century.
ADMINISTRATION OF THE CHOLA EMPIRE
GOVERNMENT
The Chola kings ruled their kingdom with the help of a council of ministers and of officers who were in charge of various branches of administration. Local self-government was a remarkable feature of Chola administration. The village was the basic unit of administration. Chola officials participated more as advisors and observers. The villages had a village assembly or council known as the Ur or Sabha. Villagers who owned land or belonged to the upper castes were chosen by lot to the councils.
The council was often divided into a number of small committees and each committee would look after an aspect of the village administration. The revenue of the Chola kingdom came from two sources-taxes on land and taxes on trade. Often a part of revenue was assigned to a temple.
ADMINISTRATION
The Cholas had an excellent system of administration. The emperor or king was at the top of the administration. The extent and resources of the Chola Empire increased the power and prestige of monarchy. The big capital cities like Tanjore and Gangaikondacholapuram, the large royal courts and extensive grants to the temples reveal the authority of the king. They undertook royal tours to increase the efficiency of the administration.
The Chola Empire was divided into mandalams and each mandalam into valanadus and nadus. In each nadu there were a number of autonomous villages. The royal princes or officers were in charge of mandalams. The town was known as nagaram and it was under the administration of a council called nagarattar.
Councils usually met in the temple or under a tree and passed resolutions. The number of committees and ward members varied from village to village.
SOCIETY,CULTURE,RELIGION AND EDUCATION
SOCIETY,RELIGION
AND CULTURE
There were many developments in the culture and
society during the Chola Empire. The main center for cultural and social
gatherings was the temple. The temple was an institution in itself. The temple
courtyard functioned as a school where students were taught the ancient Vedas
and Holy Scriptures. The temples were built in the form of citadels where
people could feel safe during an attack or aggression.
Caste system was widely prevalent during the Chola
period. However, there was cooperation among various castes and sub-castes in
social and religious life.The society was divided into Brahmins and non-Brahmins,
but there is little mention of Kshatriyas and Vaishyas but the Shudras are
prominent.
A number of popular religious movements flourished
in the Tamil area. They questioned the authority of the Vedas and the theory of
re-birth. Shiva was worshipped as a symbol of fertility.
In the 11th century, Ramanuja disagreed with
Shankara’s theory that knowledge was the primary means of salvation. He
insisted on pure devotion, giving oneself up entirely to God. He also pleaded
for the throwing open of temples to Shudras but without much success.
Life revolved around the temple. As Brahmanism came
into contact with firmly entrenched beliefs in the power of fertility, the
Bhakti cult emerged.
Both Saivism
and Vaishnavism continued to flourish during the Chola period. A number of
temples were built with the patronage of Chola kings and queens. Both
agriculture and industry flourished. Reclamation of forest lands and the
construction and maintenance of irrigation tanks led to agricultural
prosperity. The weaving industry, particularly the silk-weaving at Kanchi
flourished. The metal works developed owing to great demand of images for
temples and utensils. Gold, silver and copper coins were issued in plenty at
various denominations.
Chola sculptures
EDUCATION
Education was also given importance. Besides the
temples as educational centres, several
educational institutions also flourished. Apart from the Vedas and Epics,
subjects like mathematics and medicine were taught in these institutions.
Language developed immensely and many languages like Tamil, Kannada and Telugu
were developed from Sanskrit.
The development of Tamil literature reached its
peak during the Chola period. The Ramayana composed by Kamban and the
Periyapuranam or Tiruttondarpuranam by Sekkilar are the two master-pieces of
this age.
Chola Temples were the
centre of daily life
PEOPLE INVOLVED - EARLY CHOLAS
• Karikala Chola
They
attribute to him the conquest of the whole of India up to the Himalayas and
the construction of the flood banks,
Grand Anicut, of the Kaveri River with the aid of his feudatories.
The Grand Anicut, also known as the Kallanai , is an ancient
dam built on the Kaveri River in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. It
is located about 20 km from Tiruchirapalli. It was built by the Chola king
Karikala Chola around the 2nd Century AD and is considered one of the oldest
water-diversion or water-regulator structures in the world, which is still in
use. It still stands as a symbol of Dravidian Engineering
Grand Anicut
The purpose of the Kallanai was to divert the waters of the
Kaveri across the fertile delta region for irrigation via canals. The dam
splits the river Kaveri into 4 streams. It is constructed from unhewn stone
spanning the Kaveri and is 329 m (1,079 ft) long, 20 m (66 ft) wide and 5.4 m
(18 ft) high. The dam is still in excellent repair, and supplied a model to
later engineers. By the early 20th century, the irrigated area had been
increased to about one million acres.
• Kocengannan
Kocengannan is
potrayed as a Shiva devotee who built many temples dedicated to Shiva along the
banks of the River Kaveri
Thiruvanaikaval is a famous Shiva temple in Tiruchirapalli
built by Kocengannan.It is one of the five main Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu and
had insciptions about the Cholas. Each of the five temples represent the five
elements of nature – earth,water,fire,sky
and air, with Thiruvanaikaval representing water.
