The Brihadeeswarar Temple - secrets behind the ancient indian architecture

Brihadeeswarar Temple

the brihadeeswarar temple

The Peruvudaiyar Koyil also known as Brihadeeswarar Temple,at Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, is the world's first complete granite temple and a brilliant example of the major heights achieved by Cholas in Tamil architecture.. It remains India's largest temple and is one of the greatest glories of Indian architecture. The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Great Living Chola Temples".

Secrets of Brihadeeswarar Temple

This temple is one of the world's most prized architectural sites. The temple stands amidst fortified walls that were probably added in the 16th century. The vimana or the temple tower is 216 ft (66 m) high and is among the tallest of its kind in the world. The Kumbam (or Kalash or Chikharam) (apex or the bulbous structure on the top) of the temple is not carved out of a single stone as widely believed. The shadow of the gopuram never falls on the ground. However, some scholars have dismissed this as a myth. it falls somewhere else. nobody have found the shadow till now. It shows the architectural excellence of india before 1000 years also. There is a big statue of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single rock, at the entrance measuring about 16 feet long and 13 feet high.

the gopura of brihadeeswarar temole whoose shadow is belived to be not fallen on earth

There is a big statue of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single rock, at the entrance measuring about 16 feet long and 13 feet high.

the nandi at the entrance

The Temple
The main temple is in the center of the spacious quadrangle composed of a sanctuary, a Nandi, a pillared hall and mandapas, and many sub-shrines. The most important part of the temple is the inner mandapa which is surrounded by massive walls that are divided into levels by sharply cut sculptures and pilasters providing deep bays and recesses. The karuvarai, a Tamil word meaning the interior of the sanctum sanctorum, is the inner most sanctum and focus of the temple where an image of the primary deity, Shiva, resides. Inside is a huge stone linga. Only priests are allowed to enter this inner-most chamber.

the large nandi carved out from a single rock

Not only the temple and the "moolavar", (prime deity, Shiva) but all other deities (Koshta Moorthigal) like Dakshinamurthy, Suriyan (Sun), Chandran (Moon) are very huge sized. Especially, Brahadeeswar temple is one of the rare temples which has statues for "Ashta dik paalakas" (Lords of all Eight Directions) Indra, Varuna, Agni, Eesana, Vayu, Niruthi, Yama, Kubera each of which is a life-like statue

Transport details

Thanjavur can be reached easily by road, rail and air. Tamil Nadu state government runs frequent public buses from nearby Trichy, Chennai, Kumbakonam, Pudukkottai, Pattukkottai, Tirunelveli, Karur, Nagapattinam, Coimbatore and many other cities in the state. From the state capital Chennai, a National Highway (NH 45-A) linking Chennai with Chidambaram, Mayavaram, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, and Nagappatinam provides convenient access to tourists who come to visit Thanjavur and the adjoining towns. There are also several buses operated by private bus operators. Rail services are run by Indian Railways from many cities across India including Chennai, Trichy, Tirunelveli, Madurai and Nagore. The train station is Thanjavur Junction. Tiruchirapalli Airport is the nearest airport, located 65 km away.

Images Of Brihadeeswara Temple

long view of the temple

Inscriptions about the workers who worked to build the temple

the sculptures for sale in tanjore and the entrance to the temple

sivalingams in temple

Construction[edit]

Statue of Rajaraja Chola Chola I who consecrated the temple

The wish to build a mammoth temple like this is said to have occurred to Raja Raja while he stayed at Sri Lanka as an emperor. The esteemed architect and engineer of the temple was Kunjara Mallan Raja Raja Perunthachan as stated in inscriptions found at the temple. The temple was built per ancient texts called Vaastu Shastras and Agamas. He is the ancient ancestor of the doyan of Vaastu Vedic architecture, the late Dr. V. Ganapti Sthapati of Chennai and Mahabalipurim (architect of the 133' granite Thiruvalluvar statue at the tip of south India). Members of his family still live and practice the ancient art and science. The American University of Mayonic Science and Technology was initiated by Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati to perpetuate the same form of architectural principles used by Kunjara Mallan Raja Raja Perunthachan to build the Brihadeeswarar temple. The temple was built using a measure of 1 3/8 inch called an angula (24 units equaling 33 inches called a hasta, muzam, or kishku). This temple is the first building fully built by granite and finished within 5yrs[1004AD 1009AD]. The solid base of the temple raises about 5 metres (16 feet), above which stone deities and representatives of [12] Shiva dance. The huge kalasam or Vimanam (top portion of the shrine) is believed to weigh 81.28 tonnes was of 8 blocks and was raised to its present height by dragging on an inclined plane of [13] 6.44 km. The big Nandi (bull), weighing about 20 tonnes is made of a single stone and is about 2 m in [13] height, 6 m in length and 2.5 m in width. The presiding deity of lingam is 3.7m tall. The prakaram (outer [13] precincts of the temple) measures 240m by 125m. The outer wall of the upper storey is carved with 81 [13] dance karanas postures of Bharathanatyam, the classical dance of Tamil Nadu. The shrine of Goddess was added by Pandyas during the 13th century, Subramanya Shrine by Vijayanagara rulers and [13] the Vinayaka shrine was renovated by Maratha rulers.

