Chola Murals : Documentation and Study of the Chola Murals of Brihadisvara Temple Thanjavur
Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur, in the Tamil Nadu, is veritably an architectural marvel. Built precisely a thousand years ago by the Chola king, Rajaraja, the Great (985 1014), this gigantic Siva temple not only articulates the monarch’s vision, but unequivocally bears out the genius of his architect, who conceived and executed this stupendous structural feat. No less manifest here are the multifaceted skills of numerous sculptors and artists, who produced exquisite stone carvings and mural paintings. The temple is a supreme achievement of the Chola era. And certainly one of the greatest masterpieces of Hindu art and architecture. Its historical and architectural significance is now recognized throughout India, and even internationally. In 1987, it was inscribed on UNESCO’s prestigious World Heritage list.
The dark pradakshina-patha (circumambulatory passage) of the great Brihadisvara temple was adorned with exquisite murals. Even if Rajaraja himself chose the diverse Saivite themes for the murals, the Chola painter took the opportunity to compose the murals with extraordinary imagination. During the 16th-17th centuries, however, the Nayakas rulers covered these images with a layer of paintings. The magnificent murals were discovered in 1931. And ever since they have captured the attention of art historians, scholars and common art lovers. Chola Murals documents these murals, in all fidelity.
A truly painstaking effort by the Archaeological Survey of India, this documentation of the time-honoured murals in the dim passage around the temple’s sanctum has been an arduous task, involving photographing every panel in forty odd frames and meticulously montaging them into one single image. The volume gives a better understanding and interpretation of the murals, resulting from the digital enhancement of the documentation files. The colour reproductions of the murals match, to the extent possible, with the original as seen under artificial light.
