Strange Facts of Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur

In south of India, in a beautiful temple town of Tamil Nadu, Thanjavur, stands a 10 centuries old mighty temple! The several strange facts associated with this BIG temple – Brihadeeswarar Temple – has kept historians and scientists perplexed even today!

Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur Tamil Nadu, oldest among the Group of Chola Temples, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built in 1010AD, that is exactly ten centuries back (at the time of writing this post)! Raja Raja I of Chola empire (985 – 1014 A.D.) dedicated this magnificent temple to Lord Shiva, as Nataraja, the king of cosmic dance.

The meaning of this Sanskrit composite word Brihadeeswarar (Brihat + Iswara) is large or vast + Lord. Thus vast lord is referenced to Lord Shiva who is believed to be supreme being.

Monument with NO shadow

Most striking wonder about this temple is that the temple casts no shadow during the day. Brihadeshwara Temple is the only shadow less monument in whole world. We visited the temple twice to just check this fact.

Brihadeeswarar Temple Tanjore Tamil Nadu

History of Brihadeeswarar Temple

Brihadeeswarar temple was built between 1003AD and 1010AD by the Chola King Raja Raja. Inscriptions found at the temple state the architect and engineer of the temple as Kunjara Mallan Raja Raja Rama Perunthachan.

While the main temple stands as it is, there have been several additions to this complex in the next 10 centuries. Series of wars between Muslim invaders and Hindu rulers caused damage to temple. The Hindu dynasties that ruled the land after this phase repaired the temple and added several shrines to the main temple. The significant shrines of Kartikeya (Murugan), Parvati (Amman) and Nandi are from the 16th and 17th century, during the rule of Nayaka era. The Dakshinamurti shrine was added much later.

They attempted to renovate the temple by painting over the faded paintings. It is worth spending some time over the Chola paintings on the walls of massive colonnaded prakara, corridor (circumambulatory pathway) around Brihadeeswarar Temple.

Architectural Wonders of Brihadeeswarar Temple

The temple is a 13 storey tower made out of granite. Shikhara (dome) alone is believed to weigh almost 80 tonnes. No matter wherever you are in the city of Thanjavur (Tanjore) you can see this Big Temple. It is a great point of reference if you get lost.

Walls are very high and the entrance is built like a fort, along with a moat. The sheer size and the detailed sculptures on the facade just swept me off my feet. At the top of the shikhara is a metal vase with a lotus design. It is said the pot has inscriptions mentioning the names of various kings.

Tallest Sanctum Tower

Most unique factor about this Chola temples is that tower over the sanctum is taller than the gopuram (tower) at entrance. The temple tower is 70m high and is credited to be the highest of its kind in the world.

It is said that the central stone of the Vimana weighed 235 lbs (plus 35 lbs of gold plating on it). Even today it is a mystery how people then got this huge dome all the way up without the kind of modern technology that exists today!

There are mentions that it was carried to the top by a scaffold built especially for this purpose. Length of this scaffolding was 4 miles long!

Strange Facts of Brihadeeswarar Temple

Though the temple has been researched over and over there is no clear idea about the exact architectural plan and details. There are several architectural secrets, mysteries and wonders of Brihadeeswarar Temple which are yet to be fully understood or deciphered. Some of the wonders are:

  • The shadow of the main tower, Raja Gopuram does not fall on the ground.
  • Raja Gopuram has a hollow shape and is made of inter locking huge stones which stay in place without any binding material. And it has stood so for 10 centuries withstand all natural disasters and calamities.
  • A small staircase above the primary deity leads to the upper part of the tower. It is said chanting of mantra OM inside the hollow area gives rise to a divine vibration.
  • Even after 1000 years the colors of the paintings are still bright and healthy.
  • There is a local legend that Thanjai Nandi, the statue of Nandi, sculptured during the Raja Raja Chola period, kept growing in the size. However the explanation being given is it could be even because of the unique weather condition and to control its growth, it was kept aside and nailed to the grounds.
Brihadeshwara Temple Nandi

Thanjavur Big Temple Nandi made of black granite is 6m in length and 4m in height.

  • Yet another among the Wonders of Brihadeeswarar Temple is how did they get those massive stones? The place of location of this temple does not have granite stone. All those stone used for making this mighty temple was sourced from distant areas almost 50 miles away.
  • It is assumed without elephants this work of transportation of the rocks from that place might not be possible. 1000 is a mere number! I am sure more than 1000 elephants were used for the construction of this temple.
  • Another mysterious fact associated with this temple is there are several underground passages which connected the different temples of Chola period. In addition to that there are secret passages within the temple which connected all the secret places of the kings. Many of them have been sealed.

Tour of Brihadeshwara Temple Thanjavur

We toured the main temple twice, on 2 consecutive days just to see its splendor at different times of the day. Also we wanted to check if the temple really didn’t cast any shadow. Photography of interiors of temple is strictly prohibited. This main shrine houses  a huge linga. Since it was not a festival day there was no crowd inside and we could linger on for around half an hour. During festival days there are long queues.

Chola Paintings in Periya Kovil

Paintings on the walls of massive colonnaded prakara, corridor (circumambulatory pathway) around Temple has faded. They allow photography of these paintings. Even a fast paced tour of this can take half an hour.

Chola Paintings in Tanjavoor Big Temple Lord Shiva

Chola Paintings in Tanjavoor Big Temple Lord Shiva.

Shrines inside Brihadeshwara Temple

Outside this main shrine but within the complex there are several smaller shrines.