Temple complex[edit]
The temple complex sits on the banks of a river that was channelled to make a moat around the complex's outer walls, the walls being built like a fortress. The complex is made up of many structures that are aligned axially. The complex can be entered either on one axis through a five-story gopuram or with a second access directly to the huge main quadrangle through a smaller free-standing gopuram. The massive size of the main Vimanam (Shikhara) is ca. 60 meters high, with 16 elaborately articulated stories, and dominates the main quadrangle. Pilaster, piers, and [14] attached columns are placed rhythmically covering every surface of the Vimanam.

One of the gopurams

The gopuram of the main entrance is 30 m high, smaller than the vimana. It is unusual in thedravidian [15] architecture where the gopurams are generally the main towers and taller than the vimana.

Main temple[edit]

This picture was taken from the left corner of the temple (behind the temple). The staircase which is small in picture will lead you to darshan of God Dakshinamurthy.

A first rectangular surrounding wall, 270 m by 140 m, marks the outer boundary. The main temple is in the center of the spacious quadrangle composed of a sanctuary, a Nandi, a pillared hall and an assembly hall (mandapas), and many sub-shrines. The most important part of the temple is the inner mandapa which is surrounded by massive walls that are divided into levels by sharply cut sculptures

[15]

and pilasters providing deep bays and recesses. Each side of the sanctuary has a bay emphasising the [9] principle cult icons. The karuvarai, a Tamil word meaning the interior of the sanctum sanctorum, is the inner most sanctum and focus of the temple where an image of the primary deity, Shiva, resides. Inside is a huge stone linga. The word Karuvarai means "womb chamber" from Tamilword karu for foetus. Only [16] priests are allowed to enter this inner-most chamber. In the Dravida style, the Karuvarai takes the form of a miniature vimana with other features exclusive to southern Indian temple architecture such as the inner wall together with the outer wall creating a pradakshina around the garbhagriha for circumambulation (pradakshina). The entrance is highly decorated. The inside chamber housing the image of the god is the sanctum sanctorum, [10] the garbhagriha. The garbhagriha is square and sits on a plinth, its location calculated to be a point of total equilibrium and harmony as it is representative of a microcosm of the universe. In the center is [9] placed the image of the deity. The royal bathing-hall where Rajaraja the great gave gifts is to the east of the hall of Irumudi-Soran. The circumambulation winds around the massive lingam in the garbhagriha and is repeated in an upper [14] story, presenting the idea thatChola Empire freely offered access to the gods. The inner mandapa leads out to a rectangular mandapa and then to a twenty-columned porch with three staircases leading down. Sharing the same stone plinth is a small open mandapa dedicated to Nandi, [9] Shiva's sacred bull mount.

Panorama of the temple

Temple Deities[edit]

Shiva Lingam at the temple

The "moolavar" or prime deity of the Brihadeeswarar Temple is Shiva. All deities, particularly those placed in the niches of the outer wall (Koshta Moorthigal) like Dakshinamurthy, Surya,Chandra are of huge size. The Brihadiswarar temple is one of the rare temples which has idols for "Ashta-dikpaalakas" (Guardians of the directions) Indra, Agni, Yama, Nirti, Varua, Vyu,Kubera, na each of whom was originally represented by a life-sized statue, approximately 6 feet tall, enshrined in a separate temple located in the respective direction. (Only Agni, Varu a, Vyu and na are preserved in situ.)

Adjoining structures[edit]

Shrine of Ganapathy

Surrounding the main temple are two walled enclosures. The outer wall is high, defining the temple complex area. Here is the massive gopuram or gateway mentioned above. Within this aportico, a barrel vaulted gorpuram with over 400 pillars, is enclosed by a high wall interspersed with huge gopurams axially lined up to the main temple.

Myths[edit]
The 60-metre tall Vimana is the tallest in South India. A European-like figure which is carved on the Vimana is believed to be an ancient warning of the arrival of the Europeans. Later investigations by archaeologists proposed that this claim may be a hoax.