There are 5 enclosures inside the temple. The entrance has a
huge and magnificent seven tiered Raja Gopuran in the entrance.
Thiruvanaikaval
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jambukeswarar_Temple,_Thiruvanaikaval)
PEOPLE INVOLVED-MEDIVIAL CHOLAS
• Vijayalaya
The Tiruvalangadu plates state that Vijayalaya captured the
city of Tanjavur and made it his capital and that he also built in it a temple
to the goddess Nisumbhasudani (Durga). The Kanyakumari inscription states that
he renovated the city of Tanjore.
Narttamalai, Pudukkottai has a Cholesvara temple attributed
to Vijayalaya.
Vijayalaya Cholesvara
• Parantaka I
Parantakan gave importance to village administration and
irrigation facilities. He improved agriculture a lot. He was a great devotee of
Shiva. He completed construction of many temples that were started by Aditya I.
He also gave golden roof to Chidambaram Natraj shrine.
- Raja Raja Chola I
Rajaraja Chola (985-1014 AD) was the one of the
imperialistic and greatest Chola rulers. Under the rule of Rajaraja the Chola
kingdom grew into an extensive and well knit empire. It maintained diplomatic
ties with countries as distant as Burma (Myanmar), China, and Malaysia across
the Indian Ocean. Rajaraja I with the help of his able son Rajendra conquered
nearly the whole of the present Madras Presidency. He defeated the eastern
Chalukyas of Vegi, the Pandyas of Madurai and the Gangas of Mysore. He was an
able administrator and also a great builder. Rajaraja’s reign is commemorated
by the Siva temple in Thanjavur, called Brihadeshwara
The medieval Cholas under Rajaraja and his successors
developed a highly organised administrative structure with central control and
autonomous village assemblies. The system of government was a hereditary
monarchy and the coronation of the king was an impressive ceremony. The royal
household comprised of numerous servants of varied descriptions. For the
purpose of administration the empire was divided into convenient areas such as
valanadu, mandalam, nadu, etc. Land revenue was the mainstay of public finance
and great care was undertaken to recording land rights and revenue dues.
View
Sculpture
Gopuram
· Rajendra Chola
· Rajendra Chola
Rajendra I (1012 1044 AD) was also an able ruler like his
father Rajaraja Chola. He went upto Bengal and became victorious on the banks
of Ganges. He was given the title of "Gangaikonda" (the victor of
Ganges). He built up a new capital called Gangaikondacholapuram. Rajendra Chola's
greatest achievements was the conquest of Andaman and Nicobar islands. During
Rajendra Chola reign the kingdom was called the "Golden Age of
Cholas."
The glory of Rajendra Chola’s city, Gangaikonda
Cholapuram is now all but lost. The once mighty Chola capital is now a small
village in Tamil Nadu. The Royal palace, the city buildings are all one with
the dust. The only proof that the place was once the capital of one of the
might Chola Empire are the Shiva temple and the Lion well.
The Lion Well
PEOPLE INVOLVED - LATE CHOLAS
· Rajaraja Chola II
Airavateshwara
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 later half of his 26 year rule. It was
during this period that he initiated construction of the very famous
Airavateswarar 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 Temples at Thanjavur and Gangaikonda Cholapuram all of
which are World Heritage Sites.
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.
Sculptures
PRINCIPLES
The Cholas were great pioneers in temple building, they
included characteristics of Pallava temple- building traditions. A large number
of temples were built throughout their kingdom which carried the significance
of Dravidian temple design. The temple architecture gained hype from the
conquests of Rajaraja Chola and Rajendra Chola I. Architecture and art was at
its peak during the reign of the Cholas. They built small new stone temples
dedicated to Shiva and covered the brick built shrines of their predecessors
with stone.
The architecture becomes distinctive for its rejection of
the lion or vyala based pillars and a profuse relief decoration of the
exteriors-typically Pallavan features.
The bhakti movement seemed to have grown in influence over
the minds of the people and a whole iconography in bronze is devoted to the
nayanars (shiva saints) and the alvars (vaishnava saints).
The popularity of Shiva as Nataraja stems from the fact that it sums up the complex and
profound metaphysical concepts of Hinduism in an animated and forceful form.
Nataraja
ART AND ARCHITECTURE
The Cholas
also built many temples and numerous sculptures were also found. They include
bronze image of Nataraja, the divine dancer Shiva, dancing the dance of death
and destruction. The Chola rulers are remembered most for their creations
rather than their ruling.. Chola rulers were active patrons of the arts,
poetry, drama, music, and dance. They are known for constructing enormous stone
temple complexes decorated inside and out with painted and sculpted
representations of the Hindu gods.
Architecture
developed rapidly under the Chola Empire. The temples that were constructed
were magnificent to look at. Another
famous form of art was the bronze figurines that were crafted during this time.
