The temples testify to the brilliant achievements of the Chola in architecture, sculpture, painting and bronze casting. They enjoyed a long, eventful rule lasting for four and a half centuries with great achievements in all fields of royal endeavour such as military conquest, efficient administration, cultural assimilation and promotion of art. All three temples, the Brihadisvara at Thanjavur, the Brihadisvara at Gangaikondacholapuram and Airavatesvara at Darasuram, are living temples.
The tradition of temple worship and rituals established and practised over a thousand years ago, based on still older Agamic texts, continues daily, weekly and annually, as an inseparable part of life of the people. These three temple complexes therefore form a unique group, demonstrating a progressive development of high Chola architecture and art at its best and at the same time encapsulating a very distinctive period of Chola history and Tamil culture. The temple has sculptures of exceptional quality.
The bronzes of Bhogasakti and Subrahmanya are masterpieces of Chola metal icons. The Saurapitha Solar altar , the lotus altar with eight deities, is considered auspicious.
Known in the inscriptions as Dakshina Meru, the construction of this temple was inaugurated by the Chola King, Rajaraja I CE possibly in the 19th regal year CE and consecrated by his own hands in the 25th regal year CE. A massive colonnaded prakara with sub-shrines dedicated to the ashatadikpalas and a main entrance with gopura known as Rajarajantiruvasal encompasses the massive temple. The sanctum itself occupies the centre of the rear half of the rectangular court.
The vimana soars to a height of This grand elevation is punctuated by a high upapitha, adhisthana with bold mouldings; the ground tier prastara is divided into two levels, carrying images of Siva. Over this rises the 13 talas and is surmounted by an octagonal sikhara.
There is a circumambulatory path all around the sanctum housing a massive linga. The temple walls are embellished with expansive and exquisite mural paintings. Eighty-one of the one hundred and eight karanas, posed in Baharatanatya,are carved on the walls of second bhumi around the garbhagriha.
There is a shrine dedicated to Amman dating to c. Outside the temple enclosure are the fort walls of the Sivaganga Little Fort surrounded by a moat, and the Sivaganga Tank, constructed by the Nayaks of Tanjore of the 16th century who succeeded the imperial Cholas.
The fort walls enclose and protect the temple complex within and form part of the protected area by the Archaeological Survey of India.
It differs from themin itshighly ornate execution. The temple consists of a sanctum without a circumambulatory path and axial mandapas. The front mandapa known in the inscriptions as Rajagambhiran tirumandapam, is unique as it was conceptualized as a chariot with wheels. The pillars of this mandapa are highly ornate.
The elevation of all the units is elegant with sculptures dominating the architecture. A number of sculptures from this temple are the masterpieces of Chola art. The labelled miniature friezes extolling the events that happened to the 63 nayanmars Saiva saints are noteworthy and reflect the deep roots of Saivism in this region. The construction of a separate temple for Devi, slightly later than the main temple, indicates the emergence of the Amman shrine as an essential component of the South Indian temple complex.
From the 16th century the Tamils were ruled by a Teluga-speaking dynasty, the Vijayanagar Empire, based in Vijayanagar, near Hampi, in Karnataka, India. It was founded by two Hindu princes, who were kidnapped by Muslims and returned to power.
They were expected to create Muslim kingdoms but instead founded Hindu ones. The kingdom was eventually conquered by rival local kingdoms and they in turn were defeated by the Moguls, but Mogul rule in the area was short lived.
The British ruled all of Tamil Nadu from to The French held Karikal and Pondicherry, which remained in French hands until Throughout their history and even today the Tamils have rejected influences from northern India and have worked hard to maintain their own identity in language, deities, food and state politics.
In , many people died and immolated themselves in anti-Hindi riots in southern Indians by ethnic Dravidians, who languages has little in common with the Aryan languages like Hindi spoken in the north. Tamil belongs to the Dravidian language group, which includes at least 21 other languages spoken mostly in south and central India.
They are quite different from the Indo-Aryan languages spoken in northern India. The four largest Dravidian languages are spoken in the four linguistic states in southern India. Some Dravidian language speakers live in Pakistan and Sri Lanka but most are found in southern India.
In southern India, Tamil and English are widely spoken. Few people speak Hindi. They reject efforts to have Hindi imposed on them. Modern written and spoken Tamil is very similar to Tamil used 2, years ago. This is attributed to the high value put on the purity of language and an adversity to incorporating Sanskrit and Hindi words into the language.
Regional dialects of Tamil, including the one spoken in Sri Lanka, do not differ all that much from one another. Tamil is very difficult to learn because of the pronunciation.