Features[edit]
Another widely held belief is that the shadow of the gopuram (pyramidal tower usually over the gateway [17] of a temple) never falls on the ground. . The temple is said to be made up of about 130,000 tons of granite. The Kumbam itself, a 60 ton granite stone carved in one piece, on top of the main gopuram is

believed to have been taken to the top by creating an inclined slope to the height of 66m to the top of the gopuram. The prevailing belief is that a mud-slope, which starts at about three miles from the temple site, from Thirukoilore (birthplace of Raja raja's mother) near Sri Virateshvara swamy temple. Elephants might have been used to drag the stone up the slope. This was claimed to be the only part of the gopuram, which does not cast a shadow that fall on the ground, at least not within the temple premises.

Murals[edit]

Rajaraja mural-2

Mural at Brihadeeswarar temple,Tanjavur. This is painting style that evolved in the town.

Painting on the roof of brihadeeswarar temple, Tanjavur

The temple has Chola frescoes on the walls around the sanctum sanctorum potryaing Shiva in action, destroying demonic forts, dancing and sending a white elephant to transport a devotee to [12] heaven. These frescoes were discovered in the 1940s and portray the mythological episodes of the journey of Saint Sundarar and the Chera King to heaven, the battle scene of Tripurantaka (Lord Siva) [18] with Asuras (demons). The Chola artists have proved their mettle by portraying even the Asura women [18] with a sense of beauty. Some of the paintings in the sanctum sanctorum and the walls in the passage had been damaged because of the soot that had deposited on them. Owing to the continuous exposure to smoke and soot from the lamps and burning of camphor in the sanctum sanctorum over a period of centuries certain parts of the Chola paintings on the circumambulatory passage walls had been badly [18] damaged. TheTanjore Nayak kings replaced them with a few paintings of their own, about 400 years [18] ago. The Archaeological Survey of India, for the first time in the world, used its unique de-stucco process to restore 16 Nayak paintings, which were superimposed on 1000-year-old Chola [18] frescoes. These 400-year-old paintings have been mounted on fibre glass boards, displayed at a [18] separate pavilion.

Temple personnel[edit]

One of the 81 dance postures

The temple was consecrated in 1010 CE by Raja Raja Chola I & in 2010 a celebration commemorated the temple's thousandth anniversary. The temple maintained a staff of 1000 people in various capacities [13] with 400 being temple dancers Besides the Brahmin priests, these included record-keepers, musicians, scholars, and craftsman of every type as well as housekeeping staff. In those days the temple was a hub of business activities for the flower, milk, oil, and ghee merchants, all of whom made a regular supply of their respective goods for the temple for its poojas and during festival seasons. Moreover as evidenced by the inscriptions that found in the compound wall of this temple, the temple had always been serving as [19] a platform for the dancers who excelled in the traditional dance form of Bharatnatyam. vallamuthu minnadi generation worshipped this temple.

Millennium celebrations[edit]

5 Special Commemorative coin released by Reserve Bank of India to mark the millennium year celebrations of the

famous Brihadeeswarar Temple built by the great Chola ruler Raja Raja Chola I

1000 currency note released by Reserve Bank of India on 1 April 1954 to honour the historic Brihadeeswarar Temple, a UNESCO World heritage site

Built in the year 1010ce by Raja Raja Chola in Thanjavur, Brihadeeswarar Temple popularly known as the Big Temple turned 1000 years old in September 2010. To celebrate the 1000th year of the grand structure, the state government and the town held many cultural events. It was to recall the 275th day of his 25th regal year (1010 CE) when Raja Raja Chola (9851014 CE) handed over a goldplated kalasam (copper pot or finial) for the final consecration to crown thevimana, the 59.82-metre tall [20][21][22] tower above the sanctum.

Bharathanatyam Yajna[edit]

To mark the occasion, the state government organised a Bharathanatyam Yajna, classical dance show under noted dancer Padma Subramaniam. It was jointly organised by the Association of Bharatanatyam Artistes of India (ABHAI) and the Brhan Natyanjali Trust, Thanjavur. To mark the 1000th year anniversary of the building, 1000 dancers from New Delhi,Mumbai, Pune, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Singapore, Malaysia and the U.S. danced in concert to the recorded 11 verses of divine music Thiruvichaippa (ninth ofThirumurai) composed by Karuvur Thevar (the guru of Raja Raja Chola) named Tiruvisaippa. The small town turned into a cultural hub for two days beginning 26 September 2010 as [23][24] street performers and dancers performed throughout the town.

