We are continuing to look at the results of the study on the Thanjavur Peruduyar Temple. Let’s look at the eleventh page in its continuation.
In this museum we find many historical items are preserved in a glass ark in the Raja Raja Cholan Museum,these articles are a thousand-year-old old clay bricks and house roof tiles used by the Cholas. The museum, which houses a wealth of information, is set in a tunnel. It is seen as a major drawback that the displays are not properly marked by archaeology.
In this museum there is a 10th century AD, Nataraja Sivagami idol , Varagi Amman idol , and many other stone idols are displayed here. Here is also a photograph of a sculpture of Lord Shiva bestowing the crown to Chandikeswarar (which is likely Raja Raja Cholan) in Tanjore Periyakovil.
Here there is also photos of Anaimangala copper plates details. Those coppers are made of timeless copper metal. As I mentioned earlier, there are likely to be many such plates which had the history of Cholas well detailed, but due to the arrival of the British, we have lost many such historical treasures. The original copper plates in this photograph are now housed in the Chennai Museum. The events of the Chola period and many other interesting facts are mentioned in those copper plates.
Next they collected the inscriptions on the ruined pillars of the temple buildings. But there are no clear details of what is written there. There is also a stone inscription of Raja Raja Chola found writtend in a northern language at Tanjore Srinivasapuram. Many such inscriptions are piled up here. An aerial model of the Gangaikonda Cholapuram Palace is also displayed here.
In this museum, the archeologists have put up banners on the topic of question and answer here and there. It contains historical questions and archeology related questions and their answers. These banners are placed with the intention of improving the general knowledge of the people visiting the museum.
Coins used in the Chola period were kept in golden jars and kept very securely in glass caskets and stone sculputres of Lord Ganesha , Dakshanamurthy , Sandikeswarar , Thavai etc.These statues were made of stone and terracotta are kept in row.The Rishab Vahana Murthy statue looked very different.
The museum also has a photograph of Tulaja’s Seppedu (copper plates) showing 45 musical instruments in the Thirunageswaram temple. This Thirunageswaram temple has a lot of inscriptions about the Cholas that I came to know only after coming to this museum.. I think that I should go to the Thirunageswaram temple next time during my trip to Thanjavur and research about it in detail.
Rajendra Chola I has also created a huge lake named Cholagangam for people’s use and agricultural needs in honor of his victory over the northern army. That photo is also placed here to highlight that historic event. He was the one who made Gangaikonda Cholapuram the capital. It was a great feat to create such a large lake without machinery at that time. I am going to visit that lake in person. Sembian Mathevi Temple is located in Nagapattinam. I am going to visit this temple in person as well.As i keep writting about Cholas, i realise my knowledge is only a drop in the ocean as i keep discovering new information daily.
There was also a photograph of the Kampharesuvarar temple built by Kulothungan III at Tribhuvanam near Thanjavur. But if you see it in person, you will get a lot of information. Therefore, I will visit the other places that I saw in this museum during my next trip to Tanjore.
If you look at the next photo, there is a photo of Kanchipuram Uttaramerur Ursabha Mandapam (Community hall)which shows how the Ursabha Mandapam looked like during the Cholas period.This building functioned as the court and for making important decisions related to that village.
Located in Nagapattinam, there is a photograph of the Buddhist temple built by Sri Vijaya king Sudamanivarman in 1006 AD,is also kept here. It is said that Raja Raja Chola himself gave permission to build this Budhist monastry. I don’t know if the wreckage is still there. I am going to see it in person in my next visit.
Next, there is a photo of the comments made by the first Prime Minister of our country Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru about the Cholas. In it he said that the Cholas were powerful in the navy and skilled in sea warfare and defeated the Chalukya empires and many South East Asian Countries as well. Hundreds of merchants and foreigners traded from the port of Nagapattinam and other ports.Merchants traveled to all the six continents by land and water, traded in horses, elephants, expensive beads, perfumes and medicines.His words that the Bay of Bengal was like a lake of the Cholas and that the Cholas excelled in naval warfare at that time Nehru’s words are enshrined in a banner there.
But the current Prime Minister Modi’s regime, on the recent Naval Day,they declared that Maratha King Shivaji’s is the best in the naval force is seen as an act that can distort history. This is a big bow for us Tamilians. We need to understand what the northerners are doing so that our fame is not known because of the lack of unity among us. These Northerners were in the same mental state not only today but even in ancient times. Because even the Cholas and Pandyas , who were the greatest power of our Tamil land , even though they fought each other and killed each other, they only acted with the intention of capturing the power without damaging the Tanjore Great Temple or Meenakshi Amman Temple. But with the opposite attitude, the northerners have acted with the intention of eliminating any historical identity when they invaded here. It is a completely wrong practice and it is very sad that it continues till today.
Next are the photographs of the Kalinga sculptures. These sculptures were stolen from the temples by the warriors who invaded the North from Tamil Nadu to please their king and brought them to Cholapuram on the banks of the Ganges. This is not characteristic of Tamils. This is a huge mistake in my personal opinion which the Chola generals could have avoided.
Next, dagger tails , spears , war tails etc. used in that time were displayed. These may be Chola period weapons as the details of how old these weapons are are not mentioned.
Next they put photos of the museum to show what it looks like from the air. All the historical inscriptions , sculptures and metal objects kept in this museum were kept in a disorderly manner without being properly seperated.
Next, many known treasures found in the excavations such as terracotta Yali figures , terracotta bearers , glass beads found in the old palace , decorative items found in Gangai Konda Cholapuram, Terracotta lamps etc. were displayed there.
Through this museum I have learned a lot of information and many places that I didn’t know about that I need to research. I will also visit these places during my next trip to Tanjore to do my research. Let’s talk about the twelfth page in the next post.