The Brihadeeswar Shiva Temple at Thanjavur

Do you know about one of the most magnificent temples in India? The Brihadeeswar Temple which is located at Thanjavur in the state of Tamil Nadu is that temple which is very famous among Shiva devotees nationally and internationally.

The Brihadeeswar Temple is also UNESCO world heritage site that houses the tallest temple tower in the world at 216 feet tall.

The Brihadeeswar Temple also known as Rajarajesvaram temple is situated on the banks of the Cauvery river and was built in 1003-1010 AD by the great Raja Raja Chola I of the Chola dynasty.

We have visited Brihadeeswarar temple a couple of times and the last time was in 2020, where it was a great experience to have a darshan of God Shiva. You can check out our complete temple tour in this youtube video.

Brihadeeshwar Temple was built 1000+ years ago by Raja Raja Chola I of the Chola dynasty who was an ardent God Shiva devotee and one of the greatest rules of Bharat. His kingdom and influence was extended to many South Asian countries which we know today.

As we know that Indian education system celebrates invaders, looters more than the native rulers so the great Raja Raja Chola was limited to a few lines in the history books. Most of the young generations would not have even heard his name or about his kingdom. He had one of the most powerful navy of his time using which traded with most of the South Asian countries.

We were fascinated and awestruck when we read about him and got to know how this temple was built. There is science, the mathematics involved in the construction of Brihadeeswarar Temple. For the temple construction around 130K tonnes of granite was used and it was brought from 80 KM far away location.

There are many wonders of Brihadeeswarar Temple, some of those are mentioned below.

1. Brihadeeswarar Temple’s main tower does not have a shadow at noon.
2. In total, 130K tonnes of granite was used for temple construction and this was brought from 80 KM far away location at that time.
3. Temple main tower has a single piece of stone weighing 80 tonnes of granite. How did they put it on the tower?
4. No cement or adhesive is used for rocks to bind them together.
5. The size of Nandi (mount of God Shiva) is continuously increasing.

The most asked question is how that 80-tonne single piece granite rock was kept on the temple tower of 216 feet?

For that, it is said that a 6KM long ramp(slope) was built to the side of the tower so that elephants can carry the 80-tonne granite piece on top of the tower. You can understand this by the below image.

This was the greatest and most marvelous engineering example by the visionary engineers of Raja Raja Chola. In the current digital age when people from different parts of the country come to know about this temple then they will visit here and wonder why they were not taught or told about this marvelous gem of ancient Bharat.

If you are surfing in the same boat then don’t wait for the right time. Do come and visit the land of Cholas and go back with tons of lifetime memories.

How to Reach Thanjavur?

You can reach Thanjavur from any type of travel mode:

• By Flight/Air: The nearest airport to Brihadeeshwar Temple is the Tiruchirapalli Airport which is just 65 Km from Temple. There are many flights from major cities to Trichy and from here you can book a taxi.
• By Road: Thanjavur is connected with good road connectivity. You can take bus services from nearby major cities and by car from any part of India. We love to do road trips and travel mostly by road.
• By Train: You can take the most convenient mode of travel i.e Train. The nearest train station is Thanjavur and from here you can take an auto or taxi to reach your accommodation.

Check out my youtube channel for travel vlogs and subscribe if you like them.