Brihadeeswarar Temple is a very holy temple that follows stunning Davidian architecture. This place is one of the most famous places to visit in Thanjavur.

Shiva lingam is present inside the temple with stunning architecture. If you are a holy person, you should definitely add this place to your THANJAVUR TOUR PACKAGE.

Brihadeshwara temple was built by

Brihadeshwara temple was built by Emperor Raja Raja Chola 1. The famous emperor was of the Chola dynasty. The temple was built in a Dravidian architectural style. It is believed that once the raja got a dream of the mandir when he was in Sri Lanka. After coming back to India, he planned to build the temple.

Best time to visit Brihadeeswarar Temple

Wintertime is the best time to visit the temple. The temperature will be really high in summer, and it will be tough to travel during the noon. 

If you are traveling during the monsoon season, then most of the days will have heavy rain.

Brihadeeswarar Temple History

Various dynasties have ruled this city. Cholas conquered the city in 850 AD by king Vijayalaya. The constructors followed Chola's architecture in the temple. The great temple is dedicated to lord Shiva. During the noon time, the temple will not leave even a single shadow. 1,30000 tons of granite stones were used to build this marvelous temple. 

The temple has been added to the UNESCO world heritage sites. Along with this, in 1954, Indian 1000 rupees notes were released by the Reserve bank of India. These notes had the temple picture on them. 

There has been an ongoing tradition of celebrating the Krithik festival in the temple for various years. This festival is celebrated in Visakha month for nine days. Another famous history about the temple is that the temple was created without the use of any binding agent. Any kind of cement or soil was not used while building the temple. Only with a solid interlocking of stone this fabulous temple was created. 

The whole temple has unique beautiful paintings from the interior. The paintings depict different types of leaves, flowers, and a lot more. They used natural colors while creating the paintings. 

Other names for the temple 

The temple has been given different names during different periods of time. Brihadeeshwara is composed of 2 words that are "Brihat" and "Ishwaa." The meaning of "Brihat" is large, and the meaning of "Ishwara" is god. 

The other name for the temple is Rajarajeshwaram temple, Big shiva temple, and Peruvudaiyar Kovil. 

Brihadeeswarar Temple architecture

The temple has a stunning design. You will see eighty-one statues of Bharatnatyam dancers in the temple. Along with this, two entrances are present for the temple. There is a quadrangle angle, and in the middle of the area, the temple is present. The workers used 400 pillars to construct the outer gateway.

The black stone lingam of lord shiva is present inside the temple. The height of the temple is 3.1 meters. A massive statue of Nandi is present at the entrance of the temple. The size statue is 13ft high and 16 feet in width. Various underground passages are present inside the temple. It is believed that once upon a time, this temple was used as a fort also during the rule of Marathas. The fort even has a back gate. 

The lingam that is present inside the temple is one of the largest lingams present in India.  This temple has a unique feature, and the central tower of the temple is small than the gate of the temple. 

Brihadeeswarar temple height

The famous Brihadeeswarar temple is 216 feet. The temple is the highest temple present in the world. On the top of the temple, a single large stone is placed of 80 tons.