Highlights of Thanjai Periyakovil

The great Rajaraja Chola was the most powerful king and also he is the one who built the Brihadishvara temple. It was locally called Thanjai Big Temple(Thanjai Periyakovil). This temple is said to be the largest temple in India. Also, this temple is a great example of Tamil architecture. The temple was built for the dedication to Hindu Lord Shiva.

The Chola got the inspiration to build this temple when he travelled to Srilanka. The main temple was built using granite. This temple is said to be the first granite temple in the world. More than 130,000 tons of granite were used to build this temple. Also, there is a Nandi statue at the entrance of the temple which was carved in a single stone. In this temple, we can also notice the smartness and their love for their language. The temple describes the number of alphabets in Tamil by the distance and height it is designed. No matter the sun is in which direction, this temple’s shadow did not fall on the ground. This shows their brilliancy. Today’s scientists or the architecture don’t know the answer yet. They are still researching for the answer.

Hundreds of temples were built by the Cholas but none of them survives today. This big temple stands as an achievement. The temple is 1002 years old and it is standing against all-natural calamities. UNESCO has declared it as a World Heritage Monument. This temple stands as a tourist attraction for the local as well as foreign visitors. I often wonder about how the temple was built in that century because the architect’s work was outstanding. Because now when we try to build this temple with our technology, I think it is not possible and I also doubt if it will stand for a thousand years. I admire the great Chola!