Tanjore Big Temple or Tanjai Periya Kovil or the Brihadeeshwara Temple, is called as Peruvudayar Kovil. The name that is given to the place where the temple is located is Rajarajeeshwaram. The temple is located in the Thanjavur(Tanjore) district of Tamilnadu. The Periyakovil stands as a tribute to the Chola Dynasty's architechtural excellence. The intricacies of the architecture of this temple is a great wonder and is been studied by many till this day. This temple is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site - "Great Living Chola Temples".
Why the temple is named as Rajarajeeswaram?
The temple was built by Raja Raja Cholan for his favourite Lord Siva. The name given to this temple by Raja Raja Chola is Rajaraeeswaram and it is later named as Brahadeeshwara Temple by the Nayaks who ruled that region.
Raja Raja Chola started construction of this temple in 1006 A.D. and the completion of construction took place in the year 1010 A.D. The main deity, Lord Shiva in the form of Shiva Lingam is known as Peruvudayar. The two main sculptors of this temple are - Kunjaramallan and Perunthachan.
Gopurams in Tanjore Big Temple:
There are two Gopurams in the big temple. Keralaanthagan Gopuram and Raja Rajan Gopuram.
Keralaanthagan Gopuram:
Raja Raja was bestowed with the title Keralaanthagan after he defeated the king of Kerala. Keralaanthagan Gopuram is named after that title. This is a five stage gopuram with various forms of Rudhrathandava Shiva in the front side along with Bichandavar sculptors.
The rear side of the Gopuram have various forms of Vishnu (Raja Raja patronised both Shivam and Vaishnavam equally). One can see the Krishna leela pose and lord Mahavishnu in the first stage. Lord Narasimha's fighting scene with Hiranyakasibu and Hiranya Samhara on the other side in the next stage and the top stage have both the idols of Shiva and Vishnu.
Rajarajan Gopuram:
The medival Chola architecture have a speciality in itself where the main Raja Gopural is small in size when compared to the Gopuram on top of the Garpagraham. The Rajarajan Gopuram is one such which is the entrance to the temple. The sides of the gopuram is adorned by 15 feet monolithic Dwarapalakas statue.
Sri Vimana or the Garpagraha Gopuram:
Whenever any one think of Tanjore Big temple the first thing that comes to their mind is the magnificient view of the Sri Vimana which is in a Pyramid Structure and is 60.96mts tall. The foundation of this Gopuram is only 7 feet deep and the weight of the Vimana is evenly distributed. The top of the Vimana is a monolythic rock made into a spherical shape. It weighs 81.28 tonnes. The 12ft Kalasam above the Vimana is made of gold and is presented to the temple by Raja Raja Chola who constructed this temple.
At the 13th stage one can see Nandis on all the 8 corners. They are visible from the ground too very clearly and are carved out of single stone. These Nandis are said to be a smaller version of the Big Nandi in the Tanjore Big Temple. The whole Vimana is made of granite stone and the sculptures in them are covered by thin layer of mortar to preserve the granite. The front of the Vimana have the Sri Meru inscribed in the sculptural form.
All the 13 stages of the Vimana have sculptures all over. The first 2 stages have sculptures of Shiva and Parvathy along with Dakshinamoorthy, Bichandanar, Lingothbavar, Durga, Shiva and Parvathi in standing postures and they are collectively called as Astagostam. The 3rd stage have sculptures of warriors with different weapons. The vimana is a significance symbol of Dravidian style and is 216 feet high with 14 storeys decorated nicely with sculptures of Gods. The basement of the tower is a 98 feet square. There is a big belief that the Shikara and the Stupi does not throw shadow on the ground.
The eastern side of the Vimana depicts the entire Shiva Kudumbam (Lord Shiva, Parvathi, Lord Ganesha and Lord Muruga). This is a masterpiece sculpture that spans over 3 stages of the Vimana from the 3rd to 5th Stage. Due to the greatest devotion Raja Raja Chola had for Lord Shiva, he called the Sri Vimana as Dakshina Meru.
Inner view of the Sri Vimanam:
The inner praharam is wide in which a car can go around. The inside of the temple have different sculptures and paintings. The sculptures depict the different Mudras of the Bharathanatyam, which is regarded as the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva as Nataraja.
The interior shell is an Arupalingam which starts as a square and ends as a circle. This architectural magnificance can be viewed from the first floor of the sanctum sanctorum.
Nandi in the Big Temple:
The main Nandi is made up of huge monolithic stone. The Nandi is 13 feet in height and is in a mandapam with huge pillars. The Nandi is erected before the flagmast and is called as Porkala Nandi.
Special feature of Tanjore Big Temple:
The temple on completion was 40 times larger and 5 times taller than any other temple. The entire temple is constructed of 130,000 tonnes of granite. The 60m tall vimana is the tallest in South India even still.
Temple timings:
The entire temple is open on all days. The sanctum sanctorum opens only during Pooja times.
How to reach Tanjore Big Temple:
Tanjore or Thanjavur can be reached by road and rail very easily from any district of Tamilnadu. The foreigners who come to visit Tanjore can reach by road from Trichy air port which is 65 kms away.
As a tribute to Raja Raja Cholan and the Big Temple, on its completion of 1000 years, ABHAI and State Government of Tamilnadu, are performing Rajarajeswaram 1000 with 1000 dancers dancing for 45 mins.
This place is a Parihara Sthalam of Guru Baghawan for Kadata Rasi. For Parihara Sthalams of all other Rasi Visit Slokas for all.