An inscription at the temple
The temple had its foundations laid out by the Tamil emperor
Arulmozhivarman, popularly called Rajaraja Chola I, (Tamil: இராசராச சோழன், Rājarāja Choļan ?) in 1002 CE, as the first
of the great Tamil Chola building projects.
The Brihadeeswarar Temple was built to grace the throne of
the Chola empire in compliance to a command given to him in his dream. The
scale and grandeur is in the Chola tradition. An axial and symmetrical geometry
rules the temple layout. Temples from this period and the following two
centuries are an expression of the Tamils (Chola) wealth, power and artistic
expertise. The emergence of such features as the multifaceted columns with
projecting square capitals signal the arrival of the new Chola style.
The Brihadeeswarar Temple was built to be the royal temple
to display the emperor's vision of his power and his relationship to the
universal order. The temple was the site of the major royal ceremonies such as
anointing the emperor and linking him with its deity, Shiva, and the daily
rituals of the deities were mirrored by those of the king. It is an
architectural exemple showcasing the pure form of the Dravida type of temple
architecture and representative of the Chola Empire ideology and the Tamil civilisation
in Southern India. The temple "testify to the brilliant achievements of
the Chola in architecture, sculpture, painting and bronze casting."
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