Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chola temple architecture. The World Heritage-listed Brihadishwara Temple was built
between 1003 and 1010 by Rajaraja I (whose name means 'king of kings'), a monarch so
organised he had the names and addresses of all his dancers, musicians, barbers and poets
inscribed into the temple wall. The outer fortifications were put up by Thanjavur's later
Nayak and British regimes.
You enter through a Nayak gate, followed by two original gopurams with elaborate
stucco sculptures. You'll often find the temple elephant below one of the gopurams, dis-
pensing good luck with a dab of his trunk to anyone who puts a rupee in it. Several shrines
are dotted around the extensive grassy areas of the walled temple compound, including
one with one of India's largest statues of Nandi (Shiva's sacred bull) facing the main
temple building. Cut from a single rock, this 16th-century Nayak creation is 6m long.
A long, columned assembly hall leads to the central shrine with its 4m-high Shiva
lingam, beneath the superb 61m-high vimana (tower). The assembly hall's southern steps
are flanked by two huge dvarapalas (temple guardians). Many lovely, graceful deity im-
ages stand in niches around the vimana's lower levels, including Shiva emerging from the
lingam (beside the southern steps); Shiva as the beggar Bhikshatana (first image, south
side); Harihara (half Shiva, half Vishnu) on the west wall; and Ardhanarishvara (Shiva as
half-man, half-woman), leaning on Nandi, on the north side. Set between the deity images
are panels showing positions of classical dance.
The compound also contains a worthwhile interpretation centre along the south wall
and, in the colonnade along the west and north walls, hundreds more linga as well as some
good Nayak-era murals. North of the temple compound, but still within the outer fortifica-
tions, is a park containing the Sivaganga tank
GOOGLE MAP and 18th-century Schwartz's
MAP
GOOGLE MAP .
Church
MAP
Royal Palace
MAP GOOGLE MAP
(Indian/foreigner/camera ?10/50/30; 9am-5pm) Thanjavur's royal palace is a mixed bag of decrep-
itude and renovation, superb art and random royal paraphernalia, with a frequent whiff of
dung and decay. The labyrinthine complex was constructed partly by the Nayaks who
took over Thanjavur in 1535, and partly by a local Maratha dynasty that ruled from 1676
to 1855.
Seven different sections of the palace can be visited, and you need four separate tickets
to see them all! The two don't-miss sections are the Art Gallery and Saraswati Mahal
PALACE
 
 
 
 
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