Skip to main content

Gangaikondacholapuram

Gangaikondacholapuram is located about 41KM from Kumbakonam.

Gangaikondapuram visit was a part of my Kumbakonam visit and  I must have spent about two hours here. I decided to take a bus to visit the temple. At the bus stand, I enquired if there was any direct buses plying to or via gangaikondacholapuram. I was told that a bridge in that area has collapsed, so I can take a bus until the bridge and then walk about 2 miles and then take another bus. I was thinking “Walking!!! That was a NO NO”. The localite continued saying that I can take a bus to Jayankondam instead and then change bus to Gangaikondacholapuram. I reached Jayankondam, in about an hour. I then changed bus and travel about 5-7 km to reach Gangaikondacholapuram. As I was reaching the place, I could see the imposing temple structure on the right hand side and I was wow!!!... It was a cloudy day, and it looked as if it would rain anytime. Since I was not carrying any rain gear(umbrella, waterproof bags) but had my camera, I was hoping that it should not rain for couple of hours, even-though I like rains and like getting wet in rain. 
I met the contact, whose detail I got from Kumbakonam. I was hoping he would take me around the place explaining the facts, and he just did that. I will mention the history of the place before I add pictures.
Gangaikondacholapuram, was established as the capital during the reign of Rajendra Cholan I, son of Raja raja Cholan I. It was a normal practice that when a new king succeeds, he would establish his capital in a different location. The Cholans had a very powerful navy fleet. Their rule extended to parts of Malayasia,  Java, Sumatra on the east. To Srilanka in the south. They had even conquered until the Ganges. To commemorate the victory, the Shiva temple was built, it was only next to the brihadeeshwara temple in Tanjore(built byhis father). The Cholan army also brought large quantity of water from Ganges. Since he had brought the Ganges, he was known as ‘Gangai Kondan’. The place was subsequently named Gangaikondacholapuram. Rajendra Chola I, had used the water from Ganges during Kumbhabishekam of the Shiva temple. The rest of the water was poured into a well adjacent to the temple.



....
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nandyal - Yaganti - Belum Caves

Trip Log       Total distance covered about 750 Km The Riders:                Suraj - Royal Enfield Electra-5S(TN02 AD ----)                Krishna Mohan - Royal Enfield Electra-5S(AP 10 AN ----) Route  Hyderabad       | Kurnool       | Nandyal           |          Mahanandi       | Nandyal       | Yaganti       | Belum Caves       | Nandyal       | Hyderabad                  I was on speaking with Krishna Mohan over phone, telling him about my ride from Chennai, earlier that week and casually asked him, how about a ride this weekend?.... and he said why not!!!!!.. Told him I call him ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rayiranelloor mala (mountain)

Naranath Bhranthan (madman of Naranam) is a character in  Malayalam  folklore,  is believed to have dwelled on the Rayiranelloor mala (mountain). He was the most popular among the twelve children of Vararuchi, was a man with unusual talents. At the same time, he was a social revolutionary who taught against the social evils and blind beliefs, which prevailed during the period. Those who were unable to understand his revolutionary viewpoints called him bhrandhan (madman). Folklore: "Vararuchi, one of the nine wise men of King Vikramaditya’s court married a girl from Paraya caste which is one of the lowest castes among the society of Kerala. Vararuchi sets out on a trip with his wife across the land in search of questions posted by king. Each time upon delivery, Vararuchi asked her if the baby had a mouth. If she said ‘yes’, he would say, “If God has given a mouth, it will feed his mouth too” and would ask her to leave the child there and th...
Post a Comment
Read more

metherover

I love travelling, visiting places of historic, architectural, natural, cultural importance and ofcourse adventurous place i.e., just about anywhere – anyplace. Prefer calm and not so crowded places. This helps explore and understand more of the place.  I love riding my motorcycle, I have ridden to/through most of the states in india. People ask why a motorcycle??? I tell them.....You feel the wind, you hear the sound of your environment (birds, animals, vehicles, people...), you smell the land around you (for better or worse) and feel the texture of the road beneath you. It's something which cannot be explained, and cannot be understood no matter how I explain. It has to be experienced to understand!!!!  It's about discovering yourself, making new friends, learning new things. The The friendship you made while traveling, will often last forever. You generally trend to miss your new friends ‘cause they made you feel home...
Post a Comment
Read more