glory of brihadeswara temple

Brihadeswara Temple is temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. It was built by Raja Raja Chola I, between 1003 and 1010 A.D. It is the part of UNESCO World Heritage site. The temple entrance, or Gopuram as its is locally called, is 30 meters in height. This temple is the largest temple with the brilliant work done by the Indian Architecture. This temple shows the power of Chola rulers that is Raja Raja Chola I.

Architecture-

For the construction of this temple around 1.3 lakh tons of granite was used. With 66 meters high, the temple tower Vimana is the largest towers on the earth. In 11th Century, Tamil People completed its first major irrigation network for movements of goods, to control water flow and for agriculture. It is also said that about 3000 elephants were used to bring these stones from far away. Also inside the temple a figurine structure of bull or Nandi is made up by a single rock carving at the entry of Brihadeswara Temple. No cement, plaster or adhesives were used between the stones. For making up of this temple Tamil people used puzzle technique as one stone is placed on another stone, to lock it.

Comparison And Specialty

London’s Big Ben and the Leaning Tower of Pisa are tilting with time. But the glory of Brihadeswara temple still remains beautiful. This temple stands straight even after 1000 years. The reason behind this is the base of the temple which is very wide. The width of the base has kept the structure straight over the years. Another specialty of this temple is that it was made without digging into the earth which means it was built on a plain land. There were no cranes or power machinery to lift the stone to such a height. Wondering how they manage to place this single stone on the top of the Gopuram? And for that to the top of the temple tower they made a ramp of around 6 kilometers long. With the help of Elephants, horses, bulls and laborer’s who together carried the stone.

Festivals–

However, it is also a site of annual dance festivals around the Mahashivratri. Around 10 days artists as well as regional teams performs classical dances at this Brahan Natyanjali festival. The Thanjavur Maratha royal family is currently administering and managing the temple glory. For devotees temple provide free meals and wayfarers on daily basis. Also Brahmins were particularly invited and fed with the meals during the Hindu festivals. Many people are employed in the temple for which they are given wages, roles and names. These people mainly are of priests, lamp lighter, washer man, tailors, jewelers, potters, carpenters, dance guru, dancing girls, both male and female singers, musicians, superintendents of performance artists, accountants. Wages are divided between the land distributions. It is one of the most visited temples by tourists in Tamil Nadu. This fascinating architecture is still appreciated by everyone.

“1000 years, 6 Earthquakes, Still Standing Strong.”