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Thanjavur rose to glory during the later Chola reign between the 10th and 14th Centuries and became a centre of learning and culture. Thanjavur is still the center of all the classical arts and music.
The Big Temple and the other famous temples in the district are known all over the world. It is the headquarters of Thanjavur district, the 'Rice Bowl' of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is also famous for its distinctive art style, which is usually a combination of raised and painted surfaces. Krishna is the most popular of the Gods depicted. It is also known for weaving silk sarees.
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Built by the great Chola King, Raja Raja I in the 10th Century AD it's an outstanding example of Chola architecture. The Brihadeeswara temple is within a huge compound with walls rising above 15m. The temple is made over a 29 m square base and has a soaring vimana and a stunted gopuram. The inner sanctum and the gopuram were constructed over a period of 12 years. |
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It was constructed from a single piece of granite weighing around 80 tonnes. The dome was hauled into place along a 4-km earthwork ramp in a manner similar to the Egyptian pyramids. The tower is considered to be symbolic of the mountain Meru. Several stucco features also decorate the vimana. The statue of Nandi was created from a single rock piece and weighs 25 tonnes. It is in fact one of the largest statues of Nandi bulls in India. The temple also has a spacious ground, number of pillared halls, shrines and 250 lingams.
The Nayaka Palace |
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The Palace near the temple is a vast building of masonry built partly by the Nayaks around 1550 AD and partly by the Marathas. The residence of the Nayaka kings in Thanjavur dates from the 16th - 17th centuries. This seven-story tower is within the palace complex. The Tanjavur Palace, as it is known, has huge halls, spacious corridors, observation & arsenal towers and a shady courtyard. The palace houses a library, a museum and an art gallery. The Royal museum displays many items from the kings who ruled the place in past. The Royal cloths, hunting weapons, the headgears and many more such items are enough to catch the attention of any one. There are two Durbar halls where the rulers held public meetings. |
This gallery has an excellent collection of artifacts from the Chola dynasty during the 8th and 9th century. The bronze and granite statues reflect the height of craftsmanship obtained during those days. Frescoes, painted a hundred years ago in the glass painting style of Tanjore adorn the walls of the Durbar Hall, while on a stage stands the marble statue of the Maratha King, Serfogi, From a magnificent bronze collection the earliest and smallest date to the Pallava period while the most important are Chola. |  |
Saraswathi Mahal Library
In another section of the Palace is the library where over 30,000 palm leaf and paper manuscripts in India and European languages are preserved.
The Raja raja Museum
Contains a notable collection of Chola bronzes. The museum is part of the Nayaka Palace in Thanjavur. Many of the bronzes here come from a single find, in Tiruvengadu, which greatly increases their usefulness to art historians.
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