Today we are going to talk about the oldest and grandest Brihadeeshwara Temple in "The Great Living Cholas Temples". The Great Chola Temples is a group of three temples built by the Imperial Cholas of the South Indian dynasty, said to have been built during 11th and 12th AD. The first of these is the Brihadeswara Temple built by Rajaraja I in Thanjavur.
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| Aerial View of Brihadeeswara Temple, Thanjavur, Tamilnnadu, India |
Brihadeshwara Temple – By Rajraja I
The second temple is the Brihadesvara Temple of the same name built by his son Rajendra I at Gangaikonda Cholapuram. And the third temple at Darasuram is the Airavatesvara Temple, the largest of the three temples built by Rajaraja II.
Before knowing the features of Brihadeshwara temple of Thanjavur, let us know the history of Rajaraja I, who built it.
You Can Also Read:- The Histroy of Chola Kingdom - Origin, Foreign Conquests and Consolidation of an Empire
Historical Background:-
So let's see the historical background, the history of Cholas is quite old. The dynasty named Chola was born for the first time on the banks of river Kaveri in 300 BC, which we also find in Ashokan Edicts. Historians call them Early Cholas, but our topic of interest in today's blog is the Great Cholas Empire, established by Vijayalaya in about 850 AD.
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| Brihadeeswara Temple with Chola Empire Map, TamilNadu |
After Vijayalaya, many rulers contributed to the glorious Chola rule of 450 years.
Under the leadership of Rajaraja I and his son Rajendra I, the Cholas conquered the South Indian mainland and also became the uncrowned king of the Indian Ocean. For this reason, he is also called Imperial Cholas but one of the greatest patrons of Dravidian art and architecture along with the conquest of Rajaraja I. With the idea of taking Shiva's devotion and Tamil culture to the zenith, he decided to build a temple in the name of the biggest god i.e. the great God Shiva.
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| Brihadeeswara Temple map location, TamilNadu |
This temple was completed about 1000 years ago between 1003 and 1010 AD. In the construction of this temple, we get to see the complete development of Dravidian architecture. And over time, future rulers also made further additions to it.
As the Nayakas made a statue of Nandi i.e. bull on the premises of the temple and the Marathas made many paintings in the temple which still fascinate the tourists.
You Can Also Read:- The History of Chola Kingdom - A Glorious Chapter in Indian history- The civilization Golden age, Chola Administration and decline.
Geography:-
Can you imagine that a building made of only stones without any cement or adhesive, about 16 stories high, can stand today even after 1000 years? It is also called Dakshina Meru because of its huge size.
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Also Called as Dakshina Meru because of its Big Size. #Brihadeeswara Temple |
Let us now try to understand the nuances of this temple. Let's start with its geography.
This temple is located in present-day Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, which is situated on the southern bank of the river Kaveri. 2 more temples of the Cholas dynasty are also located near this temple Brihadisvara Temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram.
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Brihadeeswara Temple - Brihadesvara Temple - Airavateswara Temple, Tamil Nadu |
These three temples are located in the furtile Cauvery delta. Also known as Rice Bol of Tamil Nadu.
