THANJAVUR: A rare sculpture of Chola king Kulothunga (III) (1178 A.D. to 1218 A.D.) was discovered by researcher Kudavayil Balasubramanian and his associates V.Kannan and V.Gunasekaran at Thiruvidaimaruthur in Thirukuvalai taluk in Nagapattinam district recently.
"This is one of the most beautiful sculpture of Kulothunga Cholan found so far," said Mr. Balasurbramanian.
Like Thiruvidaimaruthur and Thiruvalanchuzhi near Kumbakonam the two places which were sung by `Nayanmars' in `Devaram' there are two more places in the same name near Thiruthruaipoondi.
Thiruvidaimauruthur near Thiruthuraipoondi, where the sculpture of Kulothunga Chola was found, was called Sathankudi in olden days.
Sculptures of Kulothunga (III) were found at Tiruvarur, Thiruvalankadu, Korkai, Kumbakonam, Kudavayil, Thirumandankudi and Mathur. The sculpture that was found recently at Thiruvidaimaruthur is in a standing posture and the King is offering worship.
That would be an interesting comparison between the two images and that RRC painting.
Like poetry, the sculptors/painters have a certain liberty, I am not sure how to revisit time on getting to a conclusion how they actually looked. Either ways, very interesting.