Observe millennium anniversary of Chola king: HRD Ministry

[Hindustani78]

Last Updated: Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - 23:58
Observe millennium anniversary of Chola king: HRD Ministry | Zee News




New Delhi: Against the backdrop of a call from RSS to celebrate the millennium anniversary of the Rajendra Chola I, the great king of the chola empire, HRD Ministry has asked schools and colleges to organise programmes on the campuses so that children of the "new generation" are inspired by the rich legacy of ancient India.


In a communication, the Ministry has asked the institutes to organise programmes "so that the children of new generation are inspired by the legacy of the rich history of the country they belong to".

The Kendriya Vidyalayas have, in fact, relayed to all the zones to organise programmes during the co-curricular activity period and in assembly, a circular said.

Crowned in 1014 CE, King Rajendra I extended his rule not only from the banks of river Ganga to the whole of Southern India but also up to Sri Lanka, Lakshadweep, Maldives, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Trade, commerce, art, culture, architecture and sculpture flourished under his reign in this entire region.

"Remembering such glorious period of our history will be inspirational to the people in the work for national resurgence.

"All the people of Bharat including Swyamasevaks are called upon to remind Bharat and the world about the achievement of the Chola king Rajendra for providing benign rule with all round progress in such a vast area and to ensure their support as well as participation in all the events related to this incidence," RSS general secretary?Suresh (Bhayya) Joshi?had said in a statement earlier.

The development comes at a time when the HRD Ministry is being accused of saffronisation of education, a charge denied by Minister Smriti Irani.

Rajendra is also credited with establishing a university for Vedic studies at Ennayiram in Tamil Nadu.

PTI

 

[Hindustani78]

Underground chamber found on premises of Siva temple at Villianoor | Zee News
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - 18:19
Puducherry: An underground chamber close to a twelfth-century Siva temple at nearby Villianoor was on Wednesday found by workers engaged in renovation work.

The workers came across a granite slab close to the Lord Somaskandar shrine and when they removed it, they found a 15 foot deep chamber with some stepping stones leading to it, officials said.

The contractor engaged in renovation work said he got into the chamber and went ahead for a few feet and found it to be a strong structure. He could not proceed further because of the airtight nature of the basement, he said.

Officials of the Revenue, Hindu Religious Institutions and Police departments who rushed to the spot opined that the chamber could have been used as a safety vault to store valuable icons and other valuables.

The temple was constructed during the chola period and it was estimated that it was constructed in 12th century.

As soon as news spread of the chamber being found, a large number of people made a beeline to see it.

Police were deployed to prevent people from getting close to the site as it has a narrow entrance.

PTI

 

[Hindustani78]

Cooum: The scene of great battles - The Hindu
'Valourous Chola Prince Rajaditya was killed right in front of my eyes by a poisioned arrow'
A great city grew on my banks, but did you know that they have been sites of the clash of civilisations?


The location was close to what you now know as the spot where the dam was constructed across me at Keshavaram, where Kosasthalayar splits to do her own thing. It was near the location of this modern dam that I witnessed a bloody war of much importance, many moons ago.


In 949 AD, the combined armies of the Cholas and Cheras were led by the Chola crown prince Rajaditya, son of King Parantaka-I. The army met a fierce enemy in King Krishna III of the Rashtrakuta kingdom at Thakkolam (now technically placed in Vellore, but quite close to Kancheepuram), to whose aid came the forces of Ganga dynasty.



On a fateful afternoon, Rajaditya, the valorous Chola prince, was killed right in front of my eyes by a poisoned arrow, altering forever the history of the Tamil kingdom. Owing to the death of the prince, the crown later moved to his younger brother Arinjaya Chola and thus paved the way for the ascension of his descendants Raja Raja-I and Rajendra-I, two of the greatest Chola emperors, at a later point.



Imagine this: If not for the Thakkolam battle on my banks, you may not see the iconic Brihadeeshwarar temple today in Thanjavur since Raja Raja Chola would not have become a king.



