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Tamil Nadu Hindu temple template added

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	{{World Heritage Sites in India}}		{{World Heritage Sites in India}}
			{{Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu}}

	[[Category:World Heritage Sites in India]]		[[Category:World Heritage Sites in India]]

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{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| image = A collage of Great living Chola temples UNESCO heritage site.jpg
| image_upright = 1.2
| caption = Scenes from the three temples
| location = [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]
| includes = {{flatlist|
#[[Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur|The Brihadisvara Temple Complex, Thanjavur]]
#[[Brihadisvara Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram|The Brihadisvara Temple Complex, Gangaikondacholapuram]]
#[[Airavatesvara Temple|The Airavatesvara Temple Complex, Darasuram]]
}}
| criteria = {{UNESCO WHS type|(ii), (iii)}}(ii), (iii)
| ID = 250bis
| coordinates = {{coord|10|46|59|N|79|07|57|E|region:IN|display=title, inline|format=dms}}
| year = 1987
| extension = 2004
| area = {{convert|21.88|ha|acre|abbr=on}}
| buffer_zone = {{convert|16.715|ha|acre|abbr=on}}
| locmapin = India#Tamil Nadu
| map_caption =
}}
The '''Great Living Chola Temples''' is a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] designation for a group of [[Chola dynasty]] era [[Hindu temple]]s in the Indian state of [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/250|title=Great Living Chola Temples|access-date=6 November 2010|publisher=World Heritage: Unesco.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/945rev.pdf|format=pdf|title= Great Living Chola Temples|access-date=6 November 2010|publisher=Unesco}}</ref> Completed between early 11th and the 12th century CE, the monuments include:
* [[Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur|Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur]]
* [[Brihadisvara Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram|Brihadisvara Temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram]]
* [[Airavatesvara Temple]] at [[Darasuram]].

==World Heritage Site recognition==
The Temple Complex at [[Thanjavur]] was recognised in 1987. The Temple Complex at [[Gangaikonda Cholapuram]] and the Airavatesvara Temple Complex were added as extensions to the site in 2004. The criteria for inclusion in the "Great Living Chola Temples" site are:
*Criterion (i): The three [[Chola]] temples of Southern India represent an outstanding creative achievement in the architectural conception of the pure form of the Dravidan type of temple.
*Criterion (ii): The [[Brihadisvara Temple]] at Thanjavur became the first great example of the Chola temples, followed by a development of which the other two properties also bear witness.
*Criterion (iii): The three Great Chola Temples are an exceptional and the most outstanding testimony to the development of the architecture of the Chola Empire and the [[Tamil civilization]] in Southern India.
*Criterion (iv): The Great Chola temples at Thanjavur, at Gangaikondacholapuram and [[Darasuram]] are outstanding examples of the architecture and the representation of the Chola ideology.

==Temples==
Thanjavur is about {{convert|350|km}} southwest of [[Chennai]]. Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Darasuram are respectively about {{convert|70|km}} and about {{convert|40|km}} to its northeast.
{{Location map+ | Tamil Nadu
| width = 300
| float = center
| relief = 1
| caption = Location of Chola temples in the UNESCO world heritage site.
| AlternativeMap = India Tamil Nadu location map.svg
| places =
{{Location map~ | Tamil Nadu
| label = Thanjavur
| position = bottom
| mark = Tamil Om.svg
| marksize = 10
| lat_deg = 10.782778
| lon_deg = 79.131667 }}
{{Location map~ | Tamil Nadu
| label = Gangaikonda Cholapuram
| position = top
| mark = Tamil Om.svg
| marksize = 10
| lat_deg = 11.206233
| lon_deg = 79.448889 }}
{{Location map~ | Tamil Nadu
| label = Darasuram
| position = right
| mark = Tamil Om.svg
| marksize = 10
| lat_deg = 10.948411
| lon_deg = 79.356708 }}
{{Location map~ | Tamil Nadu
| label = Chennai
| position = left
| mark = Cyan pog.svg
| lat_deg = 13.083333
| lon_deg = 80.266667 }}
{{Location map~ | Tamil Nadu
| label = Madurai
| position = right
| mark = Cyan pog.svg
| lat_deg = 9.9
| lon_deg = 78.1 }}
{{Location map~ | Tamil Nadu
| label = Bengaluru
| position = right
| mark = Cyan pog.svg
| lat_deg = 12.966667
| lon_deg = 77.566667 }}
{{Location map~ | Tamil Nadu
| label = Coimbatore
| position = right
| mark = Cyan pog.svg
| lat_deg = 11.01833
| lon_deg = 76.97250 }}
}}

===Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur===
{{main|Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur}}
The [[Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur|Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur]] is a [[Hindu temple]] dedicated to [[Shiva]].<ref name=britbrihadthanj>[https://www.britannica.com/place/Thanjavur-India Thanjavur], Encyclopaedia Britannica</ref><ref name=asibrihadthanj/> It is one of the largest South Indian temples and an exemplary example of fully realized [[Tamil architecture]].<ref>{{cite book | first= John| last= Keay | author-link= John Keay| year=2000 | title= India, a History | publisher= Harper Collins Publishers | location= New York, United States| isbn= 0-00-638784-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3aeQqmcXBhoC | pages = xix}}</ref> Built by [[Raja Raja Chola I]] between 1003 and 1010 AD. The original monuments of this 11th century temple were built around a moat. It included gopura, the main temple, its massive tower, inscriptions, frescoes and sculptures predominantly related to [[Shaivism]], but also of [[Vaishnvaism]] and [[Shaktism]] traditions of [[Hinduism]]. The temple was damaged in its history and some artwork is now missing. Additional mandapam and monuments were added in centuries that followed. The temple now stands amidst fortified walls that were added after the 16th century.{{sfn|S.R. Balasubrahmanyam|1975|pp=1-21}}<ref name=michell16>George Michell (2008), Architecture and art of Southern India, Cambridge University Press, pages 16-21, 89-91</ref>

Built out of granite, the [[vimana (architectural feature)|vimanam]] tower above the sanctum is one of the tallest in South India.<ref name=asibrihadthanj>{{cite web|title=The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)|url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_whs_cholabt.asp}}</ref> The temple has a massive colonnaded prakara (corridor) and one of the largest Shiva linga in India.<ref name=asibrihadthanj/>{{sfn|S.R. Balasubrahmanyam|1975|pp=20-21}} It is also famed for the quality of its sculpture, as well as being the location that commissioned the brass [[Nataraja]] – Shiva as the lord of dance, in 11th century. The complex includes shrines for [[Nandi (bull)|Nandi]], Amman, Subrahmanyar, Ganesha, Sabhapati, Dakshinamurti, Chandesrvarar, Varahi and others.{{sfn|S.R. Balasubrahmanyam|1975|pp=1-26}} The temple is one of the most visited tourist attractions in [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref name="Gopal 1990 185">{{cite book|title=India through the ages|url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada|last=Gopal|first=Madan|year= 1990| page= [https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/185 185]|editor=K.S. Gautam|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India}}</ref>

<gallery mode=packed >
File:Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India.jpg|Thanjavur temple
File:Thanjavur, Brihadishwara Temple (7013915633).jpg|View of the [[vimana|Śrī Vimāna]] of the Thanjavur Temple
File:Big Temple-Temple.jpg|The granite [[gopuram]] (tower) of the Thanjavur Temple
File:MainGopuram-BrihadisvaraTemple-Thanjavur,India.jpg|Temple at Thanjavur
File:Brihadeeswara Temple Entrance Gopurams, Thanjavur.JPG|Temple entrance gopurams at Thanjavur
File:An elephant relief on the Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur.jpg|An elephant relief on the Thanjavur temple
File:Sanskrit written on the Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur.jpg|Tamil written on the Thanjavur Temple
</gallery>

===Brihadisvara Temple in Gangaikonda Cholapuram===
{{main|Brihadisvara Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram}}
The [[Brihadisvara Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram|Brihadisvara Temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram]] is a Hindu temple located at Gangaikonda Cholapuram about {{convert|70|km}} from the Thanjavur Brihadisvara Temple. Completed in 1035 AD by [[Rajendra Chola I]] as a part of his new capital, this Chola dynasty era temple is similar in design and has a similar name as the 11th century, and sometimes just called the Gangaikondacholapuram temple.{{sfn|S.R. Balasubrahmanyam|1975|pp=241-245}}<ref name=asigcbt/>{{sfn|Michell|1988|p=4, 51-53, 145}}

It is dedicated to Shiva and based on a square plan, but the temple reverentially displays Vaishnavism, Shaktism and syncretic equivalence themes of Hinduism with statues of Vishnu, Durga, Surya, Harihara, Ardhanishvara, and others.<ref name=asigcbt>[http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_whs_cholabt.asp Great Living Chola Temples], Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India</ref><ref name=ayyar291>PV Jagadisa Ayyar (1993), South Indian Shrines, Asian Educational Services, {{ISBN|81-206-0151-3}}, pages 291-295</ref>{{sfn|S.R. Balasubrahmanyam|1975|pp=241-249}} In addition to the main shrine with linga, the temple complex has a number of smaller shrines, gopura, and other monuments, with some partially ruined or restored in later centuries. The temple is famed for its bronze sculptures, artwork on its walls, the Nandi and the scale of its curvilinear tower.<ref name=asigcbt/>{{sfn|S.R. Balasubrahmanyam|1975|pp=243-249}}<ref name=unesco>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/250/ |title=Great Living Chola Temples|publisher= UNESCO World Heritage Centre|year=2004}}</ref>

<gallery mode=packed heights=175px>
File:"A low angle of Brihadisvara Temple of Gangaikonda Cholapuram ".JPG|A low angle of the Gangaikonda Cholapuram Temple
File:Back view of Raja gopuram.jpg|The pyramidal structure above the sanctum at the Gangaikonda Cholapuram Temple
File:Gangaikonda cholapuram sculptures 06.jpg|[[Ardhanarishvara]] (half Shiva, half Parvati): sculpture at Gangaikonda Cholapuram
File:Chola sculpture.jpg|Stone sculpture at Gangaikonda Cholapuram
</gallery>

