BRIHADISVARA TEMPLE, THANJAVUR ."The Grand living Cholas ", comprises of 3 temples,BRIHADISVARA TEMPLE of Thanjavur,BRIHADISVARA TEMPLE of Gangaikonde cholapuram,AIRAVATESHWARA TEMPLE of kumbhokonam... together its UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES....
Thanjavur is some 60 kms away from Trichy, is a small town in TN state in India... On 27th of March 2022 , we planned to drive down to visit the Grand Living Cholas , during our Trichy visit... First in our list was BRIHADISVARA TEMPLE, TANJAVUR.. Started from hotel at Trichy around 9am we reached TANJAVUR by 11am .. The BRIHADISVARA TEMPLE complex is very huge and to go around under hot sun , walking across barefoot over granite stone was terrific but its so so beautiful that all the pains incurred will not stop anyone visiting from taking all those troubles...it is one of the largest Hindu temple, built by Chola emperor Rajaraja1 between 1003 and 1010 AD. Its a 11th century temple includes gopura, the main temple, its massive tower, inscriptions, frescoes, structures....built out of granite , the Vimana tower above the Shrine is one of the tallest in South India.The templehas a massive colonnaded corridor one of the largest Shiva lingam in India..
The temple stands amidst fortified walls that probably added in the 16th century... The Vimana is 66mts high..There is a big statue of Nandi craved out of single rock measuring about 16ft long and 13ft high at the entrance... The inscription and fresco s on the walls of BRIHADISVARA TEMPLE records the rise & fall of the city 's fortunes. Its said that No shadow of the Vimana of the temple never falls on ground at noon...The entire temple is made of granite rock..
After having a wonderful experience going across the whole site we thought to drive down to Kumbakonam to visit the Airavateshwara temple & skip the temple at Gangaikonde cholapuram....So after sumptuous lunch at A2B restaurant at Thanjavur and shopping at Chennai silk saree store we continued our drive off to Kumbakonam...
By the time we reached Kumbakonam, the temple has closed ...( TEMPLE TIMINGS- 9am to 12pm & 4pm to 6pm).....so we had to wait infront of the Airavateshwara temple for almost an hour or so when luckily we came across a person who introduced himself as kanjivaram saree loom owner ...I was very excited to visit a loom nearby ....it seems home looms are very common in this region ..... I was very impressed by the throw away pricing of silk kanjivaram sarees there & ended purchasing again ....
Now it was almost 4pm and the temple at kumbakonam opened for visitors ....though bit smaller in size , but truly beautiful masterpiece in granite. It is also dedicated to lord Shiva, completed by Rajaraja 2, in the 12th century. The stone temple incorporates a chariot structure. A feel of mystical world thrives in one's mind right from the moment one step into the temple premise.
After almost an hour at Airavateshwara Temple Kumbakonam, it was time to drive back to trichy ...the heat and humidity had just exausted all of us and we just felt to get back to our hotel room at trichy at the earliest.....beautiful experience indeed to see us wonders with own eyes& admire those people who had created such marvels.
No comments:
Post a Comment