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Ah a great question. I have always had a dream about this.  The person I would like to meet by travelling through time is King Raja Raja Chola from the Chola dynasty. The person who has been a great inspiration for so many people who read about him. He is a king who was treated like god during his times. I'm wondering how it would have been to live during his times. I would like to list out the reason why I would like to meet him in person along with the questions I would ask him if I meet him in person. The main reason is to understand how he built the great Tanjore Big Temple which is an UNESCO world heritage site. If you visit the temple you will not believe that it was built by mortal beings. 

Before I start off with the questions I would like to give a small overview about King Raja Raja Chola. He was one of the greatest kings in the history of India who lived from  947 and 1014 AD. Within a short lifespan he has achieved so many things and won so many great battles. He was also considered to be a gem among the kings during that period. He was not only famous as a king but he had so many other skills as well. We are able to read more about him from the scriptures and inscriptions in the temples he built. Raja Raja was capable of communicating with Elephants. He was one of the king who had the highest number of elephant armies in the history. He was able to talk to his elephants and tame them well. To build his temples he used so many elephants. Especially to build Tanjore big temple he used more than 1000 elephants. I can keep going with the facts about King Raja Raja Chola. I bet you will also get inspired if you read more about his history and visit Tanjore big temple.

I will now list out the questions I would ask if I get a chance to meet him. Most of the questions will be about Tanjore big temple:

What made you build Tanjore big temple?

He spent almost all the resources from him treasure to build this huge temple which is famous all over the world. During him time there were no similar structure in this world. Even today there are no similar structures in the world. There is a replica of the temple built by his son Rajendra Chola but it is comparatively smaller than what his father built. I have heard explanations from so many people as to why he was inspired to build such a beautiful temple in Tanjore for Lord Shiva. Even many researchers did research on this topic and concluded that he was highly fond of the Hindu god Lord Shiva and that made him build the temple. Some group of researchers say that he built that giant temple to be very famous and a popular person all over the world. (Though I don't buy that statement). I would like to hear the actual reason from the lion's mouth. So this will be the first question I would ask him. 

How did you manage to tame more than 1000 elephants to build the temple?

Like I mentioned above, I have heard that King Raja Raja had biggest army of elephants and he made them fight in the battles for him. Not just for battles but he managed to make them work to build temples for him. Especially for transportation purpose he used elephants to move stones and wooden logs. I would like to ask and understand how he was able to tame so many elephants. 

How did he manage to place the 80 ton stone on top of the temple?

In Tanjore big temple the stone that is placed on the top weighs 80 ton and is made of a single stone. With the current equipments and advanced technologies, it is quite challenging to transport more than 20 ton and lift 20 ton stone. It is still a big mystery for all the archeologists and civil engineers to understand how he was able to place the 80 ton weighing stone on top of the temple without any advanced technologies during his time. There are two theories said how he would have done it. 

• He should have built a circular ramp to carry the stones with nearly 100 elephants to place it on top. 
• He should have built the entire temple and closed it with mud to make it a hill and then move the stone with the help of elephants to place them on top and dig the temple out. 

Not just this stone in the temple is a mystery but there are also other questions raised about how the deity was taken inside the temple during the construction. 

How did he manage to have so many war ships?

How was he able to travel to so many places in stealth mode?

What is life according to him and why did he live such a great life?

Did he foresee the future of Chola dynasty?

Did he already know that his son would build an exact replica of Tanjore big temple in Gangai Konda Cholapuram?

How did he manage to be a man with multiple skills?

I really want to get this puzzle in my mind solved by meeting King Raja Raja in person and ask all the above questions. For those who are surprise with the above information and would like to know more, please google about King Raja Raja chola. If you get a chance please visit Tanjore big temple and try to understand the architectural mystery of the temple. You can also read a Tamil Novel called Ponniyin selvan to know more about his greatness. If you do all these things, I'm sure you will also join with me to travel beyond time and visit him in person. I'm wondering how it would have been to live during his time.

Image Source: Wikipedia and Pixabay.com