Temple in Tanjavur

• Time of construction: from 995-1010
• Location: Tanjavur, South India

The temple of Shiva worship built by King Rajaraja I at Tanjavur is ranked as one of the Hindu monuments in Asia, not only on a giant scale but also as a perfection in construction techniques. construction and clarity in architectural conception. People know a lot about the patron of the temple and the building situation thanks to many inscriptions running along the foundation of the building. Abandoned and modified a few times, today the temple is once again a real place of worship.

The view of the temple, with steep pyramidal towers reaching higher than the altar of lunar (linga) is located behind the open-plan annex to receive the Nandi projection (Photo: constelar)

Rajaraja I (reigned 985-1014), was the first Chola king to choose Tanjavur (British Tanjore) as his capital in the rapidly expanding territory. From this citadel, strategically located right at the fertile delta of the Kaveri River flowing through the Tamil region, Rajaraja conducted many military campaigns throughout South India, as well as reaching Orissa and Sri Lanka. , his envoy was even respected when he came to Sumatra.

In the temple writing, Rajaraja expresses the individual's interest in building this memorial, taking on the placement of copper jars on the highest peak to mark the completion. Along with the queen, Rajaraja also gave many statues of gold and silver. The writing also mentioned that about 600 people were recruited. The list also includes dance and dance instructors, singers and musicians, conch blowers, parasols, lighters, potters, male washers, astrologers, tailors, carpenters and flower growers.Although built to honor the patron king, the temple is officially dedicated to worshiping the goddess Shiva under the name Rajarajeshvara, which later changed to Brihadishvara . As is often seen in the shrines for the goddess Shiva, the male god is also worshiped in the form of a phallus, a figurine made of polished basalt, up to 4m high (13feet)

Build

Temple architecture in South India peaked in the Brihadishvara dynasty.

Column in temple hallway (Photo: dis.uniroma1)

The temple is located between an expansive rectangular courtyard with walls lined with columns often found in secondary temples. The entrance of the inner courtyard is placed in the middle of the east gate through a rectangular gate structure above it with a cylindrical roof, a distance between the outside and a wider, higher entrance gate of the same type.

The temple itself consists of a square shrine in the cliff statue, surrounded by a corridor divided into two levels, going into electricity with a narrow lobby with a doorway horizontal with many stairs in the North and South. . Two corridors with columns stretching eastward. External walls are overlapped on two ranges, always casting the foot of the foundation, the upper row of the mold combined with the rank of a bust statue. Above this mold, two rows of five walls overlap with wall restraints with curved roofs protruding from the wall. The sculptures of the gods in Hinduism are placed in the alcoves, while the flat wall rests are placed in the jars, all floating, using the recesses in the middle compartment.

The tall pyramidal tower has 13 floors as high as it gets higher and smaller. Each floor is placed on a railing with arched roof with decorative and shape of a roof-like roof, a characteristic of South Indian temples. The top of the temple tower was roofed with a large hemispherical roof on the roof of the roof-shaped roof similar to that of Rajaraja itself.

The temple is built entirely of marble blocks, this layer placed on the other layer does not use mortar. The high-rise construction shrine tower on the floor works on multistage scaffolds with rocks protruding from the red end, gradually moving inward until they reach the hemisphere's roof. Although the hollowed-out tower, the huge amount of stone used in the project is estimated at 17,000 cubic meters (600,350 cubic feet). Because granite is not available in nearby areas, the material is roughly cut by river transport from a Tanjavur upstream quarry about 45km from the site.

Scholars study how to put stones on the upper floors of the temple tower .

Rajarajeshvara Top Tower (Photo: atributetohinduism)

Tanjavur 6km northwest has a village called Sarapallam, a small valley of scaffolding. It is thought that it is possible to create a spiral earth embankment wrapped around the tower, and rocked on this embankment. Regardless of the method used, the tower is completely proof of the Chola dynasty's technical master

Actual data:

• Temple tower: 25m ² , high 60m
• Hemisphere screen diameter: 7m, 7m high
• Inside courtyard with walls: 241x121m
• Decoration materials: Khan marble blocks (without mortar) marble carved with multi-color mortar.
• Time of restoration: 17th and 19th centuries

Additional later

The plaster is decorated with details on the marble tower added in the 18-19th century at that time the temple was restored under the direction of Tanjavur Marathas. However, it is Nayakas in the 17th century who completes the corridor outside the temple and builds the annex to place the giant Nandi statue, the mound received by the goddess Shiva still standing in front. Nayakas also built the Subrahmanya temple with sophisticated decorations and a nephew temple to form part of the complex. The presence of buildings in the post-Chola period is an important secret of the Brihadishvara dynasty as a monument to the king during the post-Chola period. But the greatest achievement still belongs to Rajaraja and his magnificent architecture.

"On the 275th day of the twentieth year (during the reign of Christ), King Shri Rajarajadeva placed a pot of copper on the top of the bronze tower of the sacred temple by the god Shri Rajarajadeva" - The inscription, Brihadishvara temple