The magnificent monument, Thanjavur Periya Koil deservingly finds a befitting place in the Indian Philatelic history and numismatics. It is a fitting tribute to the Periya Koil.
The construction of Thanjai Peruvudaiyar Koil, as it is called, began in 1004 AD in the 19th reignal year of the Great Raja Raja Chozhan and completed in his 25th reignal year, i.e., 1010 AD. Braving the nature’s fury and the ravages of time, this 66 metre tall 13 storied gopuram stood solidly for 1000 years completing a millennium of its existence.
The construction of Thanjai Peruvudaiyar Koil, as it is called, began in 1004 AD in the 19th reignal year of the Great Raja Raja Chozhan and completed in his 25th reignal year, i.e., 1010 AD. Braving the nature’s fury and the ravages of time, this 66 metre tall 13 storied gopuram stood solidly for 1000 years completing a millennium of its existence.
The time is ripe, atmosphere is conducive and plans are afoot for the conduct of the World Tamil Classical Language conference at Coimbatore heralding the cultural and literary heritage of Tamils. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Kalaignar wrote a timely letter to the Union Finance Minister to arrange for the issuance of a special commemorative coin on Thanjavur Periya Koil which is completing 1000 years of its existence, stating that the temple had unique features of Dravidian architecture and was listed by UNESCO as a world heritage monument.
In response, the Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee conveyed his approval stating that the Central government has decided to issue the Special Coin on the unique and outstanding architectural splendor of the Thanjavur Periya Koil. The Chief Minister also wrote another letter to the Union Minister for Communication and Information Technology A.Raja to arrange for the release of Special Postage Stamp to commemorate the occasion which is being processed.
Periya Koil of Thanjavur as its very name indicates was great in all respects. It was an institution of the people, owned and administered by the people of the town and evinced keen interest and involvement in the traditional upkeep of the society around it. It is no exaggeration to say that the Thanjavur Periya Koil functioned like a people’s bank – a social bank too - at the time of natural calamities. It was the custodian treasury of gold and gifts donated to the temple. It performed the duties of a Record Office for the properties owned by the temple playing the role of the Executor and Trustee for the landed properties entrusted to its care.
Generally all temples of yore in the villages and towns in Tamil Nadu were centres of social activity involving itself in education and health. The trustees of these temples helped the desperate locals financially as well as in kind at times of failure of crops and avoided the exodus of small farmers to far away centres. In this respect the Thanjavur Periya Koil was considered a role model, not only in keeping accounts of income and expenditure, but also maintaining a track record of its properties donated by the society. The interesting special aspect of its monitoring system is that it had social audit done by an accredited representative of the king with Royal Authority to take decisions on the spot and punish the guilty. All these activities of the temples are vividly incorporated in the inscriptions carved on the walls of the respective temples as edicts.
A sad episode in this connection is that a statue of the very person who built this grandiose structure, the emperor Raja Raja Chozhan who was glorified by eminent historians as the Alexander of the east, could not be kept within the premises of the monumental edifice constructed by him. In 1972 when Kalaignar was the Chief Minister took efforts to install the statue of Raja Raja Chozhan within the temple. It was objected to by the Archeological Survey of India ruling out any addition to the original temple structure.
The Tamil Nadu government then reluctantly placed the statue near the temple but wrote in the plaque that it had to install the statue outside the temple as the Centre did not allow it to be placed inside. The then Chief Minister Kalaignar unveiled the statue in the presence of former Minister Nedunchezhian. In no way the installation of the statue of Raja Raja Chozhan will alter the original structure of the monument, the Archeological Survey of India, as a measure of goodwill, may arrange to accord permission for the installation of the statue within the precincts of the temple, in spite of it having been a declared world heritage monument.
However the Union government deserves all praise and appreciation for having agreed to issue a commemorative coin and a special postage
stamp.
(25-04-10)
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