Airavatesvara Temple, Darasuram - Architectural Wonder

Another architectural wonder, just an hour away from Thanjavur, is the Airavatesvara temple in Darasuram. This is one among the UNESCO world heritage sites of Great Living Chola Temples. Out of the three, Airavatesvara temple at Darasuram stands out for its intricate sculptures. The temple in the form of a chariot being pulled by an elephant and horse with a fleet of steps is no doubt a repository of Dravidian art and culture. The temple is dedicated to lord Shiva. As per mythology, Airavata is considered as the vehicle of lord Indira and the God Shiva was worshipped here by that elephant. It is an elephant of distinct features like seven trunks and four tusks.

That Airavata turned into a discoloured elephant in a way that could not be identified by Indira himself, by the curse of Sage Durvasa. The elephant got freed from the curse only after taking a dip in the sacred waters of this temple. Yama, the king of death, who was cursed by a sage which caused a burning sensation all over his body, took a dip in the sacred tank of this temple and got cured. This temple tank is thus named Yamatheertham. The temple was built by king Rajaraja II of Chola dynasty between 1146 and 1172 CE. Though his capital seat was at Gangaikondacholapuram, he spent most of his time in the secondary capital here. He was a patron of Tamil literature and sponsored new Hindu temples in the empire, instead of enhancements and expansions supported by his forefathers.

The temple at Ayirattali, which came to be known as Airavateswarar temple in inscriptions is one of his legacies. According to the epigraphist, the unique features of the temple include a 73 panel of sculptures depicting the life history of 63 Nayanmars of Saivism, which is very rare in any of the places. The temple starts with a main entrance on the eastern side. Though it was in ruins, it was reassembled by the Archaeological Survey of India. Palipeeda and Nandi come next. Fleet of steps made of stone in the pali peedam are said to produce musical notes. It is followed by the second tower. This is followed by the Rajagambiram Thiru Mandapam. Then comes the Mukha mandapam which is like a chariot pulled by horses and elephants.

Maha Mandapa and Ardha mandapam follow this and finally ends with the sanctum sanctorum. Upon the sanctum sanctorum is the 47 feet vimana. Other important sculptures of the temple are the 108 Devara Othuvars who sang in the temple during the time of Raja Raja II. There are sculptures for rivers like Cauvery, Ganges, Yamuna, Godavari and Narmada. Two sculptures, one in which Lord Siva slains the elephant demon and another is Dwarabalaga brought by Raja Raja I from Kalyan in Maharashtra as a war trophy, were brought to the art gallery at Thanjavur. This temple is a storehouse of art and architecture that has exquisite stone carvings. Though this temple is relatively smaller than the other 2 UNESCO temples, it is different from them by the way that it was built with nitya-vinoda, ‘perpetual entertainment’, in mind.