Thanjavur Temple



India and its culture never ceases to amaze people. I was fortunate enough to watch a program on the " Brahatheeswara Temple" on the Discovery Channel. Brahatheeshwara Temple ( also known as Big Temple) is located in Thanjavur,Tamil Nadu and is one of the most famous temples in India.Its an engineering marvel with a huge vimana (216 feet) and the shadow of the cupola on top never falls on the Ground ! The program showed its architectural beauty & how they might have moved the Huge 25 ton Granite stone ( The huge Nandhi which is 25 ton) using Elephants & inclined planes ( They tried doing it in the program with the aid of Elephants and found even part of it very difficult - a testimony to the architectural and engineering prowess of yesteryears).

The temple was constructed almost 1000 years ago ( 995 years actually -- for the number trivia freaks) and stands as a testimony to the Chola heritage & the Greatness of " Raja Raja Chola " . Most Tamilians would be familiar with the great Chola emperor Raja Raja Cholan ( Most of them through Kalki's magnum Opus " Ponniyin Selvan" or the others through Sivaji Ganesan's movie Raja Raja Cholan) . Arul Mozhi is the Hero of Kalki's immortal Classic novel " Ponniyin Selvan" ( If you haven't read this book , you don't know what you have missed in life ! ) & took on the title of " Raja Raja Chola" after incarnation as a King.

I visited this temple almost 10 years ago and was stunned by its huge Vimana & Nandhi . The Thanjavur temple is an ode to our Glorious past !