STATES+
GOD AND GODDESS+
|
|
mystery temple Brihadeswara temple
|
|
History of the temple
"Brihadisvara Temple" redirects here. For the Brihadiswara temple in Gangaikonda Cholapuram, see Brihadisvara Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram.
Brihadishvara Temple, officially called Rajarajeshwaram (lit. 'Lord of Rajaraja') and known locally as Thanjai Periya Kovil ("Thanjavur Big Temple") and Peruvudaiyar Kovil, is a Shaivite
Hindu temple built in a Chola architectural style located on the south bank of the Cauvery river in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India.It is one of the largest Hindu temples and an exemplar of Tamil architecture
It is also called Dakshina Meru ("Meru of the South). Built by Chola emperor Rajaraja I between 1003 and 1010 CE, the temple is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Great Living Chola Temples", along with t
Photos
he hola-era Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple and Airavatesvara temple, which are about 70 kilometres (43 mi) and 40 kilometres (25 mi) to its northeast respectively.
The original monuments of this 11th-century temple were built around a moat. It included gopura, the main temple, its massive tower, inscriptions, frescoes, and sculptures predominantly related to Shaivism, but also of Vaishnavism and Shaktism. The temple was damaged in its history and some artwork is now missing.
Additional mandapam and monuments were added in the centuries that followed. The temple now stands amidst fortified walls that were added after the 16th century.
Built using granite, the vimana tower above the shrine is one of the tallest in South India. The temple has a massive colonnaded prakara (corridor) and one of the largest Shiva lingas in India. It is also famed for the quality of its sculpture, as well as being the location that commissioned the brass Nataraja, Shiva as the lord of dance, in the 11th century.
The complex includes shrines for Nandi, Parvati, Murugan, Vinayagar, Sabhapati, Dakshinamurti, Chandikeshwar, Varahi, Thiyagarajar of Thiruvarur and others.
The temple is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Tamil Nadu.
Rajaraja Chola, who commissioned the temple, called it Rajarajeshwaram (Rajarājeśwaram), literally "the temple of the almighty of Rajaraja".
A later inscription in the Brihannayaki shrine calls the temple's deity Periya Udaiya Nayanar, which appears to be the source of the modern names Brihadisvara and Peruvudaiyar Kovil.
Brihadishwara (IAST: Bṛihádīśvara) is a Sanskrit composite word composed of Brihat which means "big, great, lofty, vast",and Ishvara means "lord, Shiva, supreme being, supreme atman (soul)".
The name means the "great lord, big Shiva" temple..The Peruvudaiyar Temple is located in the city of Thanjavur, about 350 kilometres (220 mi) southwest of Chennai.
The city and the temple though inland, are at the start of the Kaveri River delta, thus with access to the Bay of Bengal and through it to the Indian Ocean.
Along with the temples, the Tamil people completed the first major irrigation network in the 11th century for agriculture, for movement of goods and to control the water flow through the urban center.
|
 LOCATION
 ADDRESS
 TIMING
 CONTACT
Address: Membalam Rd, Balaganapathy Nagar, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu 613007
Phone: 04362 274 476
|