The Big Temple. Rajaraja Cholan, the Great Chola king
built Bragatheeswarar Temple. Big Temple is an example for the Indian sculptural architecture greatness. Temple is surrounded by moat on two sides and Grand Anaicut river on the other side. This temple is unique to have the tallest tower over the sanctum sanctorum unlike the other temples. It is 216 feet tall. The stupa at the top is made of bronze.The walls of the sanctum are covered, with the wall paintings of Chola and Nayak periods, comparable to the famous Ajanta cave frescoes Brihadisvara temple is the only high-rise building in the town rising up by fourteen stories and 216 feet. It is called Brihadisvara or The Big Temple The Gopuras of Thanjavur Temple. See how far away is the third and tallest thirteen story towerThe first impression of the temple is entirely dominated by its three gopuras. Rising steeply beyond a wide enclosure, the brownish
sandstone structures of the tallest tower stands up
distinctly with its uncommon, pyramidal shape. The temple is almost like a fort. Its outer wall is a good 10 feet high and stands behind a trench built along the wall. The entrance to the temple, which is tall on its own but dwarfed by the main tower, is marked by a gopura embellished with various gods. Surprisingly, the ubiquitous market lanes outside the temple of such size, selling pooja paraphernalia is missing completely and is substituted by just a couple of flower vendors. Entering through the main door leads to a wide-open area covered with green grass that is typical of places managed by the Archeological Society of India. I left my footwear at the Chappal stand,
bought a booklet on Thanjavur and started my explorations. A search for guides who could show me
around and explain was not successful but the booklet I had bought made up for it with its detailed explanation of architecture and history.Beyond the main entrance is another high wall separating the inner courtyard. The sandstone wall is decorated with small statues of Nandi at uniform intervals along the perimeter, adding up to a few hundreds of them. I walked along the wall marveling at the high rise of the temple and the enormous effort that would have been spent to build it. Behind the temple is a peaceful tamarind grove that is completely isolated from rest of the world by the large temple enclosure, and gives a feeling of calmness and seclusion. I picked a few fallen fruits of tamarind and chewed the sweet and sour fruit in pleasure. The leafy trees are haunted by a few parakeets that burst into a ruckus every now and then.I was enchanted by the atmosphere and loathed to move on and into the temple's inner courtyard. But the greed to see more overcame the indulgence of the moment, and I pulled myself forward. The huge inner courtyard has a few smaller shrines situated around the main temple. There is a giant Nandi guarding the shrine, said to be the third largest Nandi statue in the country. I presume that obviously translate to third largest in the world; can we expect a super-sized Nandi statue anywhere else but in India? The roof of the Nandi Mantapa has brightly colored frescoes of floral patterns giving me a glimpse of Thanjavur's famous frescoes. None of the structures in the temple stand anywhere close in size to the main gopura. The tower has a crown of 80 tonne stone and there have been speculations on how it was lifted all the way up. The lingam in sanctum stands high like the tower it is under, and measures 13 feet.The insides of the main temple is said to have sections with frescoes that are now closed for visitors to prevent possible damages. Inner walls of the temple courtyard have a few paintings that are in various stages of decay and it looks like ASI has given up on these. Only few of these are in reasonable condition but plaster on the wall has peeled off from most of the paintings, and shockingly, many paintings have been ruined by mindless graffiti. The roof of Amman temple has painted murals but there seems to be some repainting attempts done by untrained hands in the recent years, which has only helped in degenerating them. Most of the temple's visitors are tourists and busloads of children on school trips. They usually walk around the temple quickly and head out. Fortunately, despite the oversized temple, Thanjavur is not a well-known pilgrimage center. It is not associated with any mythological incidences that so often binds our temples and nor has it any special significance that would attract devout people in hoards. That means the temple is generally quiet, devoid of any major pooja activity, events or the otherwise ever-present loudspeakers, allowing one to explore the place in peace. Brihadisvara temple was built by Raja Raja Chola during early years of the eleventh century AD, in the heydays of his kingdom. Later rulers made further additions to the main shrine with contributions from the Nayaks and Marathas post 16th century. Now the temple complex includes an Amman temple next to the Nandi, and a Murugan temple and Ganapathi temple to either sides of the main shrine. The famous Thanjavur style paintings were inscribed inside the temple by the Cholas and enhanced by Nayak rulers.I spotted the young and active temple elephant as I was heading out. I watched the charming elephant accept donations and bless a few devotees and could not help approaching her myself. Picking up a dozen Bananas, I offered them to the pachyderm, which swallowed them all in seconds as I patted her trunk. As I was about to retreat, the Mahout asked me to bow in front and receive its blessings, to which I obliged. It graciously lifted its trunk and gently rested the tip of it on my head, splattering a few drops of saliva on me! I prodded its trunk and wondered on how strong and tough are the trunks that actually appear soft and agile.My next stop was the Thanjavur palace which is a fifteen minute walk from the temple. The palace was built by Nayak rulers in 16th century and subsequent additions were made by the Marathas. While the Brihadisvara temple is in a good condition and is well managed, the palace is in shambles. A part of the palace complex is converted into a school. As I walked towards the palace, a few kids bumped into me struck a friendly conversation and posed for pictures. There is some digging and
construction activity within the palace courtyard, and ther are no signs or information to help visitors about where tgo. The interiors are dusty, poorly maintained and cry from neglect.