Commemorative stamps and coins[edit]

On 26 September 2010 (Big Temples fifth day of millennium celebrations), as a recognition of Big Temples contribution to the countrys cultural, architectural, epigraphical history, a special 5 postage stamp featuring the 216-feet tall giant Raja Gopuram was released by India Post. The Reserve Bank of India commemorated the event by releasing a 5 coin with the model of temple [25][26] embossed on it. A Raja, Cabinet Minister of Communications and Information Technology released the esteemed Brihadeeswarar Temple special stamp, the first of which was received by G K Vasan, Cabinet Minister of Shipping. A 1000 Rupees Commemorative Coin is also being released with the same picture as on the Rs 5 coin. This will be the first 1000 Rupees coin to be released in the Republic of India coinage. This coin will be a will be a Non Circulative Legal Tender (NCLT). On 1 April 1954, the Reserve Bank of India released a 1000 currency note featuring a panoramic view of the Brihadeeswarar Temple marking its cultural heritage and significance. In 1975, the then government led by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi demonetised all 1,000 currency notes in an effort to [27] curtail black money. These notes are now popular among collectors. Tamil Nadu chief minister, M Karunanidhi renamed Semmai Paddy, a special type of high productivity paddy variant, as Raja Rajan-1000 to mark the millennial year celebration of the Big Temples [28] builder, Raja Raja Cholan.

Brihadeeswarar Temple in historic novels[edit]

Balakumaran has written a novel Udaiyar (Printed and Published through VISA publications in Tamil nadu) themed on the life of Raja Raja Chola I and the construction of the Brihadeeswarar temple. Kalki has also written a novel "Ponniyin Selvan" based on the life of Raja Raja Chola I.

Secrets up inside the Tanjore Big Temple

The 216 feet Vimana

Magnificence of GOD over mortals - Size compared

Architecture

Side View

From the entrance

The other Mandapams

Complete VIew

Brilliance!

Intricate architecture

Stone Horse

Angle!

From the front outside!

Inside View of the hollow structure - the only one I could find on the internet

The Brihadeeswarar temple in Thanjavur was never a spiritual temple for me. I never had the feel or peace I usually have in Shiva temples, near the shiva lingam in this temple which has mind blowing architecture. I have always been intrigued by the marvelous architecture of this super brilliant temple which has a Vimanaheight of about 216 feet! I did my graduation in a university which is about 20 kilometers away from the temple. Sadly, in the four years I was there at college, I barely visited the temple twice or thrice! After marriage, thanks to the similar interests that me and husband share, we visited the temple and arranged for a guide to explain about the different aspects of the temple. The guide took about an hour to explain the various fascinating things about the temple and the great king who built it - Raja Raja Chozhan! The guide then told us that there is a secret staircase which will take us 40 feet above the lingam and that it is usually allowed only for VVIPs. We literally begged the guide to take us there and he said he will try to take us next time we visit and shared with us his number! This particular guide is a government appointed guy and had a lot of valid facts and figures that we already knew about the temple. The next time we decided to visit was after about 6 months, this time we were determined to go up above thelingam.

So we called this guide and we had good and bad news! The bad news was that he was transferred to another temple in another district but the good news was that his home town being Thanjavur, he was there for the weekend and that he would try to introduce us to the new guide and try to take us through the secret staircase! In the six months gap, I started reading the book - Udayar which deals in detail about the various social, economic and political factors that played roles in constructing this phenomenal structure. This aroused my interests even more in going up 40 feet above the garbagriha. The D-Day came and we went to the Big Temple with our guide and to our luck, we had a VIP (a sop actor) visiting the temple and its secrets! Along with her, we were taken via the staircase up into the temple. When we reached there was this outer Pragaram which was just above the lingam! Apparently this was where the great Chozha king came to worship Lord Shiva! The mere thought was enthralling! Then we finally entered the most awaited room - the place directly above the shiva lingam! The area was entirely dark except for the little light that came through the entrance. The guide was explaining to us about the different architectural techniques used 1000 years back. Though I have read that the 216 feet high Vimana is hollow on the inside, never did I dream that I would be able to see it through my eyes! The guide was now talking about the same point when the lights inside were suddenly switched on! For a second I stopped breathing - 1000 years back a temple built fully with stone when there was no stone available in the nearby areas, a 216 feet hollow structure which has withstood all natural phenomena - built of interlocking stones without any binding material! Seeing the hollow structure in the neon light showed me GOD! Then the guide asked us to say "OHM", when all of us uttered the mantra - the effect was scintillating. The vibrations created by the echo was definitely an immortal experience. This experience of mine made me realize that without some blessing from GOD, such views cannot be witnessed. I consider myself extremely blessed to have had thisDarshan! All photos except the last one were taken by me during my visit. * Vimana - Tower * Darshan - View * lingam - representation of Lord Shiva in temples for worship * garbagriha - place inside the temple where the deity is placed