I can keep talking about this one temple for on and on... Right from my childhood days I have been so crazy about this one temple. I have visited it so many times in my life and everytime I visit, this temple keeps me to look at it as if I am seeing it for the first time.
Front Gopuram - This is what you will see as the entrance....
Periya koyil raja gopuram
There is somethign about this dwara balakar in each Shiva temple. This Dwara Balakar are suppose to be considered as very strong and gigantic creatures. You can see they stepping on a lion. And they inturn warn the devotees who are entering the temple saying that thier lord is inside and the devotees has to maintain absolute discipline.
Raja gopuram front view
Art work inside the roof of nandi mandapam. This piece of art is still colourful and alive and i dont how many decades it has survived.
This is a seperate temple for Murugan.
There is so much to say about the symmetry of the structures and the way it has been designed.
Each corner of the temple will have one main diety and he will be carved from the top to the bottom on that particular side. The sculputres follow a pattern and will be unique for each god for thier respective direction. For south you will have Dhakshina moorthy from the top till the base of the gopuram.
View of the temple in the night light effect. :-) I dont know why but I simply love this picture.
Wiki Says
The Brihadishwara Temple (Tamil: பெருவுடையார் கோவில்), also known as Rajarajeswaram[1], at Thanjavur is a brilliant example of the major heights achieved by Cholas in temple architecture. The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Great Living Chola Temples". This temple is one of India's most prized architectural sites. The temple stands amidst fortified walls that were probably added in the 16th century. The 'Vimana' or the temple tower is 216 ft (66 m) high [2] (about 70 meters) and is among the tallest of its kind in the world. The 'Shikhara' (bulbous structure on the top) of the temple is itself very large and heavy (81.25 tons). The entire temple structure is made out of hard granite stones - hardly available in Thanjavur area where the temple is located.
The temple is an example of the architectural conception of the pure form of the dravida type of temple architecture and representative of the Chola Empire ideology and the Tamil civilisation in Southern India. The temples "testify to the brilliant achievements of the Chola in architecture, sculpture, painting and bronze casting".[3]
The Brihadishwara Temple (Tamil: பெருவுடையார் கோவில்), also known as Rajarajeswaram[1], at Thanjavur is a brilliant example of the major heights achieved by Cholas in temple architecture. The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Great Living Chola Temples". This temple is one of India's most prized architectural sites. The temple stands amidst fortified walls that were probably added in the 16th century. The 'Vimana' or the temple tower is 216 ft (66 m) high [2] (about 70 meters) and is among the tallest of its kind in the world. The 'Shikhara' (bulbous structure on the top) of the temple is itself very large and heavy (81.25 tons). The entire temple structure is made out of hard granite stones - hardly available in Thanjavur area where the temple is located.
The temple is an example of the architectural conception of the pure form of the dravida type of temple architecture and representative of the Chola Empire ideology and the Tamil civilisation in Southern India. The temples "testify to the brilliant achievements of the Chola in architecture, sculpture, painting and bronze casting".[3]
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