Thanjavur Brihadeeswarar Temple History:-
This temple is 1013 years old. The Chole king required four materials to build this temple. Granite stones, But granite was unavailable in or around Thanjavur. I mean this whole area is a flatland. It is mainly used for farming. There is a village called Pudukottai, located 70 KM South from here. There is a specific place called ‘Narthamalai’ (cluster of small hills). ‘Malai’ means hills! You can see even today, that those are hills of granite. From there, the Chola king brought the granite stones 1013 years ago.Just imagine, in that period, in the absence of automobiles, lorries, etc… elephants were used to transport the granite. How many elephants must have been used to transport all this granite? 12,000 elephants! 5000 horses! 50,000 workers were involved in this project. That is how this temple was constructed in just 6 years. Raja Chola started building this temple in 1004 and finished it in 1010. At one time, Raja Chola defeated another king.
The name of that king was ‘Chera’. He was a famous ruler in Kerala. To celebrate his victory over Cheras, the Chola king named this entrance ‘Cheralathan’. Its height is 25 meters. Till 12.5 meters, it is made of granite. The rest of it is made of granite on the inside and outside it has quicklime.
You are looking to see this is a single stone from ground level to the top. This single stone is 12.5 meters in height. Its weight is 12 tons.
Once you enter through the Gopuram, you will find a cloakroom on your right. You can deposit your belongings in the cloakroom and keep your shoes on the shoe stand.
Keralathankan thiruvasal:-
This gopura entrance (28.9m * 17.25m) was built by the Chola king Raja, Raja-1 to commemorate his victory over the Cheras (Keralas). This gopura has plain pilasters supported by plain brackets on either side of the central passage. The bhutaganas are shown blowing conches in the front row. The upper storey of this gopura is having stucco figures. The east face has stucco images of Urdhavadhantava and Kali on the Northern and Southern part respectively. The stucco images of Umasahitha Siva and Mahesha siva are noticed on either side of the central offset. Apart from this several sculptural representations of Siva such as Chandrasekhara, Bhikshatana-murti, Kalari, Gangadhara are noticed here. Here separate shrines for Dakshinamurthy and Brahma are located on the southern and northern sides respectively in the the first storey.
Raja Raja Tower:-
This is the second entrance to the temple and its name is ‘Raja Raja Tower’. Its height is 18 meters. You can see these two statues in front of you, These are made of the same stone. They are the security guards of the Shiva Temple, known as ‘Dvarapalaka Bandhu’. These carvings are unique in itself.
Thee were 5 rulling dynasties in Tamil Nadu. Till 600-1000 A.D, it was the Pallava dynasty. Their mother tongue was Telugu and their capital was Kanchipuram. Including the area, which is modern day Mahabalipuram and Chennai. From 11th to 13th century, the Chola dynasty ruled here. Their capital was Thanjavur and their mother tongue was Tamil. From 1400-1500, the Pandyans were the rulers. Their capital was Madurai and mother tongue was Tamil. The Nayak dynasty ruled from 1600-1700 A.D. their mother tongue was Telugu. Their capital was Trichy. The last ruler of Thanjavur belonged to thy Maratha dynasty. His name was serfoji. He ruled from 1800s-1900s.
The South Indian architecture is known as the Dravidian architecture. But out of all this temple is built according to the Chola architecture.
Difference of Chola architecture. The temple entrance would be lower in height than the inner sanctum building. In a normal Temple it is the opposite. This is called ‘Garbhagudi‘. What you can see on the word here is writing in instant Tamil script. This Tamil script was used a thousand years ago.
You are looking at the front site this is the main shiva Temple. This is where the tourists come for Darshan. Temple inside photo videos are not allowed.
Shiva Temple:-
We had the darshan of Bhagwan Shiv in the form of Shivalingam. This Shivalingam height is 12 feet, and weight 12 ton. Temple outside looking the ‘Dvarpal’ has been carved out of a single stone. Next to it, you can have the darshan of Bhagwan Ganapathi and Vishnu durga. Temple outside various Shiva avatars. Look at the different colours on each statue. This means that a thousand years ago, this temple was colourful outside. These are the status of 108 avatars of Bhagwan Shiva. You’ll see Shiva in the form of a bigger one. He carries a begging bowl in his hand. This Avatar is called Bhagwan Bhikshatna. By 108 statues, I mean 109, including the main statue inside the inner sanctum. 9 means ‘Nava Graha’.
Nandhi Mandapa:-
This mandapa is situated on the same axis of garbhagraha and ardhamandapa of the main shrine. A large monolithic sculpture of Nandhi is housed in the Mandapa. The height of the Nandi is 3.65m, 5.94m long and 2.59m brod. It approximately weghs about 25tons. It is actually not the original one which was consecrated during the Chola period. The original Nandhi one which was consecrated during the chola period presently in the southern cloister mandapa near the Varahi shrine. The present Nandhi mandapa was built during the Nayaka period. It has 16 pillars of which 8 pillars have a Yali base. Two Nayaka kings sculptures are also noticed on the pillars in the central portion. A flight of steps are provided to reach the mandapa and the ceilings of this mandapa was painted with floral designs and deities were painted in bright colors during the Maratha period.
Marco Polo:-
He belonged to Italy. He was a great traveller of that time. Between the 14th and 15th centuries, he visited India as well as China. The Nayek dynasty ruled Thanjavur during the 16th century. The Nayak king came to know that Morco Polo had visited India in the past. As a mark of respect, in the 1600s, the erstwhile king built statues of him and his wife in an interlocking system.
Shiv Gana:-
Gana means chorus! These ‘Ganas’ accompany Shiva and here, they are holding ‘glass’ in their mouth. These are musicians. These are always in the company of Shva and accompany him everywhere.
Route:-
- Thanjavur new bus stands to Brithadeswara Temple distance 5.2 KM
- Thanjavur railway station to Brithadeswara Temple distance 1.4 KM.
- Tiruchirapalli International Airport distance 61 KM.
Nearest Restaurant:-
After taking the exit from the temple, we travelled 200 meters. We’ve go to the Sri Krishna Bhawan Vegetable Restaurant. For RS 120, you get to eat an unlimited thali.
Nayak Palace (Maratha Palace):-
Tickets & Time :-
Ticket Prices:- 50 RS per person
Camera Fee :-
RS 30
Time :-
- Monday:-10am-4:30pm,
- Tuesday:- 10am-4:30pm,
- Wednesday:- 10am-4:30pm,
- Thursday:- 10am-4:30pm,
- Friday:- 10am-4:30pm,
- Saturday:- 10am-4:30pm,
- Sunday:- 10am-4:30pm
You can look inside the left-hand side, you have the ‘Saraswati Mahal Library’. The Nayak King built this temple not for a residential purpose. He wanted to use this place as an armoury. Today, this whole palace has been converted into a museum. The museum also displays ancient statues recovered during various excavations.
