Architecture5 min read
Big Temple
I reached Thanjavur early in the morning and was off on my way to the Brihadeeswara temple after a quick shower. <br><br> Curiously, the signs on the streets do not point me towards the Brihadeeswara
K
kvijaykumar
Author
Published
June 14, 2024
I reached Thanjavur early in the morning and was off on my way to the Brihadeeswara temple after a quick shower.
Curiously, the signs on the streets do not point me towards the Brihadeeswara temple, but they all say 'Big Temple', which is a translation of the colloquial name used locally - 'periya koil'. It is a short walk to the temple from the railway station, along broad, clean, and shady roads. There is a short bridge crossing the GA Canal which brings one to the main gopuram of the temple.
The Grand Anicut Canal (GA Canal) owes its origins to Karikala Cholan (2nd Century AD) who constructed the water reservoir of the Grand Anicut by raising flood banks in the River Cauvery to irrigate the wasteland beside the river. It has been maintained and enhanced by kings and governments since. The temple stands on the north bank of the canal.
The temple stands in a fortified compound, complete with a moat (fed by the Grand Anicut canal) and bastions. There are three successive gates to the temple, beyond the moat. The first of the gates is known as the Maratha gateway. It is an arched gateway with plain walls, but topped with beautiful stucco figures of Shiva, Parvati, Ganesh, Kartikeya, etc. There are two shrines on the left and right of the entrance door, dedicated to Ganesha and Subramanya. The second gate a towering gopuram, the Rajarajan Thiruvasal. It is richly decorated with sculptures. The third gateway, the Keralantaka, is a smaller gopuram, also richly decorated with sculptures. This third gateway forms part of the inner compound wall which forms the large courtyard (240 m x 120m) within which the temple stands. This compound wall features a number of nandi (bull) sentinels in various poses mounted on top of the wall.
The complex has, in addition to the main shrine, five sub-shrines, for Chandikesvara, Amman, Subramanya, Ganesha, and the royal priest, Karuvar. There are two open pavilions, one each for Nandi, and Nataraja.
The temple is an imposing and awe-inspiring sight to behold. The crowds are thin this morning, but the darshanam is still a hurried affair. I am bustled out of the temple clutching my share of coconut, plantain (still very raw), flowers, and vibhudi packet. I sit down on the parapet of the stairs on the south side. I am a long way from home, and still a long time before I can get home. I eat the plantain but there is not much I can do with the half-coconut. I give it to a young couple who are seated next to me.
It turns out the couple are from Sri Lanka, and are here on a religious trip, with plans to go to the Nataraja temple in Chidambaram next. We talk about tourism and temples in India, the beauty and allure of Sri Lanka from a tourism perspective, and how governments everywhere are falling short in their efforts to protect our heritage.
There are a number of sub-shrines in the complex, and ASI has done a good job of marking and annotating the structures in the complex.
An unusually shaped, red-coloured building with bulbous domes attracts my attention while on the way to the temple. I go back to the building after my visit to the temple. It is the old district collector's office, now converted into a museum. It is well kept and the exhibits are well annotated. There are several musical instruments on display here, including the famous Thanjavur Veena. There is also a model of the Kaveri basin, built to scale, showing the several dams along its path, and the location of the temple. The annotations for this model are in Tamil, and a young lady on a trip with her parents very helpfully translates and explains each of them for my benefit.
My visit to the temple has whetted my appetite, and I resolve to visit the temple's twin in Gangaikonda Cholapuram the next day.
I leave early the next morning for Gangaikonda. I have to switch buses at Ariyalur to make it to Gangaikonda. Thankfully, the wait time is minimal. The Brihadeeswara temple at Gangaikonda stands on the NH81 and I rush to the gate in excitement as the bus rumbles past it. This temple is the junior of the Big Temple in Thanjavur in every respect - age, scale, richness of sculptural ornamentation, reputation, and even the crowds that visit it - but is very impressive on its own, nevertheless.
A group of college students is visiting the temple on the day I was there, and posing for photographs. There is also a young woman who is having her photograph taken in various dance poses, with the temple in the background, obviously getting her portfolio made. She stops self-consciously as I approach closer, and I back off immediately.
The glory days of Gangaikonda have long gone, and there is little else in the town now other than the temple. There is a clean but modest establishment outside the temple where I have a quick brunch. I am advised to take the return trip via Kumakonam and do so. Kumbakonam is a bustling town, larger than both Ariyalur and Gangaikonda, but my wait for the return bus to Thanjavur is longer. I browse through the colourful bazaars and have a rich ice-cream sundae before I board the bus back to Thanjavur.