A few kilometres down Thakkolam, the Polilore battlefield (Pullalur), again near my waters, was where the British forces faced tremendous losses in the Carnatic wars.

In 1780, Tipu Sultan faced off with British East India Company commander Colonel William Baille, inflicting deeps wounds to the British ego. As I watched the guns and canons blaze on either side, Baille was captured along with many of his troops and taken to Srirengapattna in Mysore.

But a year later in 1781, they returned to the same spot for another encounter.

The British side, now reinforced with better fire power, defeated Hyder Ali under the leadership of Eyre Coote. I remember that the Polilore field had witnessed another ancient but less decisive war as well, when Chalukyas led by Pulakesin II and Pallava King Mahendraverma-I took on each other. The former won.



Source: Venkatesh Ramakrishnan, Chennai Cooum group

Here's an interactive map. Click on the green points to know the place and its significance.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ancient murals discovered - The Hindu

Mural technicians displaying a mural discovered on a wall at Sri Devarajaswamy Temple, Little Kancheepuram —Photo D. Gopalakrishnan
Restoration process unravels inner layer of work
Restoration of murals at Sri Devarajaswamy temple, Little Kancheepuram, has led to the discovery of similar murals from an earlier period.

While working on the first circumambulatory corridor – `Kachivaiththan Thiruchuttru – of this ancient temple in the early part of August, a team of experts engaged in preservation of antiques stumbled upon a fine inner layer of murals beneath the one they were restoring, near the `Kachivaiththan Mandapam, one of the halls of place of worship, also known as Varadaraja Perumal temple.

Suspecting the presence of murals from an earlier period beneath the lime surface, they ensured the inner layer of the murals were unveiled by separating the outer layer, in the presence of R. Kannan, Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism, Culture and Religious Endowments Department, on Tuesday.

Subsequently, the team led by S. Sampathkumar, retired modeller-cum-conservationist, Archaeological Survey of India, and J.D. Jaganathan, retired Laboratory Assistant, Museum Department, separated the upper layer painting of Sri Vishnu with his two consorts in standing posture, by applying mild chemicals on the tempera mural to transfer the pigments on to a piece of cotton.

Later, they removed the upper layer of the lime surface carefully to unveil the older wall painting.

A close look at the unveiled painting revealed that the artwork might have been created using the fresco-secco method. Using this method, images were drawn on the nearly-dry and firm lime plaster, said one of the team members, S.Madhan, who holds a doctorate in mural paintings.

Mr. Kannan said that initial observation of the inner layer painting revealed that they might have been drawn using vegetable colours.

The separation exercise carried out on September 22 at Sri Devarajaswamy temple was similar to the one executed at the Big temple, Tanjore where the 13th to 16th Century Vijayanagara period murals were separated to unveil the earlier Chola period wall paintings.

 

[Srinivas]

Nice initiative !

 

[Maravan]

The rivalry between cholas and pandyas caused the down fall of the chola dynasty. Both being tamil kings, they were hostile and always helped their rivals opponents. When cholas conquered srilanka, its the pandyas who allied with the ceylon king and defeated the cholas.

If cheras cholas pandyas ruled tamil nadu under one umbrella, no other indian kingdom would have found a place in the history.

Pandya dynasty was the longest ruling dynasty in india, no one is sure about their beginning, pandyas were mentioned even before the pre-christian era. Chera king imayavaramban nedum cheralathan had his boundary till himalayas, so he earned the title "Imayavaramban" imayam=himalayas in tamil, varambu= boundary in tamil, but he was killed by chola in war.

Pandyas, cheras deserve a place as much as the cholas.