The craftsmen used to beautifully decorate the statues with garlands and
jewelry while carving the statue itself.
Under the
Cholas the Dravida style of temple architecture exclusive to the south,
attained its most magnificent form. The main feature of this style was the
building of between five to seven storeys above the chief deity room. A large
elaborately carved pillared hall with flat roof was placed in front of the
Sanctum. This Mandap acted as an audience hall and a place for various other
ceremonies. Sometimes a passage was added around the sanctum for devotees to
walk around it where images of many other Gods were placed. The entire
structure was enclosed by high walls with very lofty gateways called Gopurams. The
torus moulding in the basement, which is chamfered, is found in the earlier
Chola temples,later it got rounded. The cornice was of flexed shape, and the
exterior of the shrine walls had no extravagant sculptural decorations. Sub
shrine for attendant divinities were another feature that helped in the
development in temple complexes.
The earlier
temples were modest in size. The later ones where large with Gopuras or Vimanas
dominating the landscape.
Temple
building activity continued even after the fall of the Cholas.
EARLY CHOLA
The Chola
architect found great use of consistently applied pilasters, piers and (later)
attached columns to bind together the distinct masses of the main structure.
Niches appear on the west, north and south sides of the vimana on the square
ground storey; one on either side of the ardha-mandapa and also at cardinal
points on the girva, at the base of the circular or square shikara. The kumund
is rounded and semi-circular and not ocatgonally chamfered. An elegantly carved
frieze of serried heads of vyalis appears as part of the upper mouldings on the
base. The kudus are topped by kirtimukhas (glory heads) in place of spade
shaped finials. Decorative refinement is accomplished by panjaras
(pavilion-like projections with their own kapotas and base mouldings). A small
independent pavilion forms part of the architectural scheme on the southern
side within the walled enclosure, later on leading to the erection of
subsidiary free-standing shrines within the temple compound. The subordinate
deities are housed in small independent shrines.
MEDIEVAL CHOLAS
The political
supremacy of The Cholas suffered a temporary setback when the Rashtrakutas
subdued them in 949CE. During this period the glory of the Chola architecture
revealed itself in brief glimpses under the royal patronage of queen dowager
Sembiam Mahadevi whose major contribution lies in restoration of old edifices
and covering old brick structures with stone. The triple-storeryed Achalesvara
at Tiruvarur owes its splendid form chiefly to the queen.
LATER CHOLA
During this
period, all principal deities of the Hindu pantheon appear on the Chola
temples; Shiva, the most popular deity in many a shrine; appears on the
superstructure of many a shrine.
BRIHADESHVARA
The vimana rises over a massive basal square of 30m side. The platform is heavily moulded and the adhisthana is further extended to support the ardha-mandapa and the mahamandapa which form a unified structural composition. A grand flight of lateral stairways attached to the sanctuary tower makes here its first appearance in the chola temple architecture, contributing immensely to the exterior accentuation of the tower and the ardha-mandapa at the entrance to the garbha-griha. The massive balustrade, decorated with the figure reliefs on the outer sides, is grand and curls up dramatically at the end.
The square
base of the vimana rises perpendicular to a height of 15m. its double-storeyed
face is didvided horizontally by a prominent cornice. A frieze of yali-heads
runs around the whole structure. The cubical base of the vimana has two
storeys, each containing six niches on each face west, north and south. There
are also three large door openings one over the other on each of the three
sides. These niches contain bold reliefs of deities, mostly Shiva in various
manifestations. The deep rectangular niches are framed within pilasters chiefly
remarkable for the koshtapanjaras and kumbapanjaras, both a dictinctive chola
form of embellishment.
The
Brihadisvara vimana is a pyramidal hollow. Between the outer wall and the wall
of the sanctum nis contained the pradakshinapath which rises to a height of 15m
to accommodate within the splendid emblem of Shiva The grand monoloithic lingam
and pedestal.
The
superstructure of the vimana contains thirteen storeys rising in a pyramidal
form, each storey demarcated with heavy parapet moulding ,shallow relief work
on the arcature and crowned with a lionhead, salas and panjaras. On the eastern
front, the first five storeys and extended long enough to include under it the
ardha mandapa. On the uppermost square terrace sit four pairs of nandis at the
corners.
BRAHMAPURISVARA
The superstructure in bricks looks a little odd with heavy kumud moulding, repetetive use of shikhara and sala (barrel-shaped) forms, and nandis appearing on the superstructure rising rhythmically in tiers upto the square griva behind rich sculptural decoration on the cardinal slides. At the lowest level, the body ofd main structure has a richly variegated veneer – miniature reliefs at the base of pilasters, niches, panjara and makatoranas. The image of brahma standing under a canopy in a niche has a rare charm and poise. This slightly elongated image is flanked by images of devotees in niches.
Brahmapurisvara temple exterior
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