The Grand Brihadeeshwara Temple and its Mural Paintings at Thanjavur, TN.

Brihadeeshwara Temple view from south-east

Built in the early 10th century by the great Raja Raja Chola, the Rajarajeshwaram as it was then called set new architectural standards for Temples to emulate. Its sheer size & grandeur remains unmatched after a 1000 years of its construction. 

Brihadeeshwara Temple view from north-east

GOPURAMS

The Keralantakan Gopuram is one of the 2 Gopurams at the entrance of the Brihadeeshwara temple. It was built by Raja Raja Chola after be brought a part of the Chera ruled Kerala under his realm.

Keralantakan Gopuram

The 2nd Gopuram also known as Rajarajan Thiruvasal leads to the main Temple complex. While the Gopuram is gigantic in size, it pales in comparison to the main Vimana.

Rajarajan Thiruvasal

Rajarajan Thiruvasal

Nandi Mantapam

Apart from the Sri Vimana,the most eye catching structure in the Temple complex is the huge Nandi Mantapam,which houses the one of the largest monolitic Nandi in Bharat The Nandi Mantapam was constructed during the Vijayanagara-Nayak era in the early 16th century.

Nandi Mantapam

Weighing in at around a massive 25,000 kilos, it is the heaviest monolitic Nandi in Bharat. The celling of the Nandi Mantapam is adorned with fantastic Nayak/Maratha style ceiling murals. Sadly most of it is on the verge of fading away.

Nandi

Nandi

View of the towering Sri Vimana & the Dwajasthambam from the Nandi Mantapam. They all line up perfectly collinearly with the Shiva lingam inside the Garbagriha, an exemplification of the mathematical prowess of the Cholas & subsequent Hindu Nayaka & Maratha rulers.

Sri Vimana from Nandi mantapam

Sri Vimana

The sheer size of the 16 storeys Vimana leaves one overawed. Standing at 216 feet it was the tallest Vimana of its time.

Sri Vimana

The southern face of the Sri Vimana. The massive Dwarapalakas are also seen. They are 3 times the size of an average human.

Southern face

The western face of the Sri Vimana, when it becomes apparent, just the sheer size makes one feel over powered & insignificant. The octagonal granite Shikhara at the very summit of the Vimana weighs in at around 80,000 kilos. Over 3 times the weight of the Nandi below.

Western face of Sri Vimana

The Shikhara (brightened here) is made four blocks of granite. A nearly 6 km inclined wooden ramp was built to hoist the 4 blocks to the top & assembled. It weighs at around 80,000 kilos. It is worth mentioning here that Thanjavur lies in the vast plains of Kaveri basin, just 60m above sea level There are no mountainous ranges anywhere in a 75 kms radius. Its just plains.

Shikhara

The Cholas had to source the Granite required for construction from 100's of miles away. The engineering feat behind transportation of the material & finally scaling it all the way up onto the 200+ feet Vimana deserves a post of its own. Seen here is the Vimana's northern face.

Northern face of Sri Vimana

Mural Paintings

Now we will take a look at the famous mural paintings at the temple, starting with Goddess Gaja Lakshmi flanked on either side by elephants.

Gaja Lakshmi

A mural painting of Uma-Maheshwara, seen on either side are Lord Shiva's attendants, the Ganas.

Uma Maheswara

A painting of Lord Ganesha, on either side are Riddi & Siddi. Also seen is his Vahana, Mooshika.

Ganesha

A painting of Lord Subramanya with his consorts, Valli & Devayani. Also painted is his Vahana, the peacock.

Subramanya

Lord Maha Vishnu performing Kanyadhana of his sister Goddess Parvathi to Lord Shiva. Also known as Meenakshi Sundereshwarar Kalyanam.

Shiva-Parvathi wedding

Goddess Durga as Mahisasuramardhini

Durga

A marvelous mural painting of Goddess Saraswati playing the Veena. On her left his Sage Narada playing his instrument known as Mahati. On the right is Tumburu, the Gandharva & the best among all singers

Saraswathi

A fantastic depiction of Elephant Pushpadanta performing abhishekam to the Shiva Lingam below the Jambu Vriksha. This story is the whole basis of the Jambukeshwara temple at Srirangam.

Pushpadanta

Another mural painting of Uma-Maheshwara showing a Chola couple seeking their blessings

Uma Maheswara

Lord Shiva as Nataraja with Apasamara at his feet.