 

[Hindustani78]

Thanjavur Brihadeshwara – Sri Raja Raja Chola ( 985 -1014 CE). Photos courtesy: Mr. Shashwath, Mr Arvind Venkatraman and Raju's Temple Visits | Temple Visit Travelogues, Directories, Photos and Geographical Maps of Indian Temples, mostly Tamilnadu

Pullamangai – Parantaka Chola I ( 907 – 955 CE). Photo courtesy: Mr. Shashwath, Mr Arvind Venkatraman and Raju's Temple Visits | Temple Visit Travelogues, Directories, Photos and Geographical Maps of Indian Temples, mostly Tamilnadu

Tanjore Brihadeshwara – Sri Raja Raja Chola ( 985 -1014 CE). Photo courtesy: Mr. Shashwath, Mr Arvind Venkatraman and http://shanthiraju. wordpress.com/.

Tribuvanam – Kulottunga Chola III( 1178 -1218CE). Photo courtesy: Mr. Shashwath, Mr Arvind Venkatraman and Raju's Temple Visits | Temple Visit Travelogues, Directories, Photos and Geographical Maps of Indian Temples, mostly Tamilnadu

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  Thanjavur Brihadeshwara – Sri Raja Raja Chola ( 985 -1014 CE). Photos courtesy: Mr. Shashwath, Mr Arvind Venkatraman and Raju's Temple Visits | Temple Visit Travelogues, Directories, Photos and Geographical Maps of Indian Temples, mostly Tamilnadu
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  Pullamangai – Parantaka Chola I ( 907 – 955 CE). Photo courtesy: Mr. Shashwath, Mr Arvind Venkatraman and Raju's Temple Visits | Temple Visit Travelogues, Directories, Photos and Geographical Maps of Indian Temples, mostly Tamilnadu
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  Tanjore Brihadeshwara – Sri Raja Raja Chola ( 985 -1014 CE). Photo courtesy: Mr. Shashwath, Mr Arvind Venkatraman and http://shanthiraju. wordpress.com/.
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(This monthly column talks about many unknown temple and its art and architerctural splendours. This one throws light on the changing styles of a sculpture over a period during Pallava and Chola regimes.)

The most common request from enthusiasts pertains to dating sculptures. Fortunately dating stone sculpture is easier as most of them are found in larger quantity and readily available for study. Quite often we do get foundation inscriptions that allow us to precisely date them. The same cannot be said about bronzes though, as the ones under worship are not open to study for obvious reasons and the ones in museums are far removed from their original settings. We shall take up the study of stone sculptures of a single form – the Lingothbhava, for it’s the most common and easy to spot – found in most temples on the circumambulatory pathway right behind the main sanctum. We shall pick four distinct examples and try to trace the form’s evolution from Pallava period through early Chola and later Chola periods.

The first one is a typical later Pallava creation from the Kailasanthar temple. It is important to notice the ornamentation, especially how the sacred thread – Yagnopavitham passes over the right hand, a very unique Pallava feature. The importance given to the Trishul and its unique shape, the beautiful crescent and the thin and slightly longer torso of Vishnu and Brahma on the sides as compared to the lower body etc are all pointers. With experience you will get to notice the round shape of the face, thick set nose and the not too muscular chest giving them an almost young adult profile.

The Chola revival spurs temple building all over Tamil Nadu and the artists expressed themselves to the fullest extent in the early stages. Though the face of Siva has been damaged, there are no greater stone sculptures than Brahma and Vishnu on the sides of this magnificent Lingothbhavar at the Brahmapuriswarar temple in Pullamangai. A span of two centuries and you can see that all the extra trimmings have been minimalised, with the central pillar of fire taking centre stage, with Brahma shown flying to see the top and Vishnu as the boar burrowing underneath. They are also sculpted on both the sides and their size is only slightly smaller than that of Siva. Siva is shown with only two pairs of hands, the sacred thread falls straight over the hip and the attributes of the axe and deer are becoming more symbolic and smaller in size but still within the frame inside the pillar whose rather straight edges of the Pallava are now becoming more rounded. The important feature to notice is the normal depiction of the body, thin waists and chest, with the face getting more naturally oval. Another century and the emphasis totally shift to Siva while Brahma and Vishnu are shown in a very low relief and in a much smaller proportion.

