So far we have seen posts about Tanjore Palace. Now on the ninth and tenth pages we are going to see a small museum located inside the Tanjore Palace and the museum of Rajaraja Chola.
The currency notes of various countries from the ancient times to the present day are displayed in this palace. Next to that, mirrors , combs , vases , tea cups , beauty dolls , jugs , wooden boxes , cooking utensils , puja items , and paintings of that time were kept very beautifully and safely inside the glass ark.
Beside it was a garland nearly the height of a man. It was not a garland of flowers. It was a garland full of cirucular decrorations which had paintings and photos.It must have been given in an important occasion during the british rule.
Large and small arms used during that time are kept. For example , weapons such as whip tail , deer horn , small javelin , scissor like weapons etc. were kept in one place. All these date back to the reign of the Maratha king Saraboji I.
A museum that can hold a myriad of information must be organized in such a way as to attract the people who come to see it. But as I said earlier about this museum, the weapons kept here are placed here and there, instead of being displayed separately, the decorative items like paintings are placed here and there. For example, small and large weapons should be displayed separately in the same row. Because only then will the people and researchers who come to see it know what kind of weapons our ancestors used , the differences between each , the understanding of what it was used for , and its names. Similarly, they should keep used decorative items and household items separately. But the museum items were displayed with no proper sequencing or seperation of items.
There is a bell tower on top of this Tanjore Palace. But was denied permission to climb it. So I could only photograph it. Outside the palace was a beautiful statue of a farmer carrying a rice paddy with a scythe in hand. I have posted a photo of it and a photo of the exterior of Tanjore Palace on this page.
Next we traveled in search of the museum of the Cholas. There was heavy traffic on the way to the place. When you get close to it, it looks like a relaxing monastery. There were people sleeping all over this place. When we looked around the place two or three times and thought we might go back, we asked someone where Rajaraja Cholan’s Mani Mandapam was. When we looked in the direction that he was pointing to, there was this majestice statue of Rajaraja Chola riding on a gold plated horse. The museum was set up in the tunnel near the Mani Mandapam of Raja Raja Chola. A museum should be easily accessible to all. I don’t know why they have set up this way even though there is so much space there to set up a museum.It is a hidden treasure which easily can be missed.
When entering the museum, all the details about the Cholas were mentioned on many information boards. For example there was an information board titled Capitals of the Chola Kings. It was clearly mentioned which cities the Chola kings had as their capitals during which period. It is said that Manuneethi Chola who lived before the Sangha period gave Thiruvarur as his capital , Cholas of the Sangha period Poompuhar and Urayur , later companions Thanjavur , Rajendran made Gangaikonda Cholapuram as capital, from the ninth century AD to the 12th century AD. Darasuram and the palace of the Chola princes in Palayarai were the second level capitals.
Who were the Cholas of the Sangam period next ? What is their reign ? All this information were displayed in detail here and it also traced the roots of later Cholas. It mentioned how the Cholas expanded after Visayalaya and Adithan I Parantha.
Next the full details of the birth of Raja Raja Chola I were given. Among them are Rajaraja Chola’s mother Vanavanmadevi , father Sundara Chola , birth month Iypasi Sadayam , crowning day 25/6/985, his reign period , his people (Rajendran I , Aalavanthan , Madewadis , Kuntavai) his sister Kuntavai Pratiyar , brother Aditha Karikalan , and Rajaraja. The names of the eleven goddesses of Chola and the special names of Rajaraja Chola were very clearly mentioned.
The museum has a portrait of Rajaraja Cholan. In it there is full description on his titles, “Thirumagan Pola Perunila Selvi and Yurim Boondamai Manakolak Kandalurch Road Kalamaru Taruli Venkai Nadu, Ganga Padi, Nulamba Padi and Thadikai Padi, Kudamalai Nadu, Kollam and Kalingam, Endisai, the famous Eelamandala, Rattapadi, and seven and a half digit, which has won the dintilal, are worshiped every year. Salute to Sri Rajaraja Devar, the prosperous Gorajakesarivarma.”
Next is a map of Rajaraja Chola’s regime. In it, as it is now, a thousand years ago, the king has ruled very effectively by dividing the country into smaller constituencies under him into panchayat and under the panchayat the people’s assembly. That is why we call the period of the Cholas the Golden Age.
Gudavolai system was introduced not only during the rule of the Cholas. Recently studies by the British, showed this system has been practiced in Tamil Nadu since almost 1200 years ago. The Manurg inscription of the Pandya king Maranjadaya from the 8th century AD is the first to mention the election.
Following this, the Uttaramerur inscription of the Chola period and the Thiruninnavur and Seinjnalurg inscriptions give detailed accounts of the election. The election was held in front of the people in the town hall where the officers and people were sitting.
The names of the eligible persons are written on palm leaves cut into small pieces and placed in the jar. Then they call five-year-old kid, who does not know what day or night is, and make him pick the leaves one by one.
The Electoral Officer will receive the papers so taken with open arms and announce to the people the names written on them. This method is called Kudavolai method. This system was at its best during the rule of the Cholas.
The details of the reign area of Rajaraja Chola I are also shown through the world map. This map shows that he ruled over almost the entire southern half of Sri Lanka and beyond Kalinga. The first Rajendra Chola’s reign is even larger. Not only India but also South East Asian countries ruled by him have been shown in detail in this world map.
There is a clear mention of what taxes were levied and collected during the Chola period. It is also mentioned about what were the ornaments of the Cholas period. For example Tirupattam , Polpu , Thiran Manivadam have mentioned the names of many such ornaments. You will know about it only if you read in detail about it.
At the end of this page there is an information board about two famous Kundavaiyars in Chola history. It is written very clearly about these two. One of them was Rajaraja Cholan’s sister. She had built hospitals to care for patients during his regime. Another was Rajendra Chola’s younger sister, she had marriedVimaladitthan, the younger brother of King Chandravarman of Vengi. Both of them are mentioned in detail in it. The information board at the end features the meikirthi of Rajendra Chola I.
In this museum I got many research books done by university students on Cholas at cheap price. I consider it a great privilege. All these lay there in dust. The person in charge showed them to us. I bought many books and this precious treasure from there. I never thought I would get these so easily . As Bala Kumaran said, something related to what we are going towards will find us by chance anyway. This also happened like that. The books that were locked in the shelves were taken out by people who didn’t know the beauty of them and showed them to me. I got a lot of books for a very cheap price of 50 rupees. When I get time I will post details about those books on this website.This little museum provided me much information of Cholas and i left the place fully satisfied.