Brihadisvara Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram

Rajendra I (reigned c. 1012–1044 CE) was the son of Rajaraja I, builder of the great temple at Thanjavur. According to the ASI, Rajendra built a new capital here, probably in the first quarter of the 11th century, and with it a great temple for Shiva. The city itself is now in ruins and has been only partly excavated. Wikipedia, citing historians, notes that the other Chola-era temples of the old capital have not survived, and that the reasons for the city's destruction remain debated.

An unusual feature, noted by the ASI, is that there is no inscription of Rajendra himself in the temple. The earliest inscription belongs to his son and records donations made by his father. Wikipedia records about twenty later inscriptions from the later Cholas, Pandyas and the Vijayanagara period recording gifts to the temple.

The ASI also records that in the 19th century a British officer regarded the temple as a ready source of stone for a weir across the Kollidam river and ordered its demolition. The demolition did not happen because local people protested. The site was added to the existing Thanjavur World Heritage listing in 2004, the original inscription of Thanjavur dating from 1987. In 2025 the temple was the venue for a celebration marking a thousand years since the start of its construction and Rajendra I's maritime expedition, as reported by DT Next.

Architecture and sacred features

The ASI explains that the Thanjavur temple influenced this one in its large layout and massive elevation: the sanctum with its axial halls, the Chandikesvara shrine, the cloister and the gopura follow the Thanjavur plan. Here, however, the architect is said to have corrected some shortcomings of the Thanjavur design. UNESCO gives the vimana (tower over the sanctum) a height of 53 m and describes it as having recessed corners and a graceful, upward-curving profile, in contrast to the straight, severe tower at Thanjavur. Wikipedia adds that the vimana has nine storeys and that a seated Nandi in the courtyard faces the sanctum.

The temple is known for its sculpture. The ASI lists niche figures including a dancing Ganesha, Ardhanari, Dakshinamurti, Harihara and Nataraja on the south wall; Gangadhara, Lingodbhava, Vishnu and Subrahmanya on the west; and Kalantaka, Durga, Brahma and Bhairava on the north. It singles out the Chandesanugrahamurti (Shiva garlanding the devotee Chandesha) and Saraswati beside the northern steps to the sanctum. The ASI also mentions six pairs of large monolithic dvarapalas (door guardians), and UNESCO and the ASI both describe the bronzes of Bhogashakti and Subrahmanya as masterpieces of Chola metalwork. A Saurapitha, a lotus-shaped solar altar carrying eight deities, is regarded as auspicious.