The difference to note is also in the iconography of the pillar of fire, now depicted almost like that of a Linga with Siva emerging from a perfectly formed oval opening. The difference in the shape of Siva’s face and torso is also visible, with the chest broadening as compared to the waist.

Next, we come to the last great Chola ruler Kulothunga’s temple in Tribuvanam. The art has become rigid, the pillar of fire is almost a linga now, there are flaming designs over the oval where Siva bursts out. Brahma and Vishnu are portrayed slightly larger but overall we can see a drop in creative aesthetics and a certain conformational adherence to rigid standards in the sculpting.

 

[Hindustani78]

Collector A. Annadurai garlanding the statue of Raja Raja Chola I in Thanjavur on Wednesday.


Speakers recalled the glory of King Raja Raja Chola I during the 1031st birth anniversary celebration, Sathaya Vizha, even as special rituals were held to mark the occasion at the Sri Brihadeeswarar Temple (Big Temple) that he constructed more than 1,000 year back. A local holiday had been declared in Thanjavur on account of the festivities.

Collector A. Annadurai led the residents in paying tributes to the great Chola king by garlanding his statue adjacent to the Big Temple. Meanwhile, special abishekam was performed to Lord Brihadeewarar and Goddess Brihannayaki with 48 ingredients and commodities. More than 50 Sivachariyars and 30 Oduvars were honoured with vastram, among other items. Oduvars rendered Thirumurai and went in a procession through four main streets of the town to commemorate the efforts of Raja Raja Chola in compiling the religious hymns of Saivite savants through Nambiandar Nambi.

Sri Ayyappa Swamigal from Chennai, hereditary trustee and Senior Prince Babaji Raje Bhosle, Joint Commissioner of HR and CE Department Kumaradurai, Deputy Director of Art and Culture R. Gunasekaran and Tourism Officer Rajasekar were present.

 

[Hindustani78]

A view of the Pallipadi temple at Kolli Hills. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...ting-place-in-kolli-hills/article18413321.ece

Inscriptions show the hills were a recruiting ground for the Chola army
Chola kings fought fierce wars, amassed wealth and sought to expand their domain constantly. And they were ardent devotees of Lord Siva. Many often experienced a spiritual awakening and became renunciates.

One such renunciate was Kandaradita. He was a precedessor to the famous Raja Raja Chola. Kandaridata ruled for only six years -- between 950 AD and 956 AD -- before renouncing his kingdom. Until now, it was thought that he was buried in Nandhi Hills in Mysore. Historian S R Balasubramanian had come to this conclusion based on pallipadi temple -- the shrine built on the burial site of a king -- and a statue there.

Now, M Rajendran, a serving IAS officer, says there is evidence to show that Kandaridata was buried in the Kolli Hills -- a key site in Tamil history with references stretching back to the late Sangam period when Valvil Ori reigned there. Inscriptions show that the Kolli Hills was a recruiting ground for the Chola army and Raja Raja’s army chief hailed from there.

“Kandaraditan was called Cholamudaiyar. There is no evidence to prove that Nandhi Hills had the pallipadi temple of the king. That Kandaraditan was buried in Kalingampatti is supported by the fact that his wife Chempianmadevi, his son Uthama Chola, as well as his successors gave many grants to Arapaleeswarar temple in the Kolli Hills, which is 5 km from the Cholamudaiyar temple,” explains Mr. Rajendran.

Mr. Rajendran says that there is a statue of Kandaraditan near Nagapattinam too but that does not mean that he was buried there. “Kandaraditan was known as Merku Ezhuntharulia Devar, suggesting that he died in a place west of Thanjavur. Since Nandhi Hills is west of Thanjavur, Balasubramaniam should have come to the conclusion that he died there. But the Kolli Hills also lies west of Thanjavur, the capital of Cholas,” he says.

