The Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram, four kilometres west of Kumbakonam, is the smallest but most refined of the three "Great Living Chola Temples" inscribed by UNESCO. Built in the twelfth century by Rajaraja Chola II, it is dedicated to Shiva in his form as Airavatesvara — worshipped here by Indra's white elephant Airavata, who came to be cured of a curse by bathing in the temple tank.
What sets the temple apart is the quality of the small-scale sculpture. The front mandapam is carved as a stone chariot drawn by horses, with wheels finely chiselled to look like working wood. The base is covered in tiny narrative friezes; the pillars are loaded with figures, including a celebrated set of optical illusions in which a single carved head reads as a different creature from different angles. Quieter than the more famous Brihadisvara at Thanjavur, and arguably more rewarding for the patient visitor.