Curiously, the signs on the streets do not point me towards the Brihadeeswara temple, but they all say 'Big Temple', which is a translation of the colloquial name used locally - 'periya koil'. It is a short walk to the temple from the railway station, along broad, clean, and shady roads. There is a short bridge crossing the GA Canal which brings one to the main gopuram of the temple.
The Grand Anicut Canal (GA Canal) owes its origins to Karikala Cholan (2nd Century AD) who constructed the water reservoir of the Grand Anicut by raising flood banks in the River Cauvery to irrigate the wasteland beside the river. It has been maintained and enhanced by kings and governments since. The temple stands on the north bank of the canal.
The temple stands in a fortified compound, complete with a moat (fed by the Grand Anicut canal) and bastions. There are three successive gates to the temple, beyond the moat. The first of the gates is known as the Maratha gateway. It is an arched gateway with plain walls, but topped with beautiful stucco figures of Shiva, Parvati, Ganesh, Kartikeya, etc. There are two shrines on the left and right of the entrance door, dedicated to Ganesha and Subramanya. The second gate a towering gopuram, the Rajarajan Thiruvasal. It is richly decorated with sculptures. The third gateway, the Keralantaka, is a smaller gopuram, also richly decorated with sculptures. This third gateway forms part of the inner compound wall which forms the large courtyard (240 m x 120m) within which the temple stands. This compound wall features a number of nandi (bull) sentinels in various poses mounted on top of the wall.
The complex has, in addition to the main shrine, five sub-shrines, for Chandikesvara, Amman, Subramanya, Ganesha, and the royal priest, Karuvar. There are two open pavilions, one each for Nandi, and Nataraja.
The temple is an imposing and awe-inspiring sight to behold. The crowds are thin this morning, but the darshanam is still a hurried affair. I am bustled out of the temple clutching my share of coconut, plantain (still very raw), flowers, and vibhudi packet. I sit down on the parapet of the stairs on the south side. I am a long way from home, and still a long time before I can get home. I eat the plantain but there is not much I can do with the half-coconut. I give it to a young couple who are seated next to me.
It turns out the couple are from Sri Lanka, and are here on a religious trip, with plans to go to the Nataraja temple in Chidambaram next. We talk about tourism and temples in India, the beauty and allure of Sri Lanka from a tourism perspective, and how governments everywhere are falling short in their efforts to protect our heritage.
There are a number of sub-shrines in the complex, and ASI has done a good job of marking and annotating the structures in the complex.
An unusually shaped, red-coloured building with bulbous domes attracts my attention while on the way to the temple. I go back to the building after my visit to the temple. It is the old district collector's office, now converted into a museum. It is well kept and the exhibits are well annotated. There are several musical instruments on display here, including the famous Thanjavur Veena. There is also a model of the Kaveri basin, built to scale, showing the several dams along its path, and the location of the temple. The annotations for this model are in Tamil, and a young lady on a trip with her parents very helpfully translates and explains each of them for my benefit.
My visit to the temple has whetted my appetite, and I resolve to visit the temple's twin in Gangaikonda Cholapuram the next day.
I leave early the next morning for Gangaikonda. I have to switch buses at Ariyalur to make it to Gangaikonda. Thankfully, the wait time is minimal. The Brihadeeswara temple at Gangaikonda stands on the NH81 and I rush to the gate in excitement as the bus rumbles past it. This temple is the junior of the Big Temple in Thanjavur in every respect - age, scale, richness of sculptural ornamentation, reputation, and even the crowds that visit it - but is very impressive on its own, nevertheless.
A group of college students is visiting the temple on the day I was there, and posing for photographs. There is also a young woman who is having her photograph taken in various dance poses, with the temple in the background, obviously getting her portfolio made. She stops self-consciously as I approach closer, and I back off immediately.
The glory days of Gangaikonda have long gone, and there is little else in the town now other than the temple. There is a clean but modest establishment outside the temple where I have a quick brunch. I am advised to take the return trip via Kumakonam and do so. Kumbakonam is a bustling town, larger than both Ariyalur and Gangaikonda, but my wait for the return bus to Thanjavur is longer. I browse through the colourful bazaars and have a rich ice-cream sundae before I board the bus back to Thanjavur.