Art And Architecture
The Cholas continued and developed the art
tradition of the Pallavas and pandyas, whom
they succeeded. During the nearly four certuries
long rule, the entire Tamil country was studded
with temples and Chola art traditional were
adopted and followed in Sri Lanka and other
parts of south India. The replacement of brick
by stone structure went on steadily under the
cholas. The chief features of Chola temples are
their massive vimanas of towers and spacious
courtyards. In the Brihadeswara of Rajarajesvara
temple, dedicated to Siva, the vimana of tower
is about 57 metres high upon a square, comprising
thirteen successive storeys. It is crowned by a
single block of granite, 7.5 metres high and about
80 tonnes in weight. Similarly, Rajendra I
erected a splendid temple at his new capital,
Gangakonda Cholapram. Some Chola temples
at Thanjavur and Kalahasti contain beautiful
protrait images of royal personages, like those
of Rajaraja I and his queen Lodamahadevi and
of Rajendra I and his queen Cholamahadevi,
The Cholas also encouraged plastic art; the metal
and stone images cast during the period are
exquisitely executed and display a wounderful
givour, dignity and grace. The masterpiece of
chola sculpture is the famous Nataraja of the
dancing Siva image at the great temple of
Chidambaram. Numerous such images were also
moulded in bronze. This Nataraja has been
described as the “cultural epitome” of the chola
period. The Cholas also patronised painting. Of
the Chola paintings, the most important are those
in the pradakshina passage of the Rajarajesvara
temple.
Temple architecutre, particularly the
Dravida or south Indian style of architecture,
reached the pinnacle of glory under the Cholas.
The chief feature of a Chola temple is the vimana
or the story, which was later eclipsed by the
richly ornamented gopuram of gateway. Under
the Cholas, temples became the centre of life,
particularly in the rural areas. The village
assembly invariably held its meetings in the
temple mandapas, which became an additional
feature of the Chola temple architecture.
The best example is, the Siva or the
Brihadesvara of the Rajarajesvara temple, built
in 1009 by Rajaraja I. Tanjore. It is a fitting
memorial to the material achievements of the
Cholas under Rajaraja I. Apart from being the
tallest (216 feet) of all Indian temples of the
medieval period, it is a masterpiece of south
Indian architecture. In this temple, a carving of
a man’s head with a European hat is found on
one side of the temple (in a subsidiary structure),
which is believed to be that of Marco Polo (late
13th century), the Venetian traveler, The temple
of Gangaikonda Cholapurm (also dedicated to
Siva or Brihadesvara), the creation of Rajendra
I, was meant to excel its predecessor in every
conceivable way. Erected around 1030, the
greater elaboration in its appearance attested to
the more affluent state of the chola empire under
Rajendra I. It is larger in plan though not as tall
as the previous one.
The Chola period also witnessed great strides
in the field of sculpure. The three main classes
of Chola sculpture are portraits, icons and
decorative sculptures.
There are three well-preserved and nearly
life-size portraits on the walls of the
Duranganatha temple at Srinivasanallyur, and
several others in the Nagesvara temple at
Kumbhakonam. The Chola sculptors started
bronze-casting sometime around the middle of
the 9th century. The Cholas are particularly
known for their Nataraja bronzes (bronze
statues of Nataraja of the dancing Siva) which
are master pieces of this Nagesvara temple at
Dumbhakonam. A group of three bronzes of
Rama, Lakshmana and Sita wth Hanuman at
their feet from Tirkkadaiyur (Tanjore District) is
one of the finest products of Chola bronzemarking
of the reign of Rajaraja I.
Chola wall paintings are to be found on the
walls of the Vijayala Cholesvara and
Rajarajesvara temples. On the walls of the
Vijalaya Cholesvara temple, large painted figures
of Mahakala, Devi and Siva are still visible.
The Hoysalas were also great patrons of art.
In many cases, the Hoysala temples are not single
but double, having all essential parts duplicated.
One more noteworthy feature is that the temple
itself appears to be the work of a sculptor and
not of a builder, This is best illustrated in the
Hoysalesvara temple at Halebid, whose plinth
consists of nine bands and each band had
thousands of decorative figures in various
postures. Hence, the Hoysala temples have been
aptly described as sculptors’ architecture. There
are a number of temples in the Mysore territory
which exhibit amazing display of sculptural
exuberance. The most typical and well-known
examples are the temples of Desava at
Simnathpur, Chenna Desava at Belur and
Hoysalesvara at Halebid. The Keasva at
Simnathpur, Chenna Kesava at Belur and
Housalesvara at Halebid. The Desava temple at
Somnathpur, near Seringapatnam erected about
1268, is still in a perfect state.
The other major centers of Dravida style are
Mammallapuram (Mahabalipuram) with the
seven pagodas, kailashnath and Vaikuntah Perumal
temples at Kanchi, and Parshurameshvar
temple at Gudimallam.
The temples of Orissa represent the Nagara
style of architecture. Few of the famous temples
built during 7th and 13th centuries include
Lingaraja temple at Bhuvaneshwar, Jagannath
temple at Puri and Sun temple at Konark. The
temples built by Chandel rulers at Khajurago
between 950 and 1050 are also famous for their
architectural beauty.
