Temples in Melpadi

The earlier temple of Cholendrasimhesvaram (whose construction in stone was started in the days of Paranta-ka I and completed in the days of Rajaraja I) and the Arinjigai Isvaram(a pallippadai temple built by Rajaraja I in honour of his grand father Arinjaya) may be considered as connecting links between the early Chola temples and those of the middle Chola period (a.d 985 -1070). Both the Rajarajesvaram built at Tanjavur by Rajaraja I (19th to 26th year) and the Arinjigai Isvaram at Melpadi (29th year of Rajaraja I) should have been built nearly about the same period.

The stimulus given to Dravidian Art and Architecture by the Pallavas bore fuller fruition in the early Chola period, a period as glorious as any other period of Indian art. This rich legacy remained a buried treasure to the world of scholars, because most of these splendid monuments remained so long unstudied and unpublished. The early Chola temples were comparatively humble structures unlike the gigantic and magnificent monuments of the age of Rajaraja I and of Rajendra I (the middle Chola period). But in the field of plastic art, this period was as great and glorious as any other grand period of artistic efflorescence in India. It is hoped that this pioneer study will create among scholars greater interest in Dravidian Architecture and Art.