The shrines inside the temple complex are: Chandeshvara shrine, shrine of Devi – spouse of Shiva, shrine of Subrahmanya and a Ganesha Shrine. It was easy to offer prayers at each of these smaller shrines. Tour of these shrines can take an hour if you wish to offer puja at each of the shrines.

We watched the sunset of 26th Dec 2009 here. It was mesmerizing watching the darkness set in and the moon rising over the gopuram. The temple was lit up even before the sun’s rays had faded away. It wasn’t a full moon night yet the soft glow enhanced the evening. We revisited the temple next morning again just to see how it reflected the early rays of sun.

Brihadeshwara Temple Moon rise

Brihadeeswarar Temple Moon rise.

Brihadeshwara Temple sunset

Brihadeeswarar Temple lit up at sunset hours.

Brihadeeswarar Temple Open Timings and Tickets

It is open all days. But for the spiritually inclined, intending to offer prayers there are special timings. Please check: Official Website of  the temple. No tickets required for entrance and camera. But for special darshan and film shooting tickets and permission required respectively.

Best Time to Visit Brihadeeswarar Temple

Best time to visit this temple would be early mornings. It is very calm and the freshness of the day coupled with holy chanting and clanging temple bells makes a divine experience. If you are okay with crowds there are some incredible festivals that take place within the temple complex.

Avoid summer months: March to June when it is very hot and dry.

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35 Responses to “Strange Facts of Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur

  • This temple looks incredibly stunning and meticulously crafted. I must go!

  • This temple is truly stunning! The architecture is awesome! Is it possible to enter it inside?

  • Such a stunning and magnificent structure! The carvings are extraordinary. The sheer size and weight of the top part of the temple is astounding. An architectural feat. Have not really spent much time here, but would love to get there.

  • Wonderful photographs. The photography opportunities from Brihadeeswarar Temple look incredible. I’d love to visit and zoom in a bit and really pick up the details on these imposing buildings.

  • Wow. I think this temple was built before the very first people even set foot on New Zealand. It really boggles the mind how they could build such huge and heavy buildings so long ago.

  • Awesome architecture…!

  • Fascinating structure! What a temple!!

  • Magnificent pictures of a magnificent temple.

  • Amazing architecture 🙂 I liked the third image very much 🙂

  • These are simply gorgeous! I can only imagine how magnificent it was in person.

  • A friend went on a pilgrimage recently and he visited the temples around Chennai. Very impressive!

  • Amazing how this temple survive the ravages of time. Immortal structure, must be. Thankfully because an inheritance from the past well preserved. Great post and photo here.

  • So beautiful. I love it at night espsecially.

  • The temple is spectacular and your photographs are amazing. I love the way you showed it to us at different times of day and in different lighting conditions. They are all great but the next to the last is my favorite.

  • I spent just about a little more than an hour at this place. I hated to leave. Such a beautiful place. And it is different from the temples in the south. And what I liked best is that it not painted the garish blue and pink, but are left in their original state.

  • Beautiful Blog! Enjoyed my visit.

    Julie

  • Such timeless beauty!

  • Indrani,

    I love *traveling* with you! The temples are magnificent with their distinctive towers. My two favorite shots: the one with the moon and the one in the evening.

  • Amazing, indeed. These people are not bulliedby the number 13, I see. The stories these images tell are great. The humble and the grand combine.

  • Thank you for the account.Beautiful pictures.

  • A M A Z I N G !!!!

  • Amazing and going back all the way to 1010. India has an incredible cultural history.

  • This is truly magnificent temple. You have captured it very beautifully.

  • nice shots.. It is one of my favourite places.

  • It is indeed one of the most beautiful temples in Inida… i remember the feeling the minute I laid eyes on it… after years of waiting….. u can spend the whole day there.. and even more, actually,… and did u know that if u ask, u can also get permission to climb up the inside of the gopuram???? my sister-in-law did that and came back impressed! now i want to go there again just for that!

  • Fabulous photos! Such impressive architecture…unbelievable!

  • So many temples in India.
    Sydney – City and Suburbs

  • Hi Indrani! Sorry for another long absence, but after a busy start of the year I decided to make a break during the Carnival week, anticipating new hard weeks ahead!!

    Wonderful place!! Yourpictures are excellent! As always…

    Meanwhile, Blogtrotter 2 is at sea. Hope you enjoy and have a great week!!

  • IMHO the entire country of India should be a UNESCO world heritage sight.

  • How buildings this magnificent were built so long ago is mind boggling! It;s incredibly beautiful at night.

  • Fantastic captures as always, Indrani! You always manage to take my breath away with your photos of the amazing buildings/temples/towers in your country! Would love to be able to see them myself one day. Hope you have a great week!

    Sylvia

  • Wow wow wow… magnificent temple and I love the photo of its silhouette with the moon!

  • Such gorgeous images! 🙂

  • Amazing Indrani
    You let us see the beauty from your country 🙂
    They are so big and high ..

  • Beautiful photo's and nice writeup Indrani and hey do u mind if i call you indra?

    people standing near the gopuram in the second and the last photo gives the scale of these mamoth towers and i like the way you have cropped/composed the 3rd and the 4th photo. One of my friend have mentioned about this place a few times and i wanted to visit this place.

    I recently visited shravanabelagola and will be post some photo's soon and was wondering if i can backlink your post on this place in my blog post, let me know if that's ok

    Have a nice week ahead

    Regards
    Sam

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