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Brihadiswara Temple
| Content Provider | IGNCA - Brihadiswara Temple |
|---|---|
| Description | The Brihadishvara, also known as the Rajarajeshvara temple was constructed between c. 995 and 1025 CE using Chola war booty and tribute from Sri Lanka. The temple was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Reaching a height of 63 metres, it is the tallest temple building in India. The entire rectangular complex measures approximately 140 x 75 metres and is surrounded by a wall with regular interior niches. Inside the compound are various secondary shrines and a monumental double gateway entrance (gopuras).Reaching a height of 63 metres the Brihadishvara is the tallest temple in India.The two-storey Brihadishvara temple is built on a high dadoed-base platform. The granite tower (vimana), which rises in thirteen diminishing levels above the sacred garbhagriha (inner shrine), is topped by a dome structure which rests on a single 7.7 m square granite block weighing around 80 tons. The building has a front entrance porch (mandapa) with 36 columns, and there are two additional entrances at the base of the tower on each side. All three entrances are decorated with guardian figure sculptures, some double life-size, and are approached by a richly carved monumental flight of stairs. The hundreds of niches of the exterior are decorated with sculpture of divine figures (murti) – especially Shiva and Devi, lion heads (kirttimukha), and fan shapes. The temple was laid out on a precise plan of 16 x 16 squares, a design known as padmagarbhamandala in the Dravida architecture of southern India. The interior contains the typical passageway for worshippers to perform a circumambulation, in this case on two levels. The garbhagriha contains a 4-metre tall Shiva linga (phallus). There is a snapana platform, too, for the ritual bathing of the god located within a portico (ardhamandapa). Murals decorate the interior walls, and, once hidden by later Nayaka period paintings, these include fine images of Rajaraja I, his spiritual advisor or guru, and his three queens. Other subjects include a Nataraja (Shiva as Lord of the Dance) who was the clan deity of the Cholas (kuladevata) |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Rajarajeswaram Tamil Architecture Chola Emperor Rajaraja Chola Dynasty Shaivism Vaishnavism Shaktism UNESCO World Heritage Site Great Living Chola Temples Iconography Dravidian Architecture Largest Hindu Temple Temple Architecture Temple Wall Architecture Indian Sculpture Temple Sculpture Hindu Temple Indian Heritage Indian Architecture Shiva Temple Brihadishvara Temple Brihadeeswara Temple Thanjavur Big Temple Brihadeshwara Temple Thanjavur’s Brihadeeswara Temple Bruhadeshwara Temple Tanjore Big Temple Temple in South India |
| Content Type | Video Image Text Audio |
| Resource Type | Visual Artwork |
