We came to the stone walls of the UNESCO site, with only the Vimanam visible from inside.
As we parked the van, we saw a long driveway leading in to the front gate of the temple.
We got out, and started walking, and after rounding the corner, stopped at the Nandi opposite the entranceway. A strange one, as it is outside the temple premises. To one side, the enclosure had been fenced off, as the steps there are supposed to produce different tones when tapped, and to preserve them, they have been cordoned off - like the iron pillar at the Qutb complex, Delhi, which was hugged by everyone, because of some myth around it.
After listening to Pradeep Chakravarthy give us the basics about the temple(built by Rajaraja II, in a style different to Rajendra's, fusion of the old building style(Aditya, Parantaka), with a brand new style. with very intricate motifs elaborate construction, wanted it to be the best by far, so vandalised a whole bunch of previously existing Chola temples, and took the best pieces from them-this is visible everywhere, wnhere you can see a difference in colour, and lines running through most structures.)
We entered, and spent the rest of the evening looking around. At certain spots, Pradeep Chakravarthy would stop us, and give us the significance of a certain carving.
While enjoying the art, and the magnificence, I was also looking for inscriptions.
I found some 18th century ones on the floor, but right till the end, never saw any proper Chola. But there they were, right by the entrance.
As we parked the van, we saw a long driveway leading in to the front gate of the temple.
We got out, and started walking, and after rounding the corner, stopped at the Nandi opposite the entranceway. A strange one, as it is outside the temple premises. To one side, the enclosure had been fenced off, as the steps there are supposed to produce different tones when tapped, and to preserve them, they have been cordoned off - like the iron pillar at the Qutb complex, Delhi, which was hugged by everyone, because of some myth around it.
After listening to Pradeep Chakravarthy give us the basics about the temple(built by Rajaraja II, in a style different to Rajendra's, fusion of the old building style(Aditya, Parantaka), with a brand new style. with very intricate motifs elaborate construction, wanted it to be the best by far, so vandalised a whole bunch of previously existing Chola temples, and took the best pieces from them-this is visible everywhere, wnhere you can see a difference in colour, and lines running through most structures.)
We entered, and spent the rest of the evening looking around. At certain spots, Pradeep Chakravarthy would stop us, and give us the significance of a certain carving.
While enjoying the art, and the magnificence, I was also looking for inscriptions.
I found some 18th century ones on the floor, but right till the end, never saw any proper Chola. But there they were, right by the entrance.
At one point, Pradeep pointed out to us some jaali work in front of a section of a mandapam skirting the wall. I went closer to have a look, and found a dark segment of temple behind it. In that area was an empty mandapam, except for 2 shivalingams, and a small structure on the floor.
We spent overall, maybe an hour, hour and a half, before the dark clouds started to cover the entire sky. We didn't notice it at the time though.
A few minutes later, it was time to leave. But some people wanted to go to Swamimalai kovil, and not straight back, so I took advantage of the confusion, and went to check out the ruined Rajagopuram at the back.
The Rajagopuram is a small distance away from the main temple, so i jogged there. The base is like any other gopuram. A small room, with a couple of pillars in rows, decorated. At the back, a flight of steps to the next floor. On top of that, instead of the regular triangular structure, or a roof, it opened to sky.
I navigated broken bottle pieces, and weeds, and climbed up the stairs embedded in the walls to the first floor. There, a more or less symmetrical design looked back from the other half. I climbed on.
Now I was at the top of the Rajagopuram, looking at Darasuram. I clicked a few pictures, and felt some water on my hand. Realising what was happening, I quickly clicked some more, of the Gopuram, and climbed back down. Then I ran to Appa, who had been waiting for me, and we both dashed for the bus, as it started to pour.
Location: Airavateswara, Darasuram
The Nandi
A pano just inside the temple
Ganas dancing. In the various invasions following the downfall of the Cholas, the temple was very badly damaged. Hence the different coloured stone blocks here and there.
Even the steps are decorated!
An 1891 November Thanjavur inscription in the floor
The highly carved pillars
The outside of the temple - the Vimanam
A pano from a corner of the temple
The damaged Rajagopuram in the falling light
The inside of the Rajagopuram
A few minutes later, it was time to leave. But some people wanted to go to Swamimalai kovil, and not straight back, so I took advantage of the confusion, and went to check out the ruined Rajagopuram at the back.
The Rajagopuram is a small distance away from the main temple, so i jogged there. The base is like any other gopuram. A small room, with a couple of pillars in rows, decorated. At the back, a flight of steps to the next floor. On top of that, instead of the regular triangular structure, or a roof, it opened to sky.
I navigated broken bottle pieces, and weeds, and climbed up the stairs embedded in the walls to the first floor. There, a more or less symmetrical design looked back from the other half. I climbed on.
Now I was at the top of the Rajagopuram, looking at Darasuram. I clicked a few pictures, and felt some water on my hand. Realising what was happening, I quickly clicked some more, of the Gopuram, and climbed back down. Then I ran to Appa, who had been waiting for me, and we both dashed for the bus, as it started to pour.
Location: Airavateswara, Darasuram
The Nandi
A pano just inside the temple
Ganas dancing. In the various invasions following the downfall of the Cholas, the temple was very badly damaged. Hence the different coloured stone blocks here and there.
Even the steps are decorated!
An 1891 November Thanjavur inscription in the floor
The highly carved pillars
The outside of the temple - the Vimanam
A pano from a corner of the temple
The damaged Rajagopuram in the falling light
The inside of the Rajagopuram
Epilogue for the day: We got back to the resort fine. By the time we reached, it had stopped raining. We went back to our rooms, freshened up, went for dinner(some good stuff again, this time in a banquet room), and a little while later, headed back to our rooms. That evening, I had agreed to get up early, and go to the temple in kumbakonam before breakfast. As I got ready to sleep, I started having second thoughts about having to wake up so early, but brushed them aside, and slept.
