Brihadeeswarar Temple Thanjavur: The Great Chola Masterpiece

Carved into the base of the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur are lists of who was paid what: priests, dancers, musicians, even the people who kept the lamps burning. The building those records sit on is just as famous. Its granite tower rises about 66 metres and can be seen from across the town. Built by Rajaraja Chola I and consecrated in 1010 CE, the Big Temple is the finest single building of the Chola Empire, a working Shiva temple and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Who built the Brihadeeswarar Temple?

Rajaraja Chola I ruled from 985 to 1014 CE. Under him the Cholas grew from a Tamil kingdom into the strongest naval power in the region, taking northern Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and their trade links reached Sumatra, Java and China. His son Rajendra I later carried Chola armies as far north as the Ganga and Bengal. Rajaraja is also remembered for reorganising land revenue, standardising weights and measures, building roads and supporting Tamil devotional literature.

Construction began around 1003 CE and the temple was consecrated in 1010 CE, roughly seven years for a building of this size. Rajaraja called it Rajarajeswaram, “the temple of Rajaraja’s lord”. The name Brihadeeswarar, meaning “great lord”, came into common use later.

The vimana: how tall is the tower?

The main tower over the sanctum, the vimana, rises about 66 metres (around 216 feet) in a stepped pyramid of sixteen storeys. It is built of granite blocks, and it is one of the tallest stone temple towers in the world. In most South Indian temples the gateway towers (gopurams) are taller than the shrine; here the shrine dominates, and the two gopurams you walk through are lower.

At the top sits a huge granite capstone, often said to weigh around 80 tonnes, with the kalasha finial above it. How it got there is still debated. The traditional account says a ramp about six kilometres long was built from a nearby village and the stone was rolled up on logs. Nobody has proved exactly how it was done, but the capstone has been in place for over a thousand years.

You may hear that the tower casts no shadow at noon. It does cast one. Its tapering shape means the noon shadow falls mostly within the base, so from the ground it can look as if there is none.

The Nandi in the courtyard

Facing the sanctum across the courtyard is a colossal Nandi, Shiva’s bull, carved from a single block of stone about 6 metres long and 4 metres tall. It is one of the largest monolithic Nandis in India, and priests still perform worship in front of it. The Nandi and its pavilion are generally dated to the later Nayaka period rather than to Rajaraja’s time, so look at the carving style and compare it with the older Chola sculpture on the main shrine.

Inside the sanctum

The main shrine holds a Shiva linga more than three metres tall, one of the largest in any Indian temple. The sanctum is kept dim, lit mainly by lamps, so even at midday it feels dark and still. Priests bathe the linga with water, milk and honey in the daily abhisheka, a ritual that has continued here for centuries.

Sculptures, dance panels and Chola paintings

The outer walls are full of sculpture: deities, celestial figures, dancers and scenes from myth, set in niches between pilasters. Bharata’s Natyashastra describes 108 karanas, or basic dance units, and the temple has a series of relief panels showing these poses. It is one of the oldest surviving visual records of classical Indian dance.

The corridors around the sanctum are painted. Some paintings are original Chola work; others were painted over them in the Nayaka period around the sixteenth century. In the twentieth century, the older Chola layer was found underneath, and Archaeological Survey of India conservators later separated the two layers. The Chola paintings, in ochres and reds, show scenes from the Puranas, and one panel is generally identified as Rajaraja himself.

The inscriptions: a Chola archive in stone

Historians value the temple as much for its inscriptions as for its architecture. The lower walls and many pillars carry long texts in Tamil and some Sanskrit. They record gifts to the temple, the names of donors, the wages and allowances of priests, dancers, musicians and staff, the villages whose revenue was assigned to the temple, and details of daily ritual.

Few early medieval Indian kingdoms have left records this detailed. From these walls you can work out how many lamps the temple maintained, which villages paid for which rituals, and what a temple dancer received. Even if you cannot read the old Tamil script, walk slowly along the base of the vimana: the inscribed bands run for metres, cut neatly between the mouldings.

The Great Living Chola Temples

The Brihadeeswarar Temple was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987. In 2004 the listing was extended to two more Chola temples in Tamil Nadu, and the group is now called the Great Living Chola Temples:

the Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur;
the Airavatesvara Temple, Darasuram, near Kumbakonam;
the Brihadisvara Temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, built by Rajendra I.

“Living” refers to the fact that worship has never stopped at these temples. At Thanjavur the annual Sadaya Vizha, held on Rajaraja’s birth star in the Tamil month of Aippasi (October-November), still draws large crowds.

How to visit the Brihadeeswarar Temple

Thanjavur is well connected by road and rail. The nearest airport is Tiruchirappalli, about 60 km away, and Chennai is about 350 km by road. The temple is usually open from 6:00 am to 12:30 pm and from 4:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Entry is free, though there may be small camera charges, and the sanctum closes during the afternoon break.

November to February is the most comfortable season. The granite courtyard gets very hot by late morning, and you walk it barefoot, so go early or after 4 pm. Early morning gives you soft light on the vimana; late afternoon light from the west brings out the carving on the outer walls. If you have an extra day, Darasuram and Gangaikonda Cholapuram are both within reach and much quieter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it called the Big Temple?

Because of its size: when it was built it was the largest temple in India, and its vimana is still one of the tallest stone temple towers anywhere. In Tamil it is often called Periya Kovil, which means the same thing.

Is Brihadeeswarar the same as Brihadisvara?

Yes. Brihadeeswarar, Brihadisvara and Brihadeshwara are different spellings of the same name. Be careful, though, because the temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram is also called Brihadisvara.