Location:  Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India

Built in: 1003-1010, Raja Raja Chola I, Chola Empire

Brihadeeswara Temple of Thanjavur (Tanjore) is one of the biggest architectural marvels in Southern part of India. Brihadeeswara = Brihad (Big) + Iswara (God), and the temple is truly living up to its name! The main tower (sri-vimana) is 217 feet tall and made by assembling granite blocks. The blocks are interlocking and no binding materials are used. Well, first lets enter the temple through the main gate:

Once we enter the temple premises, we see this huge monolithic Nandi (yes, the main deity of this temple is Shiva).

The Mural Paintings:

The temple is not only about grand architectural implementations. It is decorated with beautiful mural paintings starting from the Nandi shrine to till the end. Let us take a look of what to expect:

The Stunning Architecture:

Words will fall short to describe this marvel, always. This is totally one of those places you must come and visit at-least once in your lifetime. The granite blocks are huge and the top dome is more than 80 tonnes. What science and technology used to build this, is also an equally ‘big’ topic.

The Documentation:

The temple walls have the documentations which have been approved by the King himself. The details like: the materials, parts, jewelry or the donations made, were documented on the temple, so that everyone can learn from it.

The scripts are in Tamil and also in Sanskrit, which shows the passion and devotion of the Chola King!

The historical details from the temple itself: