Brihadeshvara Temple

Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu

Thanjavur (British Tanjore) is head of the
Kaveri river delta, where it dominates the
heartland of Tamil Nadu. The favored
capital of the Cholas (10th - 12th century),
Nayakas (16th century), and Marathas (17th
- 18th century), Thanjavur contains over 90 temples.
Brihadeshvara, also called Rajarajeshvara after its founder (Rajaraja I, 985 -
1012), was built from 1003 to 1010. It is the greatest of Chola temples, and was
one of the largest structures in the world at the time.
Its thirteen-storied tower (all temple towers in India have an odd number of
storeys) is about 66m (200ft) tall.
Thanjavur a city of temples, thrived as the ancient capital of the Chola kings.
The temple is dedicated to the worship of Shiva.

Inner Gopura
Brihadeshvara temple, Thanjavur ..

The temple is approached from

the East via two gopuras. Unlike
the later practice in Southern India, these gopuras are smaller than the shrine
tower.
Its entranceway is flanked by two very large dvarapalas; the carvings below
represent various Shaiva legends.
The lower part of these gopuras is made of stone, while the roof which rests upon
it is made of brick in order to reduce its weight; this innovation was adopted for
the increasingly larger gopuras which followed in Southern India.

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Brihadishwara Temple / Rajarajeshwara Temple at Tanjore, Tamilnadu (1000
A.D)
The most important and the most ambitious temple built by the cholas is the
Brihadeshwara temple, Tanjavore built by Raja Raja Chola I (985 - 1014 AD)
The temple is a giant rectangle of 250ft X 500ft by the Prakara or the enclosure
wall on the inner surface of the enclosure wall are the usual cloisters.
The rectangle can be divided into two squares and at the center of the western
square the idol inside the cella is located.
The cella can be approached by 2- flights of steps from the 2 sides, which are
interrupted by a platform between the ground level and the top of the plinth.
The cube of the garbhagriha was carried vertically upto a height of 50 feet(15
metres).
The pyramidal tower soared another 130 feet (39.6 metres) into the sky, capped
by a single enormous domical stone weighing more than 80 tons.The cella has a
circumambulatory path alround it and infront of the cella is the Ardhamandapa.
A huge pillared hall or Mahamandapa lies to the east of the Ardhamandapa and it
consists of 36 pillars.
There is an extension of the Mahamandapa on the east, which is followed by the
pillared portico.
The main body of the temple including all these components is about 82ft
X180ft.
Detached from the temple and along the main axis is the Nandimandapa and
along the same axis on the east is a 3 storeyed Gopuram.

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The Nandimandapa is placed at the center of the eastern square.
The entry into the temple building is through 3-storeyed portico, supported on
ornamented pillars.
The superstructure is in 2 storeys. The popular myth is that the deity is rising in
height and hence the brahmins / archakas access the upper storey for performance
of certain religious rituals.
There is a scene of Lord Krishna watching the bathing gopikas from above the
tree carved on the Main gopuram..
A five storeyed Gopuram was added later on infront of the original Gopuram,
which provides entrance into the temple campus. It is topped by a long barrel
vault with kalasa. The total height from ground is 30M.
There are a number of secondary shrines in the premises of the temple which are
later additions including the Subramanya shrine at the North-western corner of the
temple.
But the most imposing part of the temple is undoubtedly the Vimana, which rises
to a height of 200 ft from the ground.
The Vimana is 82ft square in plan and consists of 3 parts.
The lowest part is the prismatic base, 2 storeyed and 50ft in height.
This is divided into two storeys by a deep horizontal moulding and the faade of
this part of the Vimana consists of a treatment including pilasters, niches,
canopies and statues of Gods, Apsaras and Demons.
The main treatment has a vertical character contrasting with the horizontal
moulding.
The pyramidal tower over this two storeyed base is 13 storeys in height,
diminishing from the base towards the top.
Each tier is defined by a horizontal moulding.
The rest of the faade of the tower consists of pilasters, niches and idols.
The width of the truncated pyramid at the Apex is 1/3rd of it's width at the base.
The ratio of width of the tower at the base; apex =3:1.
The dome has four winged niches, one on each side. It has a kalasa and a metal
finial at the apex.
Over the tower is a bulbus dome whose curvilinear outline contrasts with the rigid
straight line of the tower below.
The Vimana is the tallest of it's kind in India and therefore represents the climax
of achievements of the Cholas.
The 200 feet (60.8 metres) high stone tower, the horizontal tiers of its thirteen
storeys have been supressed to accentuate the soaring verticality of the converging
lines of the truncated pyramid.

Brihadeshwara is a gigantic lingam cut in a monolithic rock is about 8.7mtrs

height.
The Nandi is the second largest monolithic Nandi in the country.