Nataraja

The below mural shows Goddess Meenakshi Amman emerging out of Agni. On the right side are her parents Maharaja Malayadhwajan & Queen Kanchanamala.

Meenakshi Amman

This painting often mistaken as Yashodha feeding Krishna actually depicts Goddess Parvathi feeding the great Nayanar; Sambandar as a child. There is a whole temple dedicated to this story at Sirkazhi, not far from Thanjavur. Sambamdar is responsible for reviving Shaivism in TN.

Parvathi feeding the child Thirugnana Sambandar 

Yet another mural depicting Uma-Maheshwara.

Uma Maheshwara

A mural of the King of the Devas, Lord Indra worshiping the Shiva Lingam

Indra praying to Shiva

Chola couple seeking the blessings of Lord Shiva

Lord Shiva

Lord Shiva as Kalasamharamurthy also known as Kalantaka, seen here dancing in fury on Yamadharmaraja. This aspect of Lord Shiva depicts him as the ultimate one, the conqueror of time & death. He manifests in this form to save his great bhaktha, Markandeya from Lord Yama.

Kalasamharamurthy

A highly faded mural of Chola subjects seeking the blessings of Goddess Parvati & Lord Shiva. Notice the galloping deer on Lord Shiva's extended left rear arm.

Parvathi & Shiva

More mural paintings. It was during the reign of King Vijaya Raghava Nayaka in the mid 16th century that the restoration of the paintings were undertaken at the temple. While restoring existing centuries old Chola art, the Nayakas also added their own unique touch to the Murals.

The then Maratha king of Thanjavur, Maharaj Serfoji Bhonsle, a great patron of art & culture performed the sthapana of these 108 Lingams in the late 17th century. He also renovated numerous Chola era temples in the Kaveri delta region.

Lingams installed by Serfoji

This is Lord Subramanya's gudi situated in the North-West corner of the Temple complex. Seen in the background is the Sri Vimana & the Vimana of Subramanya gudi.

Subramanya shrine

Subramanya shrine Vimana

Like all Shiva temples there is a seperate gudi for Chandeshwara in the north. He is one of the 63 Nayanars & the main guardian of temple wealth. The Sri Vimana dwarfs this shrine.

Chandeshwara shrine

Bhaktas after performing pradikshanam (parikrama) to Lord Shiva come to the Chandeshwara gudi & make some kind of noise, like snapping of fingers or a clap to wake him from deep meditative state to infrom him that they are leaving the temple empty handed.

Chandeshwara gudi

The focus of this particular post on The Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur was on mainly the mural paintings. I have written another detailed post focusing on sculptures from another Chola Temple, The Airavateswara Temple At Darasuram

The Brihadeeshwara Temple at Thanjavur, The Airavateshwara Temple at Darasuram & the Brihadeeshwara temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram complete the Three Great Living Chola Temples. 

Though I've been to these 3 Temples on several occasions, I find myself learning something new & exciting everytime. I'll conclude this post with pictures of the Vimanas at Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapuram & Darasuram respectively. Thank you for reading.

Thanjavur

Gangaikonda Cholapuram

Darasuram

A Look at the Sculptures at the Brihadeeshwara Temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, TN.

Gangaikonda Temple at Dusk

A look at the Brihadishwara Temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram,a Shiva temple built during the absolute zenith of Chola sovereignty, when they ruled over everything from the plains of the Ganga to lands far across the ocean in modern day Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia.

Vimana

Granite Nandi

Simhakeni Well

Built in the year 1025 CE by Rajendra Chola I,son of Raja Raja Chola, the temple was meant to showcase the might of the Cholas after they had established their sovereignty over vast territories. The name Gangaikonda translates to the one who conquered the kingdoms along the Ganga.

Chola realm

The Vimana which stands at 182 feet makes it the 5th tallest in Bharat.When it was originally constructed in 1025,it was the 2nd tallest. Rajendra purposefully built it shorter than the one built by his father. Yet gives an illusion of great width & height. If Kailasa parvata had to be chiseled out of stone, this would be it. Can't get more grander than this. An ancient engineering marvel built by a son, which can only be rivaled by only one another structure on the planet, built by none other than his father. A worthy son indeed.

Vimana

Apart from the Vimana, 2 other structures immediately catch the eye at Gangaikonda. They are the granite Nandi & a huge water well named Simhakeni, whose upper structure is shaped like a lion, into which Rajendra had water from the holy Ganga poured into.

Nandi

Simhakeni

I'll take you through some of the carvings along the temple walls, these aren't your typical carvings seen in most temples. They are enormous in size. Seen here is a lifesize (probably bigger) carving of goddess Gaja Lakshmi. Notice the two gajas flanked on either side.

Gaja Lakshmi

Nataraja performing tandava while holding fire (Agni) in his left rear hand, gajahasta mudra in the front hand, unfortunately the snake which is held by Shiva in this front right hand is heavily damaged & not seen clearly here. But Damru can be seen & Apasmara under his feet.

Nataraja

A very commonly seen form of Lord Shiva in most Chola temples is the Lingodbhavamurthy, all carvings of Lingodbhava also depict Brahma as Hamsa & Vishnu as Varaha, unfortunately its damaged here. Lingodbhava is carved in the west direction directly behind the main Garbhagriha.

Lingodbhavamurthy

Murthis of Maha Vishnu with Sridevi and Bhudevi, dispelling any myths created by marxist distorians that the Cholas didn't encourage Vaishnavite tradition.

Vishnu,Sridevi,Bhudevi

A splendid carving of Ardhanarishvara. The left half is Shiva & the right is Parvathi. The most fascinating part is even their respective Vahanas are depicted as they are! The 2nd half of Nandi (unfortunately damaged) is actually the lower half of a Simha if observed closely!

Ardhanarishvara

Some of the most exquisite carvings are carved way up on the upper tiers of the 182 foot Vimana. Its nearly impossible to capture the intricacies through the camera lens from ground level. One simple has to visit the temple to marvel away at these carvings.

For example this carving of Bhoo Varahaswamy carved on the 2nd tier of the Vimana.

Bhoo Varahaswamy

A highly weathered murthi of Lord Vinayaka

Vinayaka

A perfect symmetrical carving of Shankaranarayana also known as Harihara. The left half is Shiva & the right Maha Vishnu.

Harihara

This aspect of Lord Shiva is known as Bhikshatanamurthi. He is depicted as a Bhikshuka(beggar) here. Shiva assumes this form to atone for the terrible paapa of having severed Brahma's 5th head in his previous roopam as Brahmashiraschedakamurthi.

Seen in his left arm is a bowl. He has 4 arms,front right arm feeding the deer with grass,back right arm holds a damaru,front left hand holds a kapala (bowl) back left hand holds a trishula.

Lord Shiva wanders all the 3 lokhas in the form of Bhikshatana & finally is relived of his paapa of having severed Lord Brahma's when he reaches Varanasi. You'd have heard of "Brahmahatya"...its associated with Bhikshatana

Bhikshatanamurthi

A desecrated carving of Lord Brahma. Much of the temple has suffered immensely as a result of successive islamic invasions in the 13th & 16th centuries & eventually at the hands of the colonial x'tian brits.

Brahma

Colonial x'tian brits demolished large portions of the outer walls of the temple to make use of its granite to build a dam across the Kollidam river a few miles from the temple. So what we probably are seeing now is a mere shadow of this great temple.

Desecrated murthis dumped in one corner of the vast temple complex. Mutilated in typical islamic iconoclasmic style. Some beheaded, some nose disfigured, female deities mutilated in sensitive parts. Heart always sinks at such a sight... There is much to learn from history..

Desecrated murthis

Now back to the sculptures. This is a fascinating & rare sculpture of Narayani, who is a fusion of Durga & Maha Vishnu. Durga is considered to be the sister of Maha Vishnu. Hence the name Narayani. Sometimes Narayani is also referred to as Vishnudurga. The shanka chakra is seen.

Narayani

A carving of Lord Shiva with Parvathi Devi holding the Abhaya mudhra.

Uma-Maheshwara

Dwarapalakas on the south entrance of the temple. These are easily 10-12 feet in height. Just massive.

Dwarapalakas

Similarly Dwarapalakas on the North entrance/exit of the temple.

Dwarapalakas in the North

A brilliant carving of Goddess Saraswathi in Padmaasana. Notice she is holding the Suchi Mudra (index finger out) with the right front hand,a maala in her rear right hand,a pot of soma in her rear left hand & a pustaka symbolizing the Vedas(not clearly seen) in her front left palm.

Goddess Saraswati

Lord Shiva depicted as Aghoramurthy here. He has 8 arms here, each arm wielding an asthra. They are the sula, damaru, paasa, kapaala, danda, dhanus, baana & a khadga. He is wearing a snake as an ornament in the waist. Observe the fierce look on his face.

