Great Pagoda, Tanjore

Samuel Bourne no. 2047. The rear of the great Siva temple Rajarajeshwara (listed here as "pagoda" in the inscription) of Thanjuvur (Tanjore) from the northwest. Through its central placement and close framing of massive granite tower of this Chola Dynasty temple (standing over 200 ft. in height), the photograph communicates the monumentality and grandeur of the structure. The scale is further emphasized by the inclusion of two white-clad figures in the foreground who are dwarfed by the monument. A narrow section of the enclosure, replete with figural sculpture arranged in tier is visible in the foreground in the lower left corner of the composition.