text: The Brihadisvara temple was built by the great Tamil ruler, Rajaraja Chola I of the Chola dynasty. The shikaram, an octagonal, carved cupola, itself is very large and heavy and, until recently, was thought to be carved out of a single stone. However during one of the cleaning efforts, it was found to be in two pieces. The task of carrying this huge crown to a height of 70 meters is another feat worth mentioning. In order to do this, an inclined plane of sand was built from a distance of nearly 11 kilometers. The place where this scaffold began is called the Sarap pallam.