Architectural Historiography of the Airavatesvara Temple: Revisiting Chola Heritage through Epigraphic and Cultural Narratives
July 2026, Vol. 4, No. 2, Issue
Author(s)
K. Selva Kumar (PG and Research Department of Indian Culture and Tourism, Government Arts College(Autonomous), Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu)
Dr. S. Thangaraju (PG and Research Department of Indian Culture and Tourism, Government Arts College(Autonomous), Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu)
Abstract
The Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram is widely regarded as one of the most refined creations of Later Chola architecture and sacred artistic imagination. Constructed during the reign of Rajaraja II in the twelfth century CE, the monument reflects the maturity of Chola artistic traditions and religious patronage. This article revisits the historiography of Chola temple heritage by closely examining the epigraphic, architectural, and cultural materials associated with Darasuram. Drawing extensively from the works of C. Sivaramamurti, S.R. Balasubrahmanyam, S.R. Krishnamurthi, and G.J.R. Mevissen, the paper investigates the historical evolution of Darasuram within the political and cultural environment of the Chola state. While earlier scholarship largely concentrated on monumental architecture and stylistic classification, less attention has been paid to ritual continuity, sacred geography, inscriptional traditions, and cultural memory surrounding the temple. Through historical interpretation of inscriptions, temple iconography, mythological friezes, and cultural traditions, this article situates Darasuram within broader debates concerning Tamil heritage, sacred kingship, and UNESCO heritage discourse. The paper concludes that Darasuram should be interpreted not merely as a static archaeological monument but as a dynamic cultural institution that integrated religion, administration, economy, literature, music, sculpture, and social life during the Chola period.
Keywords
Chola Heritage, Airavatesvara Temple, Architectural Historiography, Epigraphy, Sacred Landscape, Living Heritage
DOI :
Copyright & Licence
Authors publishing in JAARD retain copyright in their work and grant the journal the right of first publication. Published articles are made available under the Creative Commons licence specified by the journal. Current licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Dates
Published: 31st July 2026
Received: 22nd May 2026
Accepted: 30th June 2026
Pages : 40-57
Citation
Kumar, K. S., & Thangaraju, S. (2026). Architectural historiography of the Airavatesvara Temple: Revisiting Chola heritage through epigraphic and cultural narratives. International Journal of Arts, Architecture & Design, 4(2), 40–57. https://doi.org/10.62030/2026Julypaper3
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