Bragatheeswarar Temple, The Big Temple, Tanjore

Tanjore is a night’s journey from Chennai. As a tourism spot, Tanjore is visited by most of the foreigners who come to India to learn about its culture. Raja Raja Chola during his rule built the Tanjore Brihadeeswarar temple. Otherwise called ‘Big Temple

The greatness of this temple is marked by the enormous Lingam - the ‘Brihadeeswarar’ which is the prime deity of the shrine. The tall Lingam is reached by the Gurukkal (priests) through the stairs leading to the top.

his temple is located about one km from the bus-stand. The famous name of the temple is RajaRajesuram and the earlier history says that the “Naimicharanya” hermits lived in the place where the temple was erected. The speciality of this temple is that it has been sculptured completely with stones without having the mountain around its surroundings.

The tower of this temple was previously called as “Dhakshina Meru”. This temple is facing along the East direction and it has three main entrances namely “Keralandagam”, “RajaRajan” and “Anukkan”. When we go through these three vayils, we can reach the inside of the vayils’, it measures 500 m in length and 250 m in breadth.

In these Vayils’, ” Murugan Temple, Anjaneyar Temple, Varahi Temple, Vinayagar Temple, Natarajar Temple and Karuvurar Temple ” can be seen. Inside the Karuvurar Temple, a massive Linga is installed in a place called Avudaiyar.

Another remarkable feature is the great Nandhi. The Nandhi that figures at the entrance is also immense in size (a popular belief is that it is growing by the day). The Nandhi at this temple is particularly, splendid in the shape and symmetry that it shows. Periya Nayaki is the Goddess deity here. There is also a Murugan sanctum and a Ganapathi sannadhi.

The architecture of the temple is also admirable. All the carvings were done by the kingdom’s best artisans. There are even stone figures of all the architects in the main gopuram. One noticeable figure is that of a foreigner who was there at that time and has contributed to the work The Linga measures 9 ft in height, 23.5 ft in circumference. The Linga was brought from the shore of Narmadha river. This Linga is also called as “Raja Rajeswara Mudaiyan ” because of its bright appearance. The total area of the temple measures 237.9m in length and 119.1m in breadth. The height of centre Vimana is 64.8m. The top of the tetrangled vimana has been closed with a round stone measuring 81.3 tons weight and fashioned from a single piece of black stone. To get the stone to the top of the vimana, a slope path was made for six km from the northern side of the Thanjavur.

The temple is glorious in its structure within its vast enclosure and wonderful in its design. Our Jayalalitha ‘amma’ has gifted the temple an elephant - the proud mahout informed me. Visit the temple and live through the history and the grandeur amidst your worship of Lord Shiva - The Lingam. The gateway to the inner courtyard is guarded by an elephant and one of the largest Nandhis in India measuring 6m long by 3m high, and fashioned from a single piece of rock. The massive Nandhi measures 25 tons weight. This is the second biggest Nandhi in India. In all, there are 250 lingams in the inner shrines along the outer walls. The frescoes adorning the walls and ceilings of the inner courtyard have been dated to Chola times and were executed using techniques similar to those used in the European way of work.

Rajarajeswaram, as the temple was named by its founder, fills a large portion of the small fort (Sivaganga Fort), encircled by moat on the east and west, the Grand Anaicut Channel (Putharu) on the south, and by the Sivaganga Garden on the north. The temple is entered by an imposing gateway on the east, on either side of which stand two small shrine dedicated to Ganapathi and Mrurgan, and further through another Gopuram 90 feet high.

This way leads into an outer court. A second and magnificent Gopuram further leads into the main court in which the temple is built. The inner court is about 500 feet long and 250 feet broad, is well paved with brick and stone. The court is surrounded on all sides by a cloister. The western and northern wings have Sivalingams consecrated therein, and there are paintings over these walls depicting sixty-four Nayanmars, sacred sport of Siva. The outer measurement of the temple are 793 feet by 397 feet.