Aghoramurthy

Carvings of Brahma, Saraswathi & Gayathri devi.

Brahma, Saraswati, Gayathri

Lord Shiva depicted as Bhikshatanamurthi in this carving. He is seen feeding a deer. He is also wearing a yajnopavitam & a naga as an ornament around his waist. He wields the Trisula & also has damru in his rear hand.

Bhikshatanamurthi

A very popular dance form of Lord Ganesha. The Nrithya Ganapathi. He has 4 arms, In his front right hand holds a tusk & the upper hand with ankusha, on the left hand he holds an axe & noose. He holds on to his favourite sweet, the modakam with his trunk & front left hand.

Nrithya Ganapathi

A very calm, reassuring & serene looking Lord Shiva as Nataraja, performing the Ananda Tandava. Contrast with the fierce look on the face of Aghoramurthy a few tweets back. The sculptors have managed to capture every possible emotion perfectly. Really remarkable.

Nataraja

Lord Shiva as Kalasamharamurthy also known as Kalantaka, seen here dancing in fury on Yamadharmaraja. This aspect of Lord Shiva depicts him as the ultimate one who has conquered time & death. He manifests in this form to save his great bhaktha, Markandeya from Lord Yama.

Kalasamharamurthi

An elegant carving of Uma-Maheshwara. Notice how the sculptor carves out a support structure for them to rest their feet on.

Uma-Maheshvara

The Devi here is known as Brihannaayaki, she is also called Periyanaayaki Amman. She has separate gudi to the north as seen here. The gudi outer walls are filled with innumerable carvings just like the main Shiva temple.

Brihannaayaki Amman Temple

Carving of Bhairava. Notice the hair of Shiva which resembles a raging fire flame. Also notice the fierce look on the face. He wields a Trishula as weapon.

Bhairava

Other carvings include that of Brahma & Ardhanarishvara.

Brahma

Ardhanarishvara

The awe inspiring Vimaanams of Brihannaayaki Devi (Parvati) & Brihadeeswara (Shiva) as seen from the north-west direction during dusk.

Vimanas

A few yards away from the Brihannaayaki Devi sannidhi is another small gudi dedicated to Durga Devi. This is the west face of it.

Durga Sannidhi

Now to the place that showcases the most amazing aspects of Hindu Dharma & its rules of conduct of post war. Its called the Simhakeni. Its a lion shaped water well. Rajendra Chola who built it after defeating the Pala king Mahipala had water from Ganga poured into this well.

The same water is used to this day to perform abhishekam to the Shiva lingam inside the Garbhagudi. This is how Bharatiya kings paid tribute to lands far away within Bharat. Be it the Pallavas bringing the Ganapthi from Vatapi or this. They fought with honor to establish Dharma

Simhakeni Water Well

There is also a separate gudi dedicated to Chandeshwara in the north-east direction of the main Shiva temple. He is one of the 63 Nayanmars & the main guardian of temple wealth. Seen here to the right side is the Chandeshwara Gudi. In the background is the Devi sannidhi.

Bhaktas after performing pradikshanam(parikrama) to Lord Shiva come over to the Chandeshwara gudi & make some kind of a noise (be it snapping of fingers or a clap) to wake him from deep meditative state to tell him they are leaving the temple empty handed.

Its ironical that HRCE thugs today are indulging in smuggling the murthis of Chandeshwara himself from such ancient temples....

Chandeshwara Gudi on the right

Finally the imposing & majestic granite Nandi adorned with innumerable ornaments like bells seated just in front of the golden Dwajasthambam. Checkout the perfect symmetry. Everything from the Dwajasthambam to the Nandi to the Dwara to the Lingam inside the Garbhagudi line up in one single plane collinearly. Geometrical perfection. Imagine the grip over Mathematics these ancient Hindu architects possessed.

Nandi & Dwajasthambam

 

A remarkable carving of Shiva & Parvathi blessing Chandeshwara. In this aspect Shiva along with Parvathi are depicted as blessing Chandeshwara,one of the 63 nayanmars(Shaivaite saints) Chandeshwara is regarded as the guardian of Temple wealth & has a seperate shrine in the NE direction of every Shiva Temple.

Chandikeshwara anugraha murthi

I'll conclude with these silhouette shots I took during sunset. Hope you found the thread useful. Thank you for reading.

Temple at dusk.