Ancient Stories
Astonishing Revelations of India’s Most Famous Temple
An Art that has stood through the test of time.
How old can a building structure last? A 200 years. Maybe 500 years. Would you believe if I tell you that there exists a structure for around a 1000 years. Yes, welcome to the Brihadeeshwarar temple in India.
As a traveler, I have visited many places and seen many interesting and mesmerizing things. One of which is the famous Brihadeeshwarar temple a.k.a The Big Temple, which is situated in the city of Thanjavur (Tanjore), Tamil Nadu, India. This temple is cited as one of the largest temples ever built in India and is shown as an example of the Dravidian architecture during the Chola period.
This temple was built rich in architectural and decorative elements, but its scale significantly exceeded the temples constructed before the 11th century. This temple is also identified as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the “Great Living Chola Temples”, along with two other temples being Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Airavateesvara Temple.
About the temple:
The imposing structure was built by an Indian emperor known as Rajaraja Chola-I from the great Chola dynasty, who was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. It was built at the height of the Chola reign to signify his power and strength. The construction of the temple was started in the year 1003 CE and was completed in the year 1010 CE. It roughly took about six years to complete this marvel architecture. It is said that even with today’s modern technology it isn’t humanly possible to build such a remarkable structure under a span of just six years. This temple was not only a religious place, but was also designed as a defensive fort to withstand any attack.
Dedicated to Lord Shiva, one of the principal deities in Hinduism, who is represented by a huge Lingam (about 3.66m high) is named as Rajarajeshwarar after the king himself. The temple was built in a courtyard measuring 240 x 120m in the ratio of 1:2 with granite blocks being brought from a distance of approximately 50kms.
The central tower called Vimana soars to a height of 61m (216 feet), is likely to be one of the tallest structures ever built in the world at the time of its construction. The stone Sikhara (8 pieces) at the top weighs 81 tonnes. It is still an unsolved mystery as to how Rajaraja Chola-I dealt to carry a single hefty stone to that height and managed to carve it into cut stones.
The hollow interior of the Vimana is built of interlocking pattern with stones, not using any binding material. Suprisingly, the Vimana has not developed a crack or has tilted even a few centimeters in all these years despite bearing earth’s natural calamities. This itself should suffice in announcing it to be Wonder having withstood six recorded earthquakes.
But a normal tower in one place that tilts 5.5 degrees to a blunder in construction and is being named as a World Wonder. :( *No Offense please*
Nandi Mandapa:
Nandi is the sacred bull calf, who is the gate-guardian deity of Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva. He is usually depicted as a bull, which serves as the mount to Lord Shiva.
The Nandi is situated on a 5 feet high dais under a 16 pillared canopy. The height of the bull structure is more than 3m and around 6m in length.
Some Interesting and lesser-known tales about the temple:
- The main temple is entirely built of granite, one of the hardest materials on earth. More than 130,000 tons of granite is said to have been used to build it.
- What astounds historians is that there was not a single granite quarry in about 50kms radius of the temple. This means that transporting these stones would have been a herculean task.
- The statue of Nandi at the entrance of the temple is carved out of a single stone.
- The most peculiar feature of this temple is that the shadow of the temple at noon unusually never falls on the ground.
- There are many hidden passages and tunnels leading into the temple from various other parts of the city. These were used in emergencies and at the time of War.
- The temple walls have inscriptions that show the record of every work that was performed in the construction of the temple. This to an extent where a sculptor loses his life in a fatal accident, and how the great King mourned the unfortunate incident and how he had compensated the latter’s family is recorded.
- Please refer the Wikipedia link to see a mathematical fact of this temple.
The Chola Dynasty:
Now, let us get to know about the man behind this marvel creation. This architectural beauty was constructed by Rajaraja Chola-I. He was also often described as Rajaraja The Great (like Alexander The Great) and is also claimed to be one of the few kings who had never lost a war. The Cholas were the mightiest rulers of South India, at one point of time held sway over major parts of South India and Sri Lanka. They also made their presence felt over North India and even South East Asia. This was achieved when the king built a strong Navy and decided to conquer places hovering over the sea. The glory of the medieval Cholas was established by the early Chola rulers who ruled at the beginning of the common era. Rajaraja Chola-I was indeed one of the greatest emperors in the history of South India who ruled in the medieval period.
The feeling one gets visiting this temple, a place where great rulers, scholars and kings had once walked is truly inexplicable and divine.
Today’s archaeologists and historians are baffled at how could such a gigantic temple been constructed in a very short span. The enormous structure is still standing tall and great even after a 1000 years, truly marking it’s remarkable construction. All of these features make this temple of Thanjavur, a magnum opus of the Chola reign.
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References:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brihadisvara_Temple,_Thanjavur
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_iconography
- https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brihadeshwara_Temple
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nandi_(mythology)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_script
- https://www.sangamhotels.com/interesting-facts-about-the-brihadeeshwara-temple-of-tanjore/
- A Book named “Thanjavur Rajarajeswaram Big Temple” by Enrich EduCDs
