Early Chola Temples
by S. R. Balasubrahmanyam | 1960 | 105,501 words
This volume of Chola Temples covers Parantaka I to Rajaraja I in the timeframe A.D. 907-985. The Cholas of Southern India left a remarkable stamp in the history of Indian architecture and sculpture. Besides that, the Chola dynasty was a successful ruling dynasty even conquering overseas regions....
Temples in Anangur
Anangur is a village in the Mayuram taluk of the Tanjavur district and lies about two miles (3.2 km.) to the east of Tiruvaduturai. It has an ancient temple called Tiru-Agastisvaram. One of the inscriptions on its walls without either the name of the king or the date mentions that Sembiyan Mahadevi, the mother of Uttama Chola, constructed this temple of stone, and it furnishes details of the number and extent of the devadana lands belonging to the temple (75 of 1926).
Agastisvara temple
The temple is also called that of devar (the stone temple of Mahadevar) in an inscription of a later king whose title of Konerimaikondan only is given (73 of 1926).
A gift of a lamp to this temple is mentioned in an inscription of a Parakesarivarman without any distinguishing epithet. Perhaps it may be assigned to Uttama Chola.
Other gifts were made in the period of Rajaraja i and Vikrama Chola,
This is a temple built of stone by Sembiyan Mahadevi, may be in or before the 10th year of Uttama Chola.
The temple consists of the garbhagriha and the mandapa (without grilles). The images are
Dakshinamurti (S), Lingodbhavar (W) and Brahma (N) on the walls of the garbhagriha; the images on the ardhamandapa are Nataraja, Agastyar and Ganesa on the south wall, and Bhikshatanar, Durga and Ardha-narisvara on the north wall. There are two dvarapalas in front of this mandapa (Pis. 203 to 214).