built Bragatheeswarar Temple. Big Temple is an example for the Indian sculptural architecture greatness. Temple is surrounded by moat on two sides and Grand Anaicut river on the other side. This temple is unique to have the tallest tower over the sanctum sanctorum unlike the other temples. It is 216 feet tall. The stupa at the top is made of bronze.The walls of the sanctum are covered, with the wall paintings of Chola and Nayak periods, comparable to the famous Ajanta cave frescoes Brihadisvara temple is the only high-rise building in the town rising up by fourteen stories and 216 feet. It is called Brihadisvara or The Big Temple The Gopuras of Thanjavur Temple. See how far away is the third and tallest thirteen story towerThe first impression of the temple is entirely dominated by its three gopuras. Rising steeply beyond a wide enclosure, the brownish
sandstone structures of the tallest tower stands up
distinctly with its uncommon, pyramidal shape. The temple is almost like a fort. Its outer wall is a good 10 feet high and stands behind a trench built along the wall. The entrance to the temple, which is tall on its own but dwarfed by the main tower, is marked by a gopura embellished with various gods. Surprisingly, the ubiquitous market lanes outside the temple of such size, selling pooja paraphernalia is missing completely and is substituted by just a couple of flower vendors. Entering through the main door leads to a wide-open area covered with green grass that is typical of places managed by the Archeological Society of India. I left my footwear at the Chappal stand,
bought a booklet on Thanjavur and started my explorations. A search for guides who could show me
around and explain was not successful but the booklet I had bought made up for it with its detailed explanation of architecture and history.Beyond the main entrance is another high wall separating the inner courtyard. The sandstone wall is decorated with small statues of Nandi at uniform intervals along the perimeter, adding up to a few hundreds of them. I walked along the wall marveling at the high rise of the temple and the enormous effort that would have been spent to build it. Behind the temple is a peaceful tamarind grove that is completely isolated from rest of the world by the large temple enclosure, and gives a feeling of calmness and seclusion. I picked a few fallen fruits of tamarind and chewed the sweet and sour fruit in pleasure. The leafy trees are haunted by a few parakeets that burst into a ruckus every now and then.I was enchanted by the atmosphere and loathed to move on and into the temple's inner courtyard. But the greed to see more overcame the indulgence of the moment, and I pulled myself forward. The huge inner courtyard has a few smaller shrines situated around the main temple. There is a giant Nandi guarding the shrine, said to be the third largest Nandi statue in the country. I presume that obviously translate to third largest in the world; can we expect a super-sized Nandi statue anywhere else but in India? The roof of the Nandi Mantapa has brightly colored frescoes of floral patterns giving me a glimpse of Thanjavur's famous frescoes. None of the structures in the temple stand anywhere close in size to the main gopura. The tower has a crown of 80 tonne stone and there have been speculations on how it was lifted all the way up. The lingam in sanctum stands high like the tower it is under, and measures 13 feet.The insides of the main temple is said to have sections with frescoes that are now closed for visitors to prevent possible damages. Inner walls of the temple courtyard have a few paintings that are in various stages of decay and it looks like ASI has given up on these. Only few of these are in reasonable condition but plaster on the wall has peeled off from most of the paintings, and shockingly, many paintings have been ruined by mindless graffiti. The roof of Amman temple has painted murals but there seems to be some repainting attempts done by untrained hands in the recent years, which has only helped in degenerating them. Most of the temple's visitors are tourists and busloads of children on school trips. They usually walk around the temple quickly and head out. Fortunately, despite the oversized temple, Thanjavur is not a well-known pilgrimage center. It is not associated with any mythological incidences that so often binds our temples and nor has it any special significance that would attract devout people in hoards. That means the temple is generally quiet, devoid of any major pooja activity, events or the otherwise ever-present loudspeakers, allowing one to explore the place in peace. Brihadisvara temple was built by Raja Raja Chola during early years of the eleventh century AD, in the heydays of his kingdom. Later rulers made further additions to the main shrine with contributions from the Nayaks and Marathas post 16th century. Now the temple complex includes an Amman temple next to the Nandi, and a Murugan temple and Ganapathi temple to either sides of the main shrine. The famous Thanjavur style paintings were inscribed inside the temple by the Cholas and enhanced by Nayak rulers.I spotted the young and active temple elephant as I was heading out. I watched the charming elephant accept donations and bless a few devotees and could not help approaching her myself. Picking up a dozen Bananas, I offered them to the pachyderm, which swallowed them all in seconds as I patted her trunk. As I was about to retreat, the Mahout asked me to bow in front and receive its blessings, to which I obliged. It graciously lifted its trunk and gently rested the tip of it on my head, splattering a few drops of saliva on me! I prodded its trunk and wondered on how strong and tough are the trunks that actually appear soft and agile.My next stop was the Thanjavur palace which is a fifteen minute walk from the temple. The palace was built by Nayak rulers in 16th century and subsequent additions were made by the Marathas. While the Brihadisvara temple is in a good condition and is well managed, the palace is in shambles. A part of the palace complex is converted into a school. As I walked towards the palace, a few kids bumped into me struck a friendly conversation and posed for pictures. There is some digging and
construction activity within the palace courtyard, and ther are no signs or information to help visitors about where tgo. The interiors are dusty, poorly maintained and cry from neglect.