06/09/2023
The Chola Murals Part 3
part-1 & part-2 available on my page check out...
The Chola royalty zealously built many stone temples all over their kingdom. The Rajarajesvaram is the grandest of all Chola temples. The exact year in which Rajaraja I (AD 985-1014) commenced the massive exercise of constructing Rajarajesvaram is not recorded anywhere. Apart from conceptualizing and executing this architectural splendor of gigantic proportion, Rajaraja I also embellished it tastefully and carefully, with an array of sculptures and murals. The foremost aspect about the Rajarajesvaram is its incredible scale and perfect ex*****on. There was no previous model for Rajaraja to learn from, or to emulate, therefore, the source of inspiration for constructing such a grand temple, as this remains a mystery. Undoubtedly this temple assimilated several elements that might have been borrowed from other temples.
Rajaraja’s clarity of vision is evident everywhere in the temple. It is not surprising that Rajaraja aptly chose to adorn the dark pradakshina-path or the circumambulatory path with exquisite murals. The array of Saivite themes painted was the choice of the king as he was also known as Sivapadasekhara. The Chola painter took the opportunity to compose the murals with extraordinary imagination. Unlike his contemporary sculptors, architects or artists carved and cast the marvelous stone and metal images, the medium and large spaces provided the Chola period painter the freedom to explore several dimensions. Rajaraja used this flexibility to impart life to all figures and motifs, making them more alive and communicative with the beholder.