Gangaikonda Cholapuram

Rajendra Chola I built this around 1035 after an expedition north that reached the Ganges, taking the title Gangaikonda, he who brought the Ganges, and founding a capital here to mark it; the city has disappeared entirely and the temple stands alone in farmland. It is one of the three Great Living Chola Temples inscribed by UNESCO, its vimana about fifty-five metres tall with a concave curve to the profile that distinguishes it from the straighter tower at Thanjavur. The bronze-quality stone sculpture on the outer walls, particularly a panel of Shiva blessing Chandesha, is considered among the finest Chola work.

History

The Chola emperor Rajendra I founded the city around 1025 to mark his victory over the Pala dynasty, after a campaign that Chola records say crossed Karnataka, Andhra, Odisha and Bengal, and he had the defeated kingdoms send pots of Ganges water for the temple's well, taking the title Gangaikonda Cholan, the Chola who took the Ganges. The temple, modelled on his father's at Thanjavur, was completed in 1035, and the city, with two concentric walls, remained the Chola capital for about 250 years; all its other temples were destroyed in the late 13th and 14th centuries, for reasons still uncertain, perhaps by the Pandyas who defeated the Cholas, and only the Brihadisvara temple survives among mounds and brick remains. It is part of the Great Living Chola Temples World Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Gangaikonda Cholapuram).

What you'll find

• The curved vimana - a fifty-five metre tower with a concave profile.
• The wall sculpture - Chola panels including Shiva blessing Chandesha.
• The great Nandi - the monolithic bull facing the sanctum.
• The empty setting - farmland where a capital city once stood.

When to go

October to March; the Tamil plains are severely hot from March to June. Mornings light the sculpture best. The site is quiet compared with Thanjavur.

Before you go

Nothing remains of the city, only the temple, which surprises visitors expecting ruins of a capital. There is little shade and interpretation is limited. Photography inside the sanctum is prohibited.

Nearby

Airavatesvara temple lies south; Thanjavur is southwest.