Brihadeeswara temple of Tanjavur

Brihadeswara Temple of Tanjavur - World's First Granite Temple :

The Brihadeswara temple is one of the most ancient Hindu temple in the world. The temple is located in the city of Thanjavur , in the Indian province of Tamilnadu. The UNESCO has adjudged this thousand years old temple a "World Heritage Site". This is the world’s first granite temple.

This temple is the first building fully built by granite and finished within 5yrs[1004AD - 1009AD]. The vimana or (temple tower) is 216 ft (66 m) highand is among the tallest of its kind in the world. There is a big statue of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single rock, at the entrance measuring about 16 feet long and 13 feet high. Built in 1010 AD by Raja Raja Chola I in Thanjavur, Brihadeeswarar Temple, also popularly known as the ‘Big Temple', turned 1000 years old in 2010.

Rajagopuram (main tower) of the templeThe shikaram (crown), an octagonal, carved cupola, itself is very large and heavy (81.25 tonnes) and (until a few years back) was thought to be carved out of a single stone. However during one of the cleaning efforts, it was found to be in two pieces. The task of carrying this huge crown to a height of 70 m is another feat worth mentioning. In order to do this, an inclined plane of sand was built from a distance of nearly 11 km. The place where this scaffold began is called the Sarap pallam ("Scaffold Pit").

on the 257th day of the year, the king handed over the copper pot for the final decoration atop the Vimana. It weighed about 107 kg and was overlaid with gold plate of the weight of 292.5 Kalanju (nearly 13 kg). The main deity worshipped the temple is Śiva, in the usual form of a linga.

The Temple stands in the middle of a rectangular enclosure entered from the east through a gateway, now dilapidated. The Double pilastered walls of the sanctuary are elevated on a moulded basement with lions. Those on the central niches, on both storeys depict – Dakshinamurti(south) ,Vishnu(west) and Brahma(north).

A remarkable feature of the temple is the great Nandi (stone bull). The Nandi that figures at the entrance is immense in size (a popular belief is that it is growing by the day), and the ceiling of its enclosure is decorated with frescoes in the typical painting style of Thanjavur. The Nandi weighs 27 tonnes and is the second largest in the world.