![where is thanjai periya kovil history in tamil where is thanjai periya kovil history in tamil](http://www.thanjavurtourism.com/img/big-temple/big-temple.jpg)
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The third temple is even smaller than the second and is located in a small town called Darasuram. While the city no longer exists, the temple remains. The city of Gangaikonda Cholapuram was built around 1025 AD as a new capital of the Chola empire and remained so for 250 years. The second temple, known as Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple, is a smaller replica of the Periya Kovil. The other two shrines that are part of the Great Living Chola Temples are not in the city but within an hour’s drive from there. Legend has it that the Chola king inscribed all the names of the court dancers and musicians on the temple walls. The temple, built during the regime of Raja Raja Chola I, played a huge role in promoting the arts and culture, especially Bharatnatyam and Carnatic music. The temple has rows of pillars holding up the tall tower and there are elaborate sculptures depicting icons of the day and smaller deities all around the main sanctum, which is dedicated to Shiva. It also has one of the largest statues of the Nandi or Shiva’s bull in the main quadrangle. It is difficult to fathom how this engineering marvel was built in the early 11th century AD. The main temple complex has a huge vimanam or central tower, which is 16-storey- high and apparently made of 60,000 tonnes of granite.
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From the outside, you cannot judge how big the temple really is, until you enter the main complex through a gate that has a five-storey tower (gopuram), followed by a second gate with a smaller gopuram.