===Airavatesvara Temple===
{{main|Airavatesvara Temple}}
The [[Airavatesvara Temple]] is in the town of Darasuram, near [[Kumbakonam]] South India completed in 1166 AD.<ref name=michell91>{{cite book|author=George Michell|editor=Julia A. B. Hegewald and Subrata K. Mitra|title=Re-Use-The Art and Politics of Integration and Anxiety|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ZqHAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA91|year= 2012|publisher =SAGE Publications|isbn=978-81-321-0981-5|pages=91–93}}</ref> It is one among a cluster of eighteen medieval era large Hindu temples in the [[Kumbakonam]] area.<ref>[[#Ayyar|Ayyar 1992]], pp. 349-350</ref> The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It also reverentially displays Vaishnavism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism, along with the legends associated with sixty three [[Nayanars]] – the [[Bhakti movement]] saints of Shaivism.{{sfn|S.R. Balasubrahmanyam|1979|pp=225-245}}<ref name="Harle1994p318">{{cite book|author=James C. Harle|title=The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent|url=https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl |url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-06217-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl/page/318 318]}}</ref><ref name="Dehejia2010p106">{{cite book|author=Vidya Dehejia|title=Art of the Imperial Cholas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=23F7vTn3hBMC |year=2010|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-51524-5|pages=106–115}}</ref>

Named after the White Elephant of Indra, this temple is a testimony to the grand temple architecture of the Cholan Empire. It is the last of the three great Cholan temples built by successive generations of kings starting from Rajaraja I. Airavateswara temple was built by Rajaraja II around 1150 AD. One of the striking features of this temple is Rajagambhira Thirumandapam - Royal Courtyard, with intricately carved pillars, long steps made of granite stones and elegant chariots drawn by horse - again hewn out of stone. You will see finer workmanship in this temple than the earlier temples. Darasuram is literally a stone's throw away from Kumbakonam.

The stone temple incorporates a chariot structure, and includes major Vedic and Puranic deities such as Indra, [[Agni]], [[Varuna]], [[Vayu]], Brahma, Surya, Vishnu, Saptamtrikas, Durga, Saraswati, Sri Devi (Lakshmi), Ganga, Yamuna, Subrahmanya, Ganesha, Kama, Rati and others.{{sfn|S.R. Balasubrahmanyam|1979|pp=225-234}} The temple was much larger and once had seven courtyards according to inscriptions. Only one courtyard survives; parts of the temple such as the gopuram are in ruins, and the main temple and the main temple and associated shrines stand alone.<ref name=ayyar351>[[#Ayyar|Ayyar 1993]], p. 351</ref> The temple continues to attract large gatherings of Hindu pilgrims every year.<ref>[[#Ayyar|Ayyar 1992]], pp. 350-351</ref>{{sfn|S.R. Balasubrahmanyam|1979|pp=225-234}}<ref>{{cite book|author1=Pratapaditya Pal|author2=Stephen P. Huyler|author3=John E. Cort|display-authors=etal|title=Puja and Piety: Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist Art from the Indian Subcontinent|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NXolDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA65|year=2016 |publisher=Univ of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-28847-8| page=65}}</ref>

<gallery mode=packed heights=150px >
File:A Dravidian architecture Pillar in Airavatesvara Temple, Darasuram @ Thanjavur district..JPG|A pillar in Dravidian architectural-style in Airavatesvara Temple
File:Airavatesvara Temple Chariot.jpg|Airavatesvara Temple
File:Chariot detail, Airavatesvara, Tamil Nadu.jpg|Chariot detail of the Airavatesvara Temple
</gallery>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book |first= P.V. Jagadisa|last= Ayyar |title=South Indian Shrines |publisher=Asian Educational Services |location=New Delhi |year=1993 |isbn=81-206-0151-3 |ref=Ayyar}}
* {{cite book |first= Krishna|last= Chaitanya |title=Arts of India |publisher=Abhinav Publications |year=1987 |ref=Chaitanya}}
* {{cite book |first=Richard |last=Davis |title=Lives of Indian images |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, N.J |year=1997 |isbn=0-691-00520-6 |ref=Davis |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/livesofindianima0000davi }}
* {{citation|author=S.R. Balasubrahmanyam|title = Later Chola Temples|publisher = Thomson Press| year=1979|oclc = 6921015}}
* {{citation|author=S.R. Balasubrahmanyam|title = Middle Chola Temples|publisher = Thomson Press| year=1975|isbn = 978-9060236079}}
* {{citation| last =Michell| first =George| title = The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms| publisher =University of Chicago Press| year =1988| location =Chicago| isbn = 0-226-53230-5}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Great living Chola temples}}
* [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/250 UNESCO's World Heritage Site] listing the Chola temples
* [http://www.come2india.org/chola-temples.html Chola Temple Architecture] at come2india.org

{{World Heritage Sites in India}}

[[Category:World Heritage Sites in India]]
[[Category:Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Chola architecture]]
[[Category:Granite buildings]]
[[Category:Dravidian architecture]]

Great Living Chola Temples - Revision history

LolitasErurf: formatting fix

Kamal Guha: Tamil Nadu Hindu temple template added

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