Q1.
Observe the statue of the king. How is he depicted? What do his posture, clothing, and expression say about his power and status?
Answer
How he is depicted. Karikāla is shown seated on a richly decorated elephant, in the open air of the Grand Anicut Memorial Park in Tamil Nadu. He wears a tall crown, a patterned upper garment and a white lower garment, ornaments at the neck, arms and ears, and he has a full moustache. One hand is raised; the other rests easily. The elephant carries an ornamented cloth over its back, gold-coloured trappings and painted decoration on the forehead.
| What you see | What it says about his power and status |
|---|---|
| Mounted on an elephant | The elephant is the royal mount — costly to keep, used in war and in processions. Being above the crowd is itself a statement of rank |
| Upright, relaxed posture | Confidence and control. He is not braced for battle; he sits as one who is already in command |
| The raised hand | A gesture of greeting, blessing or reassurance to his people — the ruler as protector, not as a threat |
| Crown and rich clothing | The Sangam poets call the Cholas, Cheras and Pānḍyas the ‘crowned kings'; the crown makes the claim visible |
| Calm, dignified expression | A wise and just ruler rather than a fearsome one — matching the king remembered for the Kallaṇai, a work of public benefit |
| The decorated elephant | The wealth of the kingdom, shown through the care lavished even on the animal's trappings |
Why it matters — and one caution: this is a modern memorial statue, not an ancient portrait. Nobody knows what Karikāla looked like. The statue tells us how Tamil Nadu remembers him today: as the king who built the Grand Anicut, still irrigating fields two thousand years later. Statues are evidence about the people who put them up as much as about the people they show.