The IAS officer has transcribed copper inscriptions of the Cholas and published a book on them.

He says that in Arapaleeswarar temple there are three stone inscriptions by Uthama Chola and one inscription talks about 100 ‘kazhanju’ gold (70 sovereigns) donated by Chempianmadevi.

“Like his father, Uthama Chola also quit politics to become a devotee of Lord Siva and he paved the way for the reign of Raja Raja. Three Chola kings — Raja Mahendra (1060 - 1063), First Kulotunga (1070 - 1120) and Rajathi Rajan II (1163 - 1178) — also gave land grants to Arapaleeswarar temple. Their grants are further proof that Kandaraditan was buried in Kalingampatti,” says Mr. Rajendran.

 

[kvpak]

This is how Hindi-an gov respects the great Tamil king Rajendra Cholan. Indian gov took over the Gangai Konda Cholapuram Temple Rajendra Cholan built because it is UN heritagew site. Fiurst thing Hind-ia diud was frenmove all Tamil signs and repklace with Hindi-English. The ancient Tamil language spiken by Chola kings was replaced by Hindi that did not exist at the time.

You can see the photo here (Photo 285)
http://hindisouth.blogspot.com/2015/10/h-0280.html

 

[Hindustani78]

A 10th century inscription found in Parvatha Hills throws light on King Raja Raja I’s minister Jayanthan
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities...er-his-town/article18450858.ece?homepage=true

A 10th century inscription found in Parvatha Hills throws light on King Raja Raja I’s minister Jayanthan
While stone inscriptions and copper plates speak eloquently about the achievements of the imperial Cholas and various grants that they offered to temples, a new inscription found in Tiruvannamalai district has revealed name of a previously unknown minister of Raja Raja I.

“He was called Jayanthan and he had created a new town Thirisoolam to celebrate the victory of Raja Raja over Jayamkonda Chola Mandalam (the 18 regions in northern Tamil Nadu),” said A. Sathish, Associate Professor of International Institute of Tamil Studies, who discovered the 10th century inscription at Parvatha Hills in Thenmathevamangalam in Kalasapakkam taluk.

Mr. Sathish, a native of the village, said the finding assumed great significance because neither the A Concordance Of The Names in Cōḻa Inscriptions by Noboru Karashima nor the Thamarapakkam inscriptions recorded by the Archaeology Department — two major Chola era documents, have recorded the name Jayanthan.

Left in ruins: The dilapidated fort on the top of the Parvatha Hills, which was named as Thirisoolagiri by Jayanthan.

The Department of Sanskrit in Puducherry University has transcribed the inscription written in Sanskrit. Translated into English, it says King Raja Raja Cholan was the incarnation of Lord Maha Vishnu and he has Jayanthan as Minister, who is known for his eloquence. As a world leader, Jayanthan scaled the globe and conquered it, creating Thirisoolagiri on the hills near the river, it adds in glorious references to the Minister.

Besides the inscriptions, Mr. Sathish also discovered rock paintings bearing testimony to the existence of worship of Mother Goddess, a practice common in Tamil Nadu before the emergence of institutionalised religions and worship associated with them.

“I found them in a two-storeyed cave and the inscriptions are on the floor of the upper portion. The rock paintings are in a very bad shape. Inscriptions are normally carved in places where people assemble in large numbers. The inscription tells us that people have worshipped Mother Goddess in the cave, though the practice died out subsequently,” he explained.

There was also a dilapidated fort on the top of the Parvatha Hills, which was named as Thirisoolagiri by Jayanthan. The inscription calls it as a town because of the existence of a temple, a fort and many mandapas. The hill was known as Naviramalai in the Sangam poetry work Malapadukadam.

“It is believed that the fort was constructed by Nannan Sei Nannan, a king who belonged to the Sangam period. But this is disputed, because we must keep in mind that there were no stone constructions during the Sangam period. The Thirisoolagiri fort should also be considered an important strategic rock fort in the realm of Raja Raja, who is renowned world wide for the construction of the Thanjavur big temple,” Mr. Sathish said.

