Extensive study on at Udayalur to identify Raja Raja Chola’s burial site

Amid claims and lack of authentic proof over the burial site of King Raja Raja Chola I, a six-member team constituted by the state government on Monday inspected the site claimed to be the burial spot of the Chola emperor at Udayalur village on the South Bank of Mudikondan near Kumbakonam.

By :  migrator
Update: 2019-04-22 22:04 GMT
The burial temple and the six-member team conducting a study at Udayalur with the help of micro-flight drones

Thiruchirapalli

The team, led by R Sivanandam, the Deputy Director of Tamil Nadu Archaeological department, with archaeologists Thangadurai, J Baskar, epigraphists Loganathan, Sakthivel and Professor Ramesh as its members, checked the spot to find out if there were archaeological remains to ascertain or confirm that it was the burial site of the Raja Raja I.


Experts with the help of micro-flights and drones inspected nearly 10 acres around the said site and also visited a makeshift temple built over a Siva Lingam at Ottathoppu in Udayalur village which is being worshiped as the Chola’s burial spot by locals.


It is said that Thirumurugam , an advocate from Ramanathapuram filed a Public Interest Litigation at the Madurai bench of Madras High Court seeking a direction to the Tamil Nadu government to maintain the burial ground of the Raja Raja Chola, whose kingdom was spread across south India and built the now world famous Big Temple in Thanjavur.


While the statues of Maratha King Chantrapathi Shivaji and Sardar Patel were being maintained with great care by Maharashtra and Gujarat governments respectively, the Tamil Nadu government should also accord top priority in maintaining the burial site of Raja Raja I, one of the greatest kings of Tamil Nadu, located at Udayalur village near Kumbakonam. The petitioner also wanted the state government to install a statue and construct a memorial for the Chola emperor at the site.


Based on the appeal, High Court had passed interim orders on April 11, directing the state government to form a special team to find out whether the Udayalur site was the burial spot of King Raja Raja Chola. The court in its order asked the team to find out whether any archaeological remains or artefacts existed there. The committee was told to file a report within two weeks.

Empire beyond seas
Raja Raja Chola I born as Arulmozhi Varman was a Chola emperor, who ruled the medieval Tamil Nadu (parts of southern India), parts of northern India, two thirds of Sri Lankan territory, Maldives and parts of East Asia, between 985 and 1014 CE.

Marine prowess
Raja Raja also launched several naval campaigns on the ports of Malabar Coast (Kerala), Maldives and Sri Lanka

Big Temple, really
The Big Temple in Thanjavur constructed by Raja Raja is the finest monument and marvellous symbol of South India’s temple architecture
There are no portraits or verified statues of the king 

Family
Raja Raja’s wife Lokamahadevi was said to have been the chief queen. The Chola emperor had three daughters, of which only two have been written about - Kundavai, who married the Eastern Chalukya prince Vimaladitya, and Madevadigal, who embraced Buddhism
Raja Raja died in 1014 C.E., succeeded by Rajendra Chola I

Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!

Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!

Click here for iOS

Click here for Android

Similar News