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The

Nandi that figures at the entrance is immense in size (a popular belief is that it is
growing by the day) (measuring 6 m length and 3.7 m in height ), and the ceiling
of its enclosure is decorated with frescoes in the typical painting style of
Thanjavur. The Nandi weighs 27 tonnes.
The dome of the temple rests on a single granite rock which resembles Egyptian
pyramids
The stone carvings on the walls of the temple depict the influence of Shivaism,
Buddhism and Vaishnavism.
The best part about the temple is that it has been built in a manner that the shadow
of it never falls on the ground. It is symbolic of the fact that the Supreme is
considered to be there and yet not there. The dome on top of the apex of the 63
metre (206 ft) high temple, which encloses an enormous Shiva lingam ,is a single
piece of granite weighing an estimated 81 tons which was put in place by hauling
it along an earthwork ramp six km long in a similar manner to which the Egyptian
pyramids were built.
The temple known as the Periya Koil (Big Temple) stands within a fort, whose
walls are later additions built during the 16th century.
The Brihadeeswara temple is within a huge compound with walls rising above
15m
The vimana (main tower) of the temple is about 70 m high and is the tallest in the
world.
In constructing the Vimana the south Indian craftsmen showed a greater
understanding of structural principles.
It may be argued that in choosing the simpler and more stable form of the
pyramid he was on safer grounds than the northern builder struggling with the
more complex curvilinear shape of the shikhara.

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 The king handed over the copper pot for the final decoration
atop the Vimana. It weighed about 107 kg and was overlaid
with gold plate of the weight of 292.5 Kalanju (nearly 13 kg).
The tower is considered to be symbolic of the mountain
Meru. The inscriptions on the walls of the vimana record the
contributions of Rajaraja Chola and his sister. Several stucco
features also decorate the vimana.
The inner wall of the garbhagriha or the sanctum sanctorum
has sculpted 108 dance poses called karnas performed by Lord
Shiva himself.
The temple also has a spacious ground, number of pillared
halls, shrines and 250 lingams.

THE GANGAIKONDACHOLAPURAM TEMPLE.

It was built by the Chola emperor Rajendra I in imitation of the style of the
Brihadeshwara Temple at Tanjore, built by his father, and is dedicated to Shiva.
With Kingly ambitions Rajendra 1s took a decision to challenge the glory of
Thanjavur by shifting his seat of power to Gangaikondacholapuram.
Though architects of King Rajendra have obviously modelled their temple in
essence of design as well as scale, on the great temple of Tanjore, they made some
refreshing innovations nevertheless.

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The main Vimana rising from a base even larger than that of Tanjore, is
transformed into a form embodying concave quoins, at the ends of convex planes
of sculptured surfaces.
In contrast to the rigid and geometrically perfect Vimana of Tanjore, that
symbolises conscious might, the fluid lines of the later imbued with a
subconscious grace.
The mandapa of the temple is totally different from the concept of Tanjore. It is a
huge flat-roofed hall of 75 X 195 (22.8 X 59.4 metres).
The entire structure is built on a high platform.
The approach aisles, designed like processional paths, however are left at ground
level.
With the hindu builders aversion to any system of construction, other than the
trabeate, it was inevitable that such a large room be held up by a veritable forest
of over 150, closely spaced, slender columns.
The first of its kind, this hall foreshadows the emergence of the famous hall of
thousand columns of later temple complexes.
The gopurams of this enormous temple dominate the landscape for miles around.
There are many beautiful sculptures on the walls of the temple and its enclosures
and a huge tank into which vessels containing the water of the River Ganges,
brought by vassal kings to the court of the Cholas, were emptied.

It was built by the king for the purposes of his own religious ceremonial it has
now become occassional resort of the local idlers, and even its existence is known
only to a few.
It is larger even in plan than its predecessor it is however less in height as the
vimana measures only 150 feet from the ground.
The temple building itself occupies the middle of an immense walled enclosure
designed partly for defensive purposes as there is substantial bastion at the south-
east angle and another smaller one on the west.
With its long axis from east to west the entire plan of the temple building forms
a rectangle some 340 feet long and 110 feet wide, having its main entrance on the
east.

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 This main doorway gives access to the assembly hall, a relatively
low building 175 feet by 95 feet and containing over 150 pillars, all
rather slender and of comparatively ordinary design.
In this columned hall there is the beginning of those famous
thousand pillared mandapas which were to constitute an important
feature in all the large temple complexes of a later date.
The arrangement of pillars in this temple interior is peculiar as they
are in colonnades and stand on a solid platform four feet high which
however is divided down the centre by a passage or aisle on the ground
level, while a similar passage on the same level is carried all round the hall.
Between this pillared hall and the sanctuary is a vestibule or transept, running at
right angles to the axis of the building, and leading to the north and south
doorways,
Both deeply recessed side- entrances are approached from outside by flights of
steps.
Like its predecessor also its vertical base is in two stages each defined by a heavy
cornice casting horizontally a broad cordon of shadow, while the pyramidal body
is in tiers, here there are only eight of these diminishing zones, thus accounting
for lesser height.

Conclusion:
The temples of Tanjore and
Gangaikondacholapuram, adequately
glorified the power of the Hindu gods as
well as the Chola kings, they never became
popular centres of worship.
The religious sentiment of the people was
directed more towards ancient temples
inspite of the fact that these were modest in
size and possessed of little architectural
significance.
These historic shrines were endowed with
marked sancity because enshrined within them were images of deep and lasting
veneration.
To replace or materially change the outer shell of these ancient consecrated
images merely to enlarge them in size, would have been a sacrilegious act.
So the energies of Pandyas was concentrated in the maintenance, addition of
ancillaries and the enlargement and protection of such ancient structures.

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