 

[desiHindu]

It's high time we celebrate the rich cultural history of our land, learn from it and embrace it.

 

[Hindustani78]

A view of Naganathasamy temple at Manambadi near Kumbakonam. | Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...mple-halted/article19780576.ece?homepage=true

A fallout of High Court imposing a blanket ban on refurbishing of temples in State
The renovation of the Sri Naganatha Swamy temple, constructed over 1,000 years ago by the Chola emperor Rajendra I, at Manambadi village, 15 km from Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district, has been halted.

The Madras High Court has imposed a blanket ban on refurbishing of temples in the State.

The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) Department that manages the shrine was constrained to return to the Central government, ₹20.37 lakh, including interest, availed as part of the grant it had received for renovation under the aegis of the 13th Finance Commission. This was after utilising ₹11 lakh for the renovation when it was halted in November 2016.

Official sources claim that revised estimates based on the already sanctioned plan supported by technical evaluations were being prepared and would be forwarded to the State government shortly to facilitate the renovation work. But the ground reality is that it would take some time to materialise.

State monument

The temple has nine stone inscriptions — three belonging to Rajendra I period (regnal years 1014-1044 CE) and six belonging to Kulothunga I era (regnal years 1070-1120 CE). Over a period of time, the temple fell into ruins, and after a thorough inspection in 2007, the then Commissioner of Archaeology and Museums, R. Kannan, had in unambiguous terms recorded that the structure was in a dilapidated condition and declared it unsafe to enter the premises.

Then in 2013, the threat of demolition of a part of the ancient shrine complex came from the NHAI when it was executing the Kumbakonam-Vikravandi road widening project. Public pressure saved the day for the temple.

Later, the shrine was declared a State monument. Thereafter, the Assembly was informed of the plan to renovate the shrine following which the State government gave the administrative sanction to renovate the temple at a cost of ₹ 32 lakh on November 18 the same year.

The HR&CE Department sought and got the help of the Department of Archaeology for professional consultancy and supervision. The latter, on September 9, 2015, deputed an Assistant Engineer to assist the renovation work.

After dismantling the shrine meticulously, reconstruction commenced and reached the Adishtanam level, including replacement of the stone inscriptions, when the court ban halted the work in November 2016.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...-plaint-on-stolen-statues/article22912932.ece

Idol Wing lodges plaint on stolen statues
L Renganathan
THANJAVUR, March 03, 2018 01:00 IST
Updated: March 03, 2018 01:00 IST

Raja Raja Chola I, Lokamadevi idols were stolen from the Big Temple 50 years ago

In what is seen as the first step towards detecting a major crime committed at least half a century ago, the Idol Wing of the Tamil Nadu police has preferred a complaint that two ancient bronze icons of Emperor Raja Raja Chola I and his royal consort Lokamadevi have been stolen from the world-famous Sri Brihadeeswarar temple (Big Temple).

After a preliminary inquiry, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Idol Wing, Venkatraman, filed the complaint with the Thanjavur West police station on Friday, alleging that the two invaluable bronze icons had “somehow been stolen” from the treasure houses of the Big Temple and were now at the Calico Museum and the Sarabhai Foundation galleries, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Police sources told The Hindu that a First Information Report had been filed based on the complaint. The FIR has invoked provisions under the Indian Penal Code Sec. 120 (B), 380, 409 and 457 while making out a case of further investigation. In all probability, the case would now be transferred back to the Idol Wing.

HC directive

Sources in the Idol Wing said that following a petition by former Minister V.V. Swaminathan, the Madras High Court directed the Idol Wing to look into the case of missing ancient bronze idols, especially that of Raja Raja Chola I and his royal consort Lokamadevi, from the safe at the Big Temple. The Inspector General of Police, Idol Wing, A.G. Pon Manickavel, directed DSP Venkatraman to conduct a preliminary inquiry and see if prima facie a crime had been committed.

