My Visit to the Most Magnificent temple of all times!

Hey Guys! Here we meet again in another mind blowing post.....So I am here to give you my views of the Brihadiswara temple!.

To just give an intro : It is a magnificent temple located in Thanjavur ( Tanjore) ,Tamilnadu . It was built by a Chola King  Rajaraja Chola. 

Now I am gonna give you all a brief narrative on this temple based on my visit.

FIRST IMPRESSION IS THE BEST IMPRESSION 

As soon as I first laid my eyes on this temple.......... I was awestruck! literally awestruck!. This was the most massive temple I have ever seen. It looked so inviting . 

As soon as I entered I saw the first Gopuram (Gateway). This gopuram is called the KERALANTAKAN TIRUVASAL which means "the sacred gate of the Keralantakan. the word Kerlantakan was the surname of the King Rajaraja Chola.  

It is covered with intricate and delicate carvings which conveys lots of meaning. It stuns everyone by its indirect beauty.

As I passed through the Keralantakan Tiruvasal admiring its beauty the second gopuram came into view.

The second Gopuram is called the Rajarajan Tiruvasal ( Named after the king himself).

This is more heavily carved than the previous gateway. This too had a stunning appearance . there were walls running from both the sides of the gopuram on which stood small Nandis at regular intervals giving it a appealing look.

THE CENTER OF GRAVITY.

As soon as I crossed the the 2nd gopuram .....the main Vimana came into view. I was transfixed in my place, open mouthed and wonder stuck.. It was something more than massive ...it was so "      "...well words can't describe it.

This Vimana is called the Sri Vimana.

It is built out of granite and one of the tallest structures of South India.

One of the key features of the Chola architecture were their massive Vimanas.

The Sri Vimana raises to a height of 190 feet

And surprisingly the shadow of the Sri vimana disappears at noon.

This is because the base of the Vimana is way bigger than its pinnacle...hence its entire shadoe falls on itself making its shadow disappear at noon.

The kind of round structure on the top of the Sri Vimana is called the Kumbam

This Kumbam is made out of one rock and weighs 80 tonnes and is 25 feet high.

It is said that the Kumbam was placed there by building a 6km long ramp.

The Vimana is constructed on the main shrine.

OTHER GEMS

In front of the Vimana is the Nandi which is also monolithic. It is 19 feet long and 12 feet wide. There are beautiful Chola painting in the Nandi Mandapam.    

This is the Nandi Mandapam

This is the Nandi....You can also have a glimpse of the paintings in the ceiling.

 So the next step is the Garbhagriha ( the innermost sanctum) the place where the main deity is located "Lord Shiva".

The corridor that leads to the main sanctum is supported by pillars filled with beautiful carvings.

It is 8.7 metres high also monolithic.

It occupies 2 storeys of the sanctum. It is one of the largest monolithic Linga statues in India.

LET'S LOOK AROUND

The temple is surrounded by courtyards and other small deities. There are also other carved statues all around the temple of elephants, Gods, Stories from mythology and many more. 

SOME INTERESTING FACTS

• Thanjavur is a fertile red soil area where there is no trace of granite but still they have built this entire temple with granite. the just imagine the amount of animals and people put to work only to transport the granite.
• It is said that the Temple has with standed over 6 earthquakes but still the main vimana stands perfectly straight ......not even 1 degree tilt.
• There is a legend that says that the Nandi used to grow and the people feared that the mandapa might not be enough so to sort out this problem they inserted a nail in the back of the Nandi and since then the Nandi is said to have stopped growing.
• It took 12 years to complete the construction of the temple and it is 1000 years old.
• The measurements used in the construction of the temple were so precise that the cholas used rice and wheat grains to make the calculations accurate.
• It is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight.

This temple is the most iconic structure of the Cholas. We get to know lots about the culture and tradition of those times. This is one of the best specimen of Tamil architecture and one of the splendid monument of south indian history.

I hope all of will at least visit this stupefying place once in your lifetime. It is more than worth seeing. 

And that is the end of this spectacular post. I wish all of you had fun. 

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Until next time!!!!