Darasuram is a place in Tamil Nadu, which is famous for its well known Airavateshvara temple. It is located on the outskirts of the temple town of Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. The Airavateshvara temple was built by Rajaraja II, the Chola king who was in throne from 1146 to 1172 A.D. The temple stands almost behind the Darasuram village and in splendid isolation.

According to historians, this fact is ignored that Darasuram temple constructed by Rajaraja I himself to fulfill the wishes of a cowherdess of this village and who gifted the huge stone placed atop the vimana or tower of the Tanjavur temple. This Darasuram temple was dedicated to Lord Siva. One can enter the sanctum through a series of halls or mandapas. The outermost or front mandapa was built in honour of Rajaraja II who bore the tide `Rajagambira` or `royal poise and dignity` and it is known as Rajagambira Tirumandapa. This mandapa of Darasuram temple was designed as a chariot with creatively carved wheels, driven by caparisoned horses. The balipeetam or sacrificial altar of the temple is situated in front of the Rajagambira Tirumandapa. The balipeetam is approached by an ornamentally carved flight of steps. It produces musical notes of varying frequencies when struck with a stone.

The Darasuram temple is considered as treasure house of sculptures. Most of the sculptures depict dancers, musicians and musical instruments. The scenes from the Periya Puranam i, e, the story of the Nayanmar or Saiva saints can be seen at the base of the main shrine. All these sculptures portray sages, princes, temples, forests, ponds and rivers filled with fishes, crocodiles and other aquatic creatures. Few of these sculptures have close stylistic similarities with the sculptures at Borobudur and Prambanan in Indonesia. This is due to the active commercial and cultural interaction between the Cholas and the South East Asian kingdoms. Recently, the Darasuram temple has been included in the World Heritage list by UNESCO.