Rajendra's Monument of VICTORY

GANGAIKONDACHOLEESWARAM :  The name seems actually longer than the little town end to end . 

The Second of the GREAT LIVING CHOLA TEMPLES celebrated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site .

And justly so . What Rajendra-I achieved , first as a co-ruler with his father Rajaraja and later as Emperor, is truly unparalleled in history of South India , as glorious as the best in India and as note worthy as any in the world of historic times . It is just unfortunate that not much press was given to him in our country's history books , either due to  poor initiative by southern historians or the preoccupation of pan Indian writers with Empires only north of The Vindhya Mountains. It is only now that there has been a rise , with a vengeance, in outpouring of pride and love for the Imperial Cholas , their achievements, their arts and Culture. 

We know from documented evidence , that the great king Raja Raja Cholan was not quite in his prime when he finally inherited the Chola empire from his uncle . Just a few years into his reign , he made his son Rajendra his right hand . This youngster seems to have been born to Glory . He achieved unprecedented military successes for his father , extending the empire upto the banks of River Ganga  and also beyond the seas , forging trade and military  alliances with Kingdoms of the Far East and even China. 

It goes without saying that glorious victories in War against established empires always yield war-spoils of enormous proportions. Right after devastating Chalukyan lands and  touching  Odisha and Bengal, Rajendra revelled in the title "Gangai Konda Cholan" and , to no one's surprise, decided to commemorate it with a fitting , grand project . He created a new Capital City , away from Thanjavur , and in it, erected a massive monument : A granite temple mirroring his father's creation , Brhadeeswara temple, at Thanjavur.  

The Temple at Gangaikondacholapuram is also called Brhadeeswara Temple now because of the enormous size of the Lingam ( 13 ft tall , 18ft wide) . But it could have been just  Gangaikondacholeeswaram Udayar, or the more common , Mahesvarar ,  in his time . The arresting feature of this temple too is the stone Vimanam , similar to the Thanjavur big temple , but out of deference to his father , he had it made a little shorter ( 55 meters) ! Also , the sides are not straight , but gently sloping , so the Thanjavur Vimanam is called Masculine , while this Vimanam is Feminine.  It has 9 talas or tiers .

The outer walls are ornamented with the most lovely koshtamurthis and small bas relief squares with narratives from Shiva leela puranas. The gigantic  Dwarapalas at the three entrances are arresting ! 

Among the processional bronzes , that of Senani Subrahmanya is matchless , the zenith of perfection in all aspects. Some War Trophies like the Surya Peetam and a Durga are also installed in the temple. 

The town and the temple functioned as important administrative , cultural and social centers throughout 11th and 12th centuries. 

The marvelous temple is said to have fallen to ruin and neglect after Chola times due to invasions  and wars .It has been reported that when British surveyors found it in 1806, it was over grown with shrubs and in ruined state.  Though  dynasties succeeding Cholas had done their bit to keep it in good  repair  . Even during Colonial times , stones from the front pavilion were taken away to build dams ! It is thanks only to The Archeological Survey of India ( a British legacy , to be fair) that the temple has been renovated/ restored and is being maintained well . 

Very surprisingly ,  no inscriptions of Rajendra remain on the walls of this temple either about its consecration or his own greatness !   There are a few epigraphical records of grants given in later times. It is probable that any inscriptions he had ordered could have gone to dust when the front mantapas were raided for stone to build other utility structures ! The Essalam Copper Plate Inscription , written during his reign , mention the City and the Temple , so that date 1036 CE is given as the date  the temple , for convenience. 

Excavations all around the temple are still going on . The Fort  and The Palace do not exist , but some remnants of foundation walls have been found. 

The vast compound also has subsidiary shrines around the main temple , some contemporaneous, some of later times. The colossal Nandi at the front is also a later day addition. 

Though functioning as a living temple with all due worship rituals , it has also become a major tourist attraction . The only shortcoming is lack of decent restrooms nearby.