The written language is a mass of curves and squiggles. Paul Theroux wrote in the Great Railway Bazaar , Tamils have a "rippling speech that resembles the sputtering of a man singing in the shower. Tamils seem to talk constantly-only toothbrushing seems to silence them. Pleasure for a Tamil is discussing a large matter life, truth, beauty, "walues" over a large meal. Tamil villages have traditionally been governed by caste panchayats councils.
Elected councils were supposed to replace the cast councils but they have not developed up there full potential because state politicians have tended to regard them as a threat and neglected or ignored them. Major political parties have managed to gain a large amount of influence in most rural institutions. Many espouse a kind of Tamil nationalism. Local government is often in the form of an administrative office called the taluk , which usually includes offices for the police, land registration, electricity supply, a lower court and high schools for girls and boys.
Above these are the district offices. There are 20 of these in Tamil Nadu. Madras is the state capital. Tamils are generally suspicious of northern Indians and the political power their shear numbers represent. They reject efforts to have the Hindi language imposed on them They also tend to be sympathetic of struggle of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Literacy rates are relatively high. Most villages have their own elementary schools. Some have their own middle schools. English education is common in the cities. Many villagers want English to be taught in their schools so village children can advance in life.
Western medicine is available mostly in the cities and towns. In villages, people depend on Ayuveda medicine, Unani Muslim medicine and Mantiravati, a system based on the uses of magical mantras and special herbs.
Many people wear amulets to ward of disease. Money was used in ancient Tamil kingdoms and thus the Tamils have a long history of capitalism, trade and moneylending. Rural communities began widely using money in the 19th century. Streets are lined with shops. There are also a number of Tamil emigrant communities scattered around the world, especially in central Sri Lanka , Malaysia , South Africa and Singapore , with more recent emigrants also found in Australia , Canada , the United States , and parts of Europe.
Unlike many ethnic groups , Tamils were not governed by a single political entity during most of their history; Tamilakam, the traditional name for the Tamil lands, was only politically united for a brief period between the 9th and 12th centuries under the Chola Empire. The Tamil identity is primarily linguistic , with Tamils being those whose first language was Tamil. In recent times, however, the definition has been broadened to include also emigrants of Tamil descent who maintain Tamil cultural traditions , even when they no longer speak the language.
Tamils are ethnically, linguistically and culturally related to the other Dravidian peoples of South Asia. There are an estimated 74 million Tamils around the world. History The pre-classical period The origins of the Tamil people, like those of the other Dravidian peoples, are unknown, although genetic and archaeological evidence suggest a possible migration into India around BC Gadgil Connections with the Elamite people of ancient Iran have been suggested, but there is little solid evidence to support this view.
It has also been suggested that the people of the Indus Valley Civilization were either Tamil or another Dravidian people see e. Parpola ; , but this theory is deeply controversial and there is at present no academic consensus on the identity of the Indus people. Your help will mean that MRG can support communities like these to help decision makers listen better to get priorities right for local people and help them to protect their environment and restore what has been damaged.
The above picture is of a tribal woman forcibly displaced from her home and land by District Forest Officers in the district of Ganjam, Odisha. Her cashew plantation burned in the name of protection of forests.
Please note that the picture is to illustrate the story and is not from Baphlimali. Esther is a member of the indigenous Ogiek community living in the Mau Forest in Kenya. Her family lives in one of the most isolated and inaccessible parts of the forest, with no roads, no health facilities and no government social infrastructure. The Ogiek were evicted from some forest areas, which have since been logged.
The Ogiek consider it essential to preserve their forest home; others are content to use it to make money in the short term. Esther has a year-old daughter living with a physical disability who has never attended basic school, as it is over 12 kilometres away.
Young children living in these areas face challenges such as long distances to school, fears of assault by wild animals and dangers from people they may encounter on the journey. Because the Ogiek have no legally recognised land rights, despite hundreds of years of residence in this forest, the government is refusing to provide social services or public facilities in the area. Ensuring that the Ogiek can access health services and education is essential and will mean that they can continue living on their land, protecting and conserving the environment there.
We are also advocating for equity in access to education and health by supporting OPDP to ensure that budgets for services are allocated fairly and are used well. The consequence of this wealth is that successive governments — colonial and post-colonial — have seen greater value in the land than the people. This has led to extensive open cast mining which is doubly damaging to the climate, despite the opposition of the Khadia tribe.
Archana is a rare example of an indigenous activist who is involved in UN debates; we need to support many more indigenous peoples and acknowledge their expertise. Minority Rights Group acts as a bridge between excluded communities and decision makers, telling indigenous peoples about opportunities to contribute and reminding decision makers that they need to listen to and involve all, particularly those with proven strategies of living in harmony with nature.
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