We are now going to look at the seventh page. On the first row of this side is a majestic statue of a male lion. Its body and its head are somewhat incongruous. Because its head is carved like a lion and its body like a human. It is not known whether this is a fictional statue. But it is very beautiful to look at.
Above the statue is a beautiful statue of Boodham seated with folded forelegs and hind legs kneeling and wearing a lotus garland with a conch in hand. Most of the time we have seen Bhooda idols arranged in an agora with long sharp teeths sticking out. But this statue is set in such a way that the viewer’s mind will be moved by the beautiful jewellery it wore and had a smile on its face.
In this temple, the idols of many gods like Surya , Brahma , Navakandam and Nandi idols are placed very realistically.
There is a Maratha palace near the Tanjore Great Temple. But some people who do not know its history say that this palace is the Chola era Tanjore Palace built by the Cholas. It is very unfortunate that our Tamil people do not understand that this palace has no connection with the Cholas. Perhaps the palace was built by the Maratha kings who demolished the palace built by the Cholas and later seized power at the same place.
Our eyes bleed when we think that our Chola emperors, who not only conquered our country but crossed the sea and conquered many empires of the world with their armies, lived subjugated to Nayaks and Marathas over time .
Built by the Cholas for our Tamil people, even today in Tanjore temple the first honor is given to those who came from the Maratha dynasty. I don’t know what justification there is in this. It is a temple built by Tamil kings for Tamils. Tamils have full right in this. But instead they give it to Marathi! Why not give us ? Because the main reason is that we don’t have unity.
Marathas, in general , never give up their birth religion, caste and state affiliation. But when we think why we as Tamils do not get this sense of unity, it is very sad.
If we look at how the Nayaks enslaved Tamil Nadu, the Cholas had conquered Lower Chalukya a thousand years ago and kept it under their rule. At that time, the Chalukyas also had a custom of giving women to the Cholas. That is why every time the Upper Chalukyas attacked the Lower Chalukyas, it was the Chola forces that fought and drove them back. It was because of this kind of martial relationship that the Chola warriors gave their own lives and the Cholas became a protective bastion for the Lower Chalukyas for hundreds of years.
Although the Cholas had brought the entire Lower Chalukya under their control, they did not settle the Tamils there and enslave them , but allowed them to live freely as always.
But later when the Nayaks who ruled our land invaded our country and won. They settled and spread their people who still spoke their language todate, like potters , carpenters , blacksmith, farmers and named many villages after their caste in all the towns of Tamil Nadu. Therefore, the number of people speaking foreign languages is more than native Tamils.
As a result, they have become a major force that almost determines the politics of Tamil Nadu today. That is why many town names such as Nayakkanpatti and Nayakkanur are found wherever you look . But there are few villages with pure Tamil names. It must be said that this is the cruelty of time that the once great tamils who crossed over oceans became subdued by outside rule.The Cheras,Chola and Pandya kings , who lived in great splendor and almighty wealth in the past, fought among themselves without unity and encouraged foreign invasions.
The Maratha palace near this Thanjavur temple houses many famous Chola period stone idols. The articles in display here were kept more neatly and carried clear instructions on the originity.
There are many stone idols of the Chola period here. A spherical stone is displayed. Looking at that black stone ball, it seems that it may have been used as a projectile. This is what they used as “Eri Kal” . A memorial stone or nadukal is also placed near it. It is named after a hero who killed a tiger. At that time, the Nadukal system was used to honor the historical memory of a hero after his death either defending his country or village from enemies or animals. For example , in a village they worshiped a hero who saved lifes by constantly devoting himself to saving people from wild animals , enemies and robbers. This may have later evolved into the worship of Kula Deiva. In this museum,large old clay pot used by our forefathers was also displayed.In ancient time they buried the dead in these big jars with their personal items and grains as well.It is commonly found in most parts of Tamil nadu.
Apart from that, the Cholas brought the system of democratic voting thousands of years ago as it is practiced now. The Cholas also have a custom of marking a palm leaf and putting it in a pot to determine who will be the winner and electing the leaders of many important village and town panchayats.
This small palace museum has many rare information in pictures and this was a great piece of news to me as it gave me details of other great ancient places i should visit.There are 2300 year old rock paintings. It’s not true that it’s just a model. It is said that this painting is in the Ketvan Temple of Kalgukumalai near Chatur.
What is worth mentioning here is that they have a barcode optical system here like in China. It is very useful. Through this, complete information about it is available in a moment by scanning the barcode. This is a very commendable thing. It’s a great effort and admirable on the part of museum caretakers.
A majestic six feet tall lion statue is housed here. The statue is carved out of stone to the height of a man. It is very grand and beautiful and realistic to look at. Next to it, there is a wonderful display of Manuneethi Chola ‘s cow bell ringing to remind of the historical event of Manuneethi Chola who killed his own son on a chariot for the sake of the cow who came to seek justice for the death of her calf.
Saraswati Mahal Library is located inside this palace complex. It is said that many rare information can be found here. Due to lack of time I didn’t have time to explore it. On my next trip to Thanjavur, I intend to stay there for at least a week and explore it in detail.
An information board is placed in the palace grounds to let you know what places to visit there. The information board mentioned the Art Gallery , Bell Tower , Saraswati Mahal Library , Sarja Madi , Durbar Hall , Ayuda Gopuram , Sangeeta Mahal , Ram Mahal are all important places to visit. But not all of these are places that Tamils are proud of. These are the places which Marathas are proud. Then why do they keep this, it seems like they kept it so that we should not forget that the Maratha kings enslaved us.
Similarly, will the history of Tamils in Tamil Nadu be kept in Maharashtra ? Of course they will not let it because they have a lot of attachment to race and language. But for us Tamils, this ethno-linguistic attachment is diminishing. It is very painful.