Brihadeeshwara Temple: An age old story in stone

Brihadeeshwara temple is a 11th century AD architectural wonder built by Raja Raja Cholan. It is located in the town of Thanjavur in south India. It stands as a testament in stone to the glory and devotion to Shiva of the Chola dynasty. Of the many Shaivite temples conceived and built in the Chola dynasty, the Brihadeeshwara temple is considered as the most magnificent and well known to tourists.

The temple contains many intricate details which contributes to its architectural magnificence. The attention to detail provides an insight into the extent of planning, executional difficulty and commitment of the rulers. I would like to highlight some of these details in this post.

The temple entrance consists of a gopuram (tower). The entrance does not provide a hint as to what one would expect inside. As I passed through the entrance and entered the temple I was struck at the spaciousness and vastness of the courtyard.  I could imagine the king holding important functions in a grand manner in the temple courtyard thronged by crowds of people in the kingdom. The courtyard is enclosed by a stone wall, the top of which is adorned by small sculptures of the nandi (bull). It is a small detail, however considering the size of the courtyard carving many such small nandis and hoisting it to the top of the wall would not been an easy feat for the sculptors. The courtyard contains a few more smaller shrines including the consort of Shiva. At the center of the courtyard stands the main shrine on a raised platform. A huge nandi ( I have never seen a nandi so big in many of the temples I have visited so far) sits facing the main temple on a pedestal.

The main shrine houses Lord Shiva who is also known as "Brihadeeshwarar" (and hence the name of the temple). The outer walls of the main shrine are filled with sculptures. The middle level contains more life size statues. Of them all the pyramidal gopuram (tower) of the main shrine commands special attention. It is a tall gopuram carved completely till the very top. At the very top is a semi spherical dome which is made from a single stone. In the days of the Chola empire there were no mechanical equipments. To fix such a heavy stone at the very top of the tower is a monumental feat calling for hard labour. I heard that they used inclined planks which extended many kilometers away from the temple and used elephants to carry the stone to the top. The entire gopuram is carved beautifully, the carved pattern reflecting a profound symmetry in design. The figure of the deity surrounded by an arch is the basic motif. This motif is repeated on all sides of the gopuram and with its size reducing as the gopuram tapers towards the top.

The inside of the temple is as awesome as the outside. Lord Shiva is expressed in the form of a Lingam. The Lingam is gigantic and fills the view one gets on entering the temple. The view immediately evokes awe and the divinity within. An interesting aspect is that the third eye of the Lord Shiva, adorned by vibhuthi met with the eye of the nandi located outside in the temple courtyard. One can observe this while standing on the pedestal on which the Nandi is seated.

The walls of the temple courtyard contained some interesting features. There is a lot of ancient Tamil literature engraved on the courtyard walls as well as on the base of the temple. The walls also contain a number of deities painted using herbs. Some of the paintings show signs of age and gives one an idea of how long the temple has stood for. Restoration efforts have restored some of those paintings so that future generations would still be able to witness it. An interesting feature is the presence of a rounded beading in rock running along the outer walls of main shrine. Shaping a rock to create a smooth semi circular beading looks simple and easy but entails a lot of work from the artisans. Just above the rounded beadings are small figures. Each figure depicts an action and no two figures are performing the same action. The beading and the unique figures are once again an evidence to the attention paid to the minute design details in the temple.

The Subramanya shrines in the courtyard stands out from the main shrine. It contained carvings which were more intricate and finer than that on the main temple. A few of them are shown below.

The Brihadeeshwara temple has withstood the harsh heat of South India and lived to tell an age old story in stone. It is the story of architectural passion and a "Sangamam" (fusion). It unites the expressions of Tamil literature and art as paintings and sculptures to sing aloud the praise of the Lord Brihadeeshwara within. The temple is in the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list and is definitely worth a visit.