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Airavatheeswara Temple (mandir)
The temple structure reached its zenith during the rule of the Chola rulers.
Thanjavur, being the capital of the Chola rulers, witnessed most of the
architectural activities. The Airavatheeswara temple, located at Dharasuram is
one such example. The good Chola ruler, Raja Raja II built the Airavatheeswara
temple (mandir), which has now been acknowledged like a world heritage monument
by the UNESCO. The Airavatheeswara temple is an excellent example of the pure
type of the Dravida sort temple (mandir).
Construction of the Airavatheeswara Temple (mandir)
The Vimana (tower) of the temple rises to a top of 23 meters. The sanctum
sanctorum of the temple (mandir) is nirandhra i.e. without the circumambulatory
passage. There's an ardha Mandapam, and a 100-pillared Maha Mandapam in the
temple.
The outer partitions of the Maha Mandapam as well as the garba griha have finely
carved sculptures. In addition to these, the pillars supporting the Maha
Mandapam, the within of the Maha Mandapam and the partitions of the prakara
(enclosure) have superbly carved panels.
In the southwest a part of the prakara, a girl's acrobatics are chiseled out to
symbolize four in one. The statue of Annapoorani in the ardha Mandapam is a
wonderful piece of sculpture, the face glowing in smile, the left hand carrying
a brass vessel and the precise holding a lotus. The japanese and western sides
of the Maha Mandapam contain Ratha-like side projections which can be attribute
of 12 different Chola temples at Chidambaram, Tiruvarur and Melakadambur.
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