Architecture and Scripture
Tamil Nadu is famous for huge temples and marvelous
Gopurams (temple towers). Raja Rajan, the Chola king (11 A.D.), constructed a
temple in Tanjavur. This temple Gopuram is very tall and it is called
Thanjaipperiya Koil, the big temple of Tanjavur. His son Rajendra Chola, who
subdued the rulers of the region up to the river Ganges, constructed another
big temple in Gangai Konda Cholapuram. Except that the Thanjai periya Koil is
bigger in size than the temple in Gangai Konda Cholapuram, they are exactly
similar. The former was named as Rajarajeswaram and the latter was named as
Gangai Kondacholeswaram. These temples are famous for the huge Nandis ‘bulls’
and Lingams. The temples of Madurai Meenakshi Amman, Kanchipuram
Varadharajapperumal, and Chidambaram Natarajar are worth seeing. The skill of
Tamils in architecture and sculpture can be seen in these temples. The five
Rathams (cars) carved in rocks at Mahabalipuram are extremely beautiful. There
are also other works that show the skill of Tamils in sculpture. The
Collectionsof Vigrahas ‘icons,’ statues, drawings and paintings, etc., found in
the museums of Madras, Tanjavur, Pattiswaram and Kaverippumattinam deserve special mention
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