Brihadeeswarar Temple
"Rajarajeswaram"
redirects here. For the Shiva temple in Taliparamba, Kerala, see Rajarajeshwara Temple.
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Peruvudaiyaar Temple
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Name
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Other names:
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Brihadeeswarar Temple
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Proper name:
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Peruvudaiyaar Temple
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Location
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Country:
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State:
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Location:
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Architecture and culture
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Architectural styles:
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History
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Date built:
(Current structure) |
11th century AD
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Creator:
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The Peruvudaiyar Koyil (Tamil: பெருவுடையார் கோயில், peruvuḍaiyār
kōyil ?), also known as Brihadeeswarar Templeand Rajarajeswaram,[1] at Thanjavur in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu,
is the world's first complete granite temple[2] and a brilliant example of the major heights achieved
by Cholas kingdom Vishwakarmas in Tamil architecture. It is a tribute and a reflection
of the power of its patron RajaRaja Chola I. It
remains India's largest temple[3] and is one of the greatest glories of Indian
architecture.[4]The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Great Living Chola Temples".
This temple is one of India'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 [5][6] 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.[citation needed] 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.[7] The entire temple structure is made out of hard
granite stones, a material sparsely available in Thanjavur area where the
temple is. Built in 1010 AD by Raja Raja Chola in Thanjavur, Brihadishwara
Temple also popularly known as the ‘Big Temple' turned 1000 years old in 2010.
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Contents
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The temple had its foundations laid out by the Tamil emperor
Arulmozhivarman, popularly called Rajaraja
Chola I,(Tamil: ராசராச சோழன், Rājarāja Choļan ?) in 1002 CE, as the first of the great Tamil
Chola building projects.[8] The temple was built by Rajaraja Chola, one of
the greatest Tamil emperors to grace the
throne of the Chola empire in compliance of a command given to him in his dream.[9][7] The scale and grandeur is in the Chola
tradition. An axial and symmetrical geometry rules the temple layout.[10] Temples from this period and the following two
centuries are an expression of the Tamils (Chola) wealth, power and artistic
expertise. The emergence of such features as the multifaceted columns with projecting square capitals signal the arrival of
the new Chola style.[11]
The Brihadeeswarar Temple was built to be the royal temple to
display the emperor's vision of his power and his relationship to the universal
order. The temple was the site of the major royal ceremonies such as anointing
the emperor and linking him with its deity, Shiva, and the daily rituals of the deities were mirrored by those of
the king. The temple maintained a staff of 600 people in various capacities.[citation needed] 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 a platform for the dancers who excelled
in the traditional dance form of Bharatnatyam. Even today, the Brihadeeswarar
Temple remains India's largest temple.[3]
It is an architectural exemplar showcasing the pure form of the Dravida type of temple architecture and representative
of the Chola Empire ideology and the Tamil civilisation in Southern India. The temples "testify to the brilliant
achievements of the Chola in architecture, sculpture, painting and bronze
casting."[12]
The temple was consecrated in 1010 CE by Raja Raja Chola I.
Millennial year celebrations happened in 2010.
Temple gateway
The temple complex sits on the banks of a river that was channeled
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 sikhara (although it is hollow on the inside and not
meant to be occupied) is 63 meters high, with 16 severely articulated stories, and dominates
the main quadrangle. Pilaster, piers, and attached columns are placed rhythmically
covering every surface of the shikhara.[3]
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 and pilasters providing deep bays and
recesses. Each side of the sanctuary has a bay emphasizing the principle cult
icons.[10] 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 Tamil word karu for foetus. Only priests
are allowed to enter this inner-most chamber.[13]
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 thesanctum sanctorum, the garbhagriha.[11] 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 placed the image of the deity.[10] 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 story, presenting
the idea that Chola Empire freely offered access to the gods.[3]
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,
Shiva's sacred bull mount.[10]
]Adjoining structures
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 a portico, 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.
]Origin of idea
The wish to build a mammoth temple like this is said to have
occurred to Raja Raja while he stayed at Sri Lanka as a emperor.
Other
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 status, i.e.,
approximately 6 feet tall.
Features
The temple is made up of 130,000 tons of granite. 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
British. Later investigations by archaeologists proposed that this carving may
be a hoax. It is widely believed that the shadow of the gopuram never falls on
the ground. However, some scholars have dismissed this as a myth.[14][15][16]
The tons of stone was taken, with the help of hundreds of
elephants, from Thirukoilore (birth place of Raja raja's mother) near Sri
Virateshvara swamy temple. The kumbam, on top of the temple was believed to
have taken to the top by creating a slope from the ground to the 66m gopuram
made of soil. Then elephants would drag the stone to the top of gopuram.
Travel information
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.
Millennium celebrations
5 Commemorative postage stamp issued by India Post in 2010 as part
of the millennium year celebrations
A 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
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 01 April,
1954 to honor the historic Brahadeeswarar Temple, a UNESCO World heritage site
Built in the year 1010 CE 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 (985–1014 CE)
handed over a gold-plated kalasam (copper pot orfinial) for the final consecration to crown the vimana,
the 59.82 metre tall tower above the sanctum.[17][18][19]
Bharathanatyam Yajna
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 September 26, 2010 as street performers and dancers
performed throughout the town.[20][21]
Commemorative stamp and coin
On September 26, 2010 (Big Temple’s fifth day of millennium
celebrations), as a recognition of Big Temple’s contribution to the country’s
cultural, architectural, epigraphical history, a special 5 postage stamp featuring the 216-feet
tall giant Raja Gopuram was released by India Post.
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 embossed on it.[22][23] 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. On April 1, 1954, the Reserve Bank of India released a 1000 currency note featuring a panoramic view of the Brihadeeswara
Temple marking its cultural heritage and significance. In 1975, the then
government led by Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi demonetized all 1,000 currency notes in an effort to curtail black money. These notes are now popular among collectors.[24]
5 coin with the model of temple embossed on it.[22][23] 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. On April 1, 1954, the Reserve Bank of India released a 1000 currency note featuring a panoramic view of the Brihadeeswara
Temple marking its cultural heritage and significance. In 1975, the then
government led by Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi demonetized all 1,000 currency notes in an effort to curtail black money. These notes are now popular among collectors.[24]
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 Temple’s builder, Raja Raja Cholan.[25]
Brihadeeswarar Temple in historic novels
Balakumaran has written a novel Udaiyar themed on the life of Raja Raja Chola I and construction of the Brihadeeswarar temple.
Before that Kalki written a famous novel "Ponniyin Selvan" based on
the life of Raja Raja Chola I
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Shiva Lingam
Shiva
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