My parents and I went on week-long trip into the heartland of Tamilnadu in Southern India a few years ago on a ‘Journey2Roots’ trip. During our travels through the villages where my dad, my maternal grandfather and a great uncle had grown up, we took a detour to the ancient city of Thanjavur, to visit the stunning Brahadeesvarar Temple, popularly known as the Big Temple.

Thanjavur, also known by it’s anglicised name Tanjore was the seat of the Chola kingdom and gained popularity between the 11th and 14th century. The Chola kings were instrumental in turning Thanjavur into a hub of arts, culture and learning.

Thanjavur Kovil
The majestic entrance to the Big Temple

The Big Temple (Periya Kovil in Tamil) is a UNESCO world heritage site and certainly one of India’s most prized architectural structures.

In 2010, the temple celebrated a millennium. Built by King Arulmozhi Varman popularly known as Raja Raja Chola I in the 11th century AD, it has been improved upon and added to over the years. Typically Temples in Southern India are colourful with the distinct multi-hued ‘gopuram‘, but this mammoth structure is built only with granite and retains its natural colouring, faded only by the passage of centuries. 

tanjore big temple
A linear view of inside from the entrance arch of the temple

The Brahadeesvarar Temple is the first temple in the world to be made completely from granite. What’s fascinating is granite is not found anywhere near Thanjavur. The absence of a granite quarry within a 100km radius of the temple must have required logistics of epic proportions in order to get the stones to the construction site. It is still not known from where, or how the massive blocks of granite were brought.

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The temple tower is 66 metres tall, and the “Kumbam“, the rounded apex dome on top, is made from a single stone that weighs approximately 80 tonnes

Inscriptions detailing the story of the temple, written in ancient Tamil of the Chola kingdom are found on slabs of carved granite stones all over the temple.

Tanjore Big Temple inscriptions
Fascinating inscriptions in ancient Tamil

 

Tanjore big temple inscriptions
These inscriptions have survived a 1000 years of natural wear and tear!

An important highlight of the temple is the statue of the massive Nandi (sacred bull) carved from a single stone that weighs about 20 tonnes! The statue is 13 feet high and 16 feet long.

Nandi in Big Temple
The giant Nandi carved from a single block of stone facing the main shrine

 

Nandi in Big Temple Tanjore
Close-up of the statue of Nandi

The walls of the temple complex are adorned by beautiful paintings belonging to the Chola and Nayak period.

frescos in big temple tanjore
These frescos and carvings were added much later by the Pandya kings

Just walking around in the temple complex, taking in the history and the beauty of the sculptures and carvings, knowing that people have been coming here for 1000 years, is a breathtaking experience. 

Tanjore big temple
Kids play in a lawn in the temple complex

 

tanjore big temple
Steps leading to the main shrine of Lord Brahadeeswara, an incarnation of Shiva

 

tanjore big temple
Devotees going into the shrine to pray

 

tanjore big temple
Other structures within the temple complex

 

tanjore big temple
People have been visiting this temple for 1000 years..

The intricate carvings, the sheer magnitude of the structure, the vast temple complex and its stunning beauty are truly unparalleled.

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As soon as you enter the temple, you arrive at the statue of the Nandi guarding the main shrine

 

tanjore big temple
Stunning statues and carvings adorn the temple complex. This horse from outside the shrine of Subramanya Swami.

 

Tanjore big temple
Creative water drainage 11th-century style

As my cousin most appropriately put it – The leaning tower of Pisa, which is just a slanty tower due to a building defect, is hailed as one of the wonders of the modern world, while here is a 1000-year-old architectural marvel that far surpasses any slanty building!