Brihadishvara Temple
- Also spelled:
- Brihadeeswara Temple, Brihadeeswarar Temple, or Brihadeshwara Temple
- Also called:
- Rajarajeswaram Temple, Peruvudaiyar Kovil, or Thanjai Periya Kovil
Where is the Brihadishvara Temple located?
Who constructed the Brihadishvara Temple and when?
What is the significance of the temple’s towering vimana?
What are some architectural features of the Brihadishvara Temple?
What recognition has the Brihadishvara Temple received?
Brihadishvara Temple, massive and majestic temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, located in the city of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, southeastern India. This architecturally significant temple was constructed under the patronage of the Chola emperor Rajaraja I between 1003 and 1010 ce and is among the largest Hindu temples in India. The Brihadishvara Temple is the centerpiece of the UNESCO World Heritage site known as the Great Living Chola Temples, along with the Gangaikondacholisvaram Temple and the Airavatesvara Temple, both constructed by Chola rulers and located northeast of Thanjavur.
Design and architecture
The Brihadishvara Temple is an exemplar of southern Indian temple architecture. The temple complex as a whole is constructed from thousands of tons of granite, for which the nearest sources are at least 30 miles (45 km) up the nearby Kaveri River. The temple is estimated to contain 40 times as much stone as the average Chola temple and demonstrates the scale of resources the Chola empire was capable of utilizing for devotional building. The construction of the temple out of granite was done without mortar.
Perhaps the most noteworthy and noticeable feature of this imposing stone temple is its pyramidal vimana (main spire) that stands more than 200 feet (60 meters) high. The temple’s towering vimana represents Mount Meru, the mythical mountain at the center of the universe in Hindu cosmology. Inscriptions at the Brihadishvara Temple refer to it as Dakshina Meru, the Mount Meru of the southern region. The mythical Meru is identified with the physical Mount Kailash, which is located in the Himalayas (in the Kailas Range), and is considered to be the abode of the god Shiva, to whom the temple is dedicated.
Beneath the vertiginous vimana is the main shrine room (garbhagriha) that houses a 13-foot- (4-meter-) tall lingam, the principal murti (devotional image) of the temple, which represents Shiva. The shrine room measures approximately 100 feet (30 meters) square.
The kumbam, an ornate octagonal cupola atop the tall pyramidal spire, is carved from a single rock and weighs about 80 tons. According to legends, this massive stone feature was transported to the top of the spire by means of a gently sloping ramp that was some 4 miles (6 km) long.
The spire overlooks a courtyard (prakara) measuring approximately 790 feet (240 meters) long and 395 feet (120 meters) wide, which is accessed through a main gopuram (entry tower) on the eastern side. Underneath a large mandapam (pillared hall) atop an elevated platform near the complex’s eastern entrance rests a statue of Nandi, the sacred bull vahana (divine vehicle) of Shiva. This massive Nandi weighs an estimated 25 tons and is about 12 feet (4 meters) high, 20 feet (6 meters) long, and 9 feet (3 meters) wide.
The temple also includes two other mandapams, an antechamber (antarala), a line of smaller lingams, and numerous wall paintings. The site includes several Tamil inscriptions describing the people involved in the construction as well as renovations of the temple. Murals depicting Rajaraja I that decorate the walls serve as important examples of Chola painting, even though many of these have been partially obscured by later murals from the Nayaka period in the 17th century.
Construction history
The temple was endowed by Rajaraja I in 1003, at the peak of Chola power, and designed by Kunjara Mallan Raja Rama Perunthachan. It was completed in 1010 when Rajaraja I installed a gold-plated kalasam (pot), which was placed as a finial atop the spire to consecrate the temple. The king and his vassals gifted thousands of kilograms of gold, silver, and precious gemstones to the temple. Rajaraja alone is said to have given more than 38,000 gold coins to the newly consecrated temple.
Temple construction was a common means by which Indian kings for at least the past 1,500 years (since the Gupta dynasty [4th to 6th centuries ce]) patronized religion while displaying their own wealth and prestige along with a link to divine favor. Some scholars interpret the temple as a reflection of Rajaraja’s ambition to portray himself as offering the god Shiva a new mountainous home in the southern part of India.
The name Brihadishvara in Sanskrit means “Great Lord,” with the term brihat (“great”) meant in terms of its enormous size. The temple was initially called Rajarajeswaram (“Rajaraja’s Lord”). By the 16th century it came to be called in Tamil Peruvudaiyar (“Great Lord”) Kovil (“Temple”), which then became Brihadishvara in Sanskrit. The popular local Tamil name for it, Thanjai Periya Kovil, means simply, “Thanjavur Big Temple.”
The Brihadishvara Temple has experienced damage over the past millennium because of wars, but subsequent rulers such as the Nayakas and Marathas have restored the temple and made further additions. It was under the Nayakas that the pavilion housing the statue of Nandi was added. Additional shrines to other deities besides Shiva were included within the courtyard over time by various rulers.
Heritage and recognition
The Brihadishvara Temple was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. In 2004 the UNESCO site was extended to include the Gangaikondacholisvaram Temple, built by Rajaraja’s son Rajendra I in the town of Gangaikonda Cholapuram in 1035, and the Airavatesvara Temple built by Rajaraja II in nearby Darasuram in the 12th century.
The Brihadishvara Temple was featured on the 1,000-rupee banknote issued by the Reserve Bank of India in 1954—although that note is no longer in circulation. For the temple’s 1,000-year anniversary in 2010 the Reserve Bank of India issued a commemorative 1,000-rupee special-edition coin featuring the temple. The temple has also been displayed on postage stamps issued by the Indian postal service. The Brihadishvara Temple is a perennially popular pilgrimage and tourist destination for those exploring the numerous Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu.