THANJAVUR: Granite pillars containing inscriptions at the 11th century Brahadeeswara Temple in Thanjavur have suffered serious damage during restoration and maintenance work by the Archaeological Survey of India.
A visit to the 'Big temple', as it is popularly known, revealed that five stone pillars, brought down and laid in the open prahara as part of the restoration work, were found chipped and cracked, and in the case of at least one pillar, broken.
A portion of one of the pillars was shattered to such an extent that the inscriptions can no more be read fully or documented. These inscriptions date back to the reign of Raja Raja Chola I, the pre-eminent king of the Later Cholas, who conceived and constructed the imposing temple to Lord Siva.
However, the ASI believes that the damage is not irreversible and the original structure can be restored. Sathyabhama Badrinath, superintending archaeologist, Chennai circle, ASI, said the damaged pillars could be mended and affixed in their respective places. "It will look as original as it used to be," she said.
The five pillars were in the thiruchutru maaligai (circumambulatory corridor) in the north of temple. There are over 150 stone inscriptions in the temple, of which 120 belong to the Chola period between 1000 and 1200 AD.
Experts say the inscriptions have much to say about temple administration of the era, land grants by the Chola kings, and details of the temple's jewellery and festivals. And there are nuggets of information, like the one that points to the existence of a bank in the temple that lent money at an interest of 12.5%. There are also references to employees, dancers, musicians and architects.
Declared a world heritage site, the Big Temple stands testimony to the intricacy and skill of Chola era sculptors and architects. Hundreds of thousands of people visit the monument from across the world every year.
Experts who have done extensive studies of these inscriptions say the damaged inscriptions on the pillars in the thiruchutru maaligai refer to orders issued by Raja Raja Chola to his chief commander Krishna Raman alias Mummudi Chola Brahmarayan.
It was restoration that was causing more damage to the world heritage site than aging, they pointed out.