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Thanjavur 2 - Brahadeeswarar temple

 We decided to visit the Brahadeeswarar temple first thing today. So had breakfast at Akshayams near our place of stay. This is in the Thanjavur medical college road. The whole college campus and the hospital spans across this road. Once you cross the medical college road and go towards the old bus stand area, a fly over comes up, then comes the bridge with the sides similar to the napier's bridge but smaller in size. Here you can find small shops selling Thanjavur dolls - the thalaiyatti bommai and dancing girl.


Parking slot is available just opposite to the temple so we have to cross after parking the vehicle. The temple was crowded with tourist buses coming in from different places. In the temple compound is a stall by the Tamilnadu Tourism Department where you can get a guide to walk you around the temple and share the historic details. As soon as you cross the first gopuram, on the right hand side there is the place to leave your foot wear. In the same place you could see shops selling Thanjavur dolls and items or souvenirs to be bought from Thanjavur. There is also a small shop selling hot vadas.


The first gopuram has been built by the Nayakkars while the second one is by Rajaraja Cholan's son who ruled in Kerala hence called Keralan's gopuram. The next gopuram is part of the temple and is built by Rajaraja Cholan. As soon you cross this, we get to see the grandeur of the Brahadeeswarar temple. The inner gopuram is quit visible from road that leads to the temple. You help being stuck by awe at just how artistically each stone in the temple is done. After worshipping the huge Nandi we take the stairs to the inner sanctum and worship the Lord Brahadeeswarar or Peruvudaiyur and his consort is called the Lord Periyanayaki. While worshipping, you can witness how huge the Lingam is. This is the thousand year old architecture standing tall showcasing the achievement of the ancient Tamils. You feel asking yourself, you are not so now?


Next to the inner sanctum is the sanctum of Lord Ganesha, Lord Murugar and that of a siddhar. All these sanctums and the praharam are surrounded by a corridor that runs all the way around in a raised platform with a roof over it. Here we can see paintings on the wall, destroyed over the years and very clear. Wars and colonial rules have taken a hit on the temple. Archeological Survey of India has taken over the temple and hence each sanctum here has their placards indicating the features. Most of the stones here have scripts on them, the ASI has marked each stone with a number for identification. It took us around 2 hours to go around the temple.












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Location: Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India

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