Honouring Chola legacy: PM Modi visits Lord Brihadeeswara temple in Tamil Nadu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Tamil Nadu, offered prayers at the Chola-era Lord Brihadeeswara temple in Gangaikonda Cholapuram in Ariyalur district.

 

The temple, a Dravidian architecture marvel and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built by Rajendra Chola I in 1035 CE.

 

On his arrival, the prime minister was received by temple priests with "poorana kumbham". 

 

Clad in veshti (dhoti), white shirt and angavasthram worn around the neck, Modi circumambulated the inner corridor of the temple. He also performed a "deeparathanai."

 

Modi also visited an exhibition organised by the Archaeological Survey of India on Chola Shaivism and architecture. 

 

The Union Ministry of Culture is hosting the four-day festival in the town, commemorating 1,000 years of Rajendra Chola’s maritime expedition to Southeast Asia.

 

Modi’s visit to the village comes days after Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced that the 1000-year-old Chola Gangam lake in Gangaikonda Cholapuram would be developed at a cost of ₹20 crore in view of the birth anniversary of the legendary king.

 

Stalin also announced that the tourist activities at the site would be developed at a cost of ₹7.25 crore. 

 

Modi arrived in Gangaikonda Cholapuram from Thoothukudi, where he laid the foundation stone, inaugurated and dedicated to the nation development projects worth over ₹4800 crore on Saturday.

 

The projects that Modi inaugurated included a new terminal building at Thoothukudi airport and two strategically significant highways—Sethiyathope–Cholapuram stretch of NH-36 and the 6-laning of the 5.16 km NH-138 Thoothukudi Port Road.

 

The prime minister also inaugurated North Cargo Berth–III with a cargo handling capacity of 6.96 MMTPA at V.O. Chidambaranar Port.

India