Trichy :

The 1,000th anniversary of the coronation of Chola ruler Rajendra Chola began at Gangaikondacholapuram in Thanjavur on Thursday in the presence of scholars from across the country.

The city is said to have been founded by King Rajendra Chola to commemorate his victory over the Pala dynasty. The city was founded by king Rajendra Chola to commemorate his victory over the Pala dynasty. The name means “the town of the chola who brought Ganga (water from Ganga) or who defeated (the kings near) Ganga.” It is now a small village that has totally gone dry.

The village’s past eminence is only remembered by the existence of the great Siva Temple. The entire temple resembles to that of the Big Temple in Thanjavur with a the statue of a huge Nandi in the front.

The majestic gopuram of the temple can be viewed from all sides of the village. The architecture and the engineering skills of Chola kings that are widely spoken about across the world still stand tall in this temple. Gangaikondacholapuram is among the three popular temples that was built by Chola rulers.

The other two temples are Big Temple in Thanjavur and Darasuram Shiva Temple in Kumbakonam. S Muthukumar, secretary of Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), said that as part of the celebrations, a procession of torch along with a bike rally will begin on Friday morning from the Big Temple to Gangai Konda Cholapuram with college students taking part in it.

He further added that among the three temple rulers, Rajendra Chola at Gangai Konda Cholapuram was the most powerful as his army is believed to have at least 1.7 million warriors.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Trichy / TNN / July 25th, 2014