Description12th century Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram, dedicated to Shiva, built by the Chola king Rajaraja II Tamil Nadu India (14).jpg
One of the Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu which is a part of a UNESCO world heritage site.
It was built by the Chola king Rajaraja II (AD 1143-1173). It is smaller in size than the Brihadisvara temple at Tanjavur and Gangaikonda cholapuram temples.
The Airavatesvara Temple is highly ornate. It consists of a sanctum without a circumambulatory path and axial mandapas. The front mandapa is designed as a chariot with wheels. The pillars of the mandapa are intricately carved.
It is significant in Saiva Siddhanta tradition of Hinduism. The temple shows the Siva-related Bhakti movement, with friezes of the 63 Nayanars. There is a tradition of singing from Thevaram in this temple.
A number of sculptures from this temple are now at Tanjavur Art Gallery. The temple is famed for its artwork related to Nagaraja, Agastya, dancing Nataraja in the form of Martanda Bhairava, Ganesha.
to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
to remix – to adapt the work
Under the following conditions:
attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0CC BY 2.0 Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 truetrue