The year 2010 celebrated the thousand years of cultural and historical, heritage of the Brahadeeswarar Temple.The 1000-years old Timeless Heritage :King Rajaraja cholesterol constructed the Brahadeewarar Temple, commonly known as the Big Temple by the natives of Tanjore . It’s architecture marvel,fine proportions and intricate carvings and grandeur make it a symbol of cultural and sculptural expertise. Tanjore ” The Granary of Tamilnadu”, is also the seat of Carnatic music,dance,traditional handicrafts and stylized bronze work. Hence, the Chola’s made it their capital.Visit to the Nayak Palace :With a great thirst for Indian culture ,the author visited the palace complex which was built by the Nayaks in the 16 th Century. The Martha’s had renovated it later. The Royal Muslim here has a collection of urns,drums,manuscripts,gifts, jewellery weapons and other belongings of the Maratha.

A painting of Maratha King welcomes one to the Durbar Hall. An array of pallava and chola on the craftsmanship of their Era.The 11th century Brahadeeswarar Temple :The magnificent structure of the Big Temple, situated in an area of 750 feet by 400 feet surrounded by a moat welcomed him. Its marvellous engineering technology could be judge by the vimanam. The towering vimanam is built up with stones with bonding and notching and without the use of mortar. It is baffling to note how the topmost stone of 80 tons was placed without modern of the divine mount Kailash. The sculpture and structure is incomparable. The shrine for lord Muruga is an integral part of the Temple. It is an elaborately carved stone structure, a designer’s delight. It would take weeks if not months to copy the unrepeated designs on each of the short pillars of this shrine. The chiseled would have indeed taken months to complete each shapes.The magnanimous King Rajaraja Chola :The author stood in awe,astonishment and reverence when he saw a walled fortress inside -a standing testimony of the Chola’s opulence and vision . The huge statues reflect their steadfast reverence to Lord Shiva. Rajaraja, his sisters and his queens donated gold and silver to build this Temple.The intricate carvings and murals :The delicate carvings on the pillars and the inscriptions on the walls of the temple are delight to a historian’s sense. The deities and Shiva Linda’s in the pillaged cloisters are worthy to be admired. The huge Shiva Linga in the sanctum sanatorium and the Nandhi Statue depict the large heartedness of Cholas , who did not hesitate to spend large sums of money.

The sculpture and engineering technology of this 11th century Temple is truly admirable. The huge granite stones had been interlocked so perfectly with a harmonious bonding that they can withstand rains ,wind and heat down the centuries.The might vimanam:Unlike many Temple the 58m tall and 13-storyed vimanam makes the Gopurams. In its splendid idea ,it’s impressive vision, its displays of the mighty effort of construction-it stands as a testimony for centuries to come.It’s Dedication :Among all the temples dedicated to all suites, this is the only Temple which has been dedicated to Brahadeeswarar. When the devotee king anointed it with holy water from all the sacred rivers of India, little did he think that the Big Temple would stand for 1000 years and forever. The big Temple will live as long as Indian history lives.