Architectural masterpiece of India: Interesting facts of Brihadishvara Temple

Brihadishvara Temple also called Rajarajeswaram is famous for its unbeatable architecture. The temple was built by Rajaraja I between 1003 And 1010 CE in Hindu Dravidian which is dedicated to the god Shiva. This is located in South bank of Kaveri River in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu and India and is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Despite of being attacked several times the temple had sustained itself for thousand years and even resisted six earthquakes.

The 216 feet vimana tower above the shrine weighs 81 tons. It is carved out of single granite and might be considered as the tallest in the world by that time. 1.3 lakh tons of granite was transported by 3000 elephants from 60 km away  which was used to make the temple with a massive colonnaded prakara (corridor). It has one of the largest Shiva lingas in India which represents Lord Shiva as Nataraja( God of dance ) .

The temple is laden with gopura, the main temple, a massive tower, inscriptions, frescoes, and sculptures associated to Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism culture. It also contains shrines for Ganesha, Sabhapati, Dakshinamurti, Chandeshvara, Varahi, Thiyagarajar of Thiruvarur and others. It was built around a moat in the 11th century. Shrines of Kartikeya (Murugan), Parvati (Amman) and Nandi were added between 16th and 17th-century.

The masterpiece was built by using Interlock method of architecture in which no use of cement, plaster or adhesive is required. Its structure entirely follows the axial and symmetrical geometry rules. It is classified also called as Perunkoil which refers to a big temple constructed on a higher platform of either natural or man-made mounds.

The temple space comprises five main sections: the sanctum with the towering superstructure (sri vimana), the Nandi hall, the main community hall (mukhamandapam) which is of 25 tons and is made out of a single stone, the great gathering hall (mahamandapam) and the pavilion (Antrala). The walls are carved out with texts from Puranas.

Undoubtedly the temple exemplifies the expertise of architects and artisans of Chola dynasty in scaling up and building with heavy stone. This magnificent monument represents the high grade engineering skills of Indian artefacts and thus deserves immense recognition throughout the world.