The DSP found that the ancient bronze icons of Emperor Raja Raja Chola I and Lokamadevi, donated to the Big Temple by Chieftain of Kodumbalur during the 29th regnal year of the Emperor, were stolen at least 50 years ago and they finally found their way to the Ahmedabad museum.

The two were part of the 13 bronze statues donated by the Chieftain then and there is no word yet on the exact status of the other 11 idols. The complaint filed with the police also states that several other ancient valuable icons dating to the period of the Raja Raja Chola I have been stolen from the Big Temple safe.

Mr. Pon Manickavel and Superintendent of Police, Thanjavur, T. Senthil Kumar, held discussions here on Friday on taking the case forward.

The case assumes historical significance as there is no evidence of the presence of any statue of Emperor Raja Raja Chola I, sculptured during his own lifetime, other than the one in the Ahmedabad museum.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...g-officials-under-scanner/article22921410.ece

Vaults rarely inspected; no complaint of icons missing registered with police

Initially, the Idol Wing of Tamil Nadu police intended to create a legal ground for retrieving the statues of Raja Raja Chola I and his consort Lokamadevi from galleries, but now it has turned its focus on the gross negligence of the temple officials and others in not reporting such thefts.

The statues are apparently housed at a gallery in Ahmedabad.

It has now come to light that scores of invaluable idols had been smuggled out of the temple and worse still, the stakeholders had all the while turned a blind eye to the crimes.

The investigation also revealed that the temple officials and the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department officials rarely inspected the vaults, or took stock of the icons present or reconciled them with any record of inventory over several years.

There is no official record of any senior official from the HR& CE Department having inspected or even visited the safe housing the icons here.

Even senior officials of the department feigned ignorance of the existence of these idols in the Big Temple vault all these years.

The Idol Wing police sources claimed that the systematic lifting or smuggling of the icons from the Big Temple had been going on for more than 50 years.

When he was Chief Minister, Mr. Karunanidhi constituted a team comprising archaeologist and epigraphist R. Nagaswamy, Chola historian Kudavayil Balasubramanian and senior bureaucrat V. Irai Anbu to look into the specific case of the missing icons of Raja Raja Chola and Lokamadevi.

Team’s conclusion

The team meticulously gathered the details and reconciled them with the icons available with the Sarabhai Foundation galleries and concluded that they were the original statues lifted from the Big Temple.

There were occasional talks in some circles about the icons missing from the Big Temple but surprisingly no complaint had so far been registered with the police thus far.

The probe also revealed that the icons now present in the Big Temple vault would probably have not seen any puja over the past decade or more. The precious bronze idols were draped with worn-out cloth.

During the investigations, some of the Sivacharyas acknowledged that some of the icons in the safe were not vintage stuff and had been installed anew.

Queries on the whereabouts of the original icons by the investigators did not yield any result from the officials. At the Big Temple mahamandapam, a stupendous bronze statue was displayed with the name board proclaiming it as emperor Raja Raja Chola.

Identity effaced

Investigators found that the temple officials had effaced the original identity of the icon which was emperor Rajendra Chola and had put up a sticker as Raja Raja Chola.

At the same mahamandapam, not just some icons but also ancient Thiruvachi (ornamental arch fitted behind the pedestal of the icons) and pedestals of some statues have gone missing, the probe has revealed.

Inscriptions in the temple speak of a total of 66 bronze icons having been donated during the time of Emperor Raja Raja Chola I. But most of them are missing.

Some of the other prominent icons missing from the temple include golden Kolkai Thevar, golden Kshetra Balagar, silver Vasudevan, a huge Ardhanareeswarar, fur bronze idols donated by Kundavai Nachiyar, two Uma Maheswari icons, statue of Vanavan Madevi, her husband Sundara Cholar.

It is now expected that the expanded investigation by the Idol Wing would look into the whereabouts of those icons as well.