In the ninth century CE, there lived a Tamil king named Raja Raja I. This king belonged to the Chola dynasty. His given name was Arunmoli. The title “Raja Raja” meant “King of Kings.” He was a great devotee of the Hindu deity Shiva – and his devotion showed through the architecture he commissioned.
As a king he was very capable; he conquered neighbouring kingdoms in Kerala and Sri Lanka and transformed his small kingdom into a large empire. However, despite being a great king his deeds were lost in the abyss of time. The one monument that lives to speak of his reign as a king is the Brihadishvara Temple of Tanjavur.
Raja Raja I, the valiant king, spent the first eighteen years of his rule surrounded by blood and dust. Thus historians believe that the temple was commissioned in the nineteenth year of his reign. The temple was named Rajarajeshwara (or Raja raja-isvara) meaning the Lord of Rajaraja because it housed his most beloved deity, Shiva.
The temple construction was completed in the twenty-fifth year of his reign. The exceptionally huge temple, with intricate carvings, took only six years to complete. The temple is so big that today it is called the Big Temple.
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