Gaṅgaikoṇḍa Chōḻapuram is a village located near to Jayankondam, Ariyalur district, Tamil Nadu, India. It became the capital of the Chola dynasty in c. 1025 by Chola emperor Rajendra I, and served as the capital for around 250 years. The town is about approximately northeast of Tiruchirapalli international airport. As of 2014, the ancient city exists as a heritage town in the Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu, India. The great Arulmigu Peruvudaiyar Temple at this place is next only to the Arulmigu Peruvudaiyar Kovil at Thanjavur in its monumental nature and surpasses it in sculptural quality. It has been recognised as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. History The city was founded by Rajendra I to commemorate his victory over the Pala Dynasty. The translation of the city's name may be split into Gangai (Ganga)/ Konda (Obtained)/ Chola (Chola)/ Puram (City). Hence, it refers to the city of the Cholas built on a locale to commemorate the occasion when the water of the Ganga was obtained. It is now a small village, its past eminence only remembered by the existence of the Mahashiva Temple. The Chola Empire included the whole of southern India to the river Tungabhadra in the north. For administrative and strategic purposes, they built a new capital and named it Gangaikonda Cholapuram. The city seems to have had two fortifications, one inner and the other outer. The outer was probably wider. The remains of the outer fortification can be seen as a mound running all around the palace. Excavations suggest that the outer fortification was built of burnt bricks, was about six to eight feet wide. It consisted of two walls, the intervening space (the core) being filled with sand. The bricks are fairly large in size and are made of well-burnt clay. The Tamil Nadu State Archaeological Department has taken up fresh excavations to probe a nearby village named Ayudhkalam which is believed to have weapon manufacturing workshops, as the name suggests. The surviving temple in Gangaikonda Cholapuram was completed in 1035 CE. Rajendra emulated the temple built by his father after his victory in a campaign across India that Chola era texts state covered Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Bengal. After his victory, he demanded that the defeated kingdoms send pots of Ganges River water and pour it into the well of this temple. Rajendra I, according to Tamil tradition, thereafter assumed the name of