Aditya I

Further strides are made in the age of Aditya I. Some of the gems of early Chola temples are found in his reign. The Avani Kandarpa Isvara-griham at Kilaiyur with two shrines side by side is the grandest of this series. Two shrines of the same age within a single compound with two different kinds of sikhara with sculptures of rare quality installed as vimana-devatas, with its original gopuram guarded by dmrapalas—all these make it a class by itself. The Nagesvara temple at Kumbakonam and the Koranganathar temple at Srinivasanallur have stone sculptures of great plastic quality. The latter has a double-storeyed garbhagriha which served as the precedent for the Raja-raj esvaram at Tanjavur and for the stone-gateways of gopuras of the later Chola age. Aditya I’s temples are found all over the Tamil country from Kannanur in the south to Takkolam in the north.