Why the Marvelous Art and Architecture of Brihadeshwara Temple Known (बृहदेश्वर मंदिर क्यों जाना जाता है)?

 

Brihadeeswarar temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. It is also known as Rajarajeswaram or Peruvudaiyr Kovil. 

It is located on the Kaveri River's south bank. Brihadisvara Temple is one of South India's largest temples and a model of fully realized Tamil architecture. 

It was given the name Dhakshina Meru (Meru of south). The Brihadisvara Temple, built between 1003 and 1010 AD by Tamil king Raja Raja Chola I, is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Great Living Chola Temples" which also includes the Chola dynasty period Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple and Airavatesvara temple, both of which are 70 kilometers (43 miles) northeast.

Marvelous Art and Architecture of Brihadeshwara Temple

The principles of axial and symmetrical geometry were used in the design and construction of the Peruvudaiyar Temple. Perunkoil (Madakkoil) is a large temple built on a higher platform of natural or man-made mounds. 

The temple complex is nearly the size of two stacked squares, measuring 240.79 meters east to west and 121.92 meters (400.0 feet) north to south. 

The five main parts of this room are the sanctum with the towering superstructure (sri vimana), the Nandi hall in front (Nandi-mandapam), the main community hall (mukhamandapam), the great gathering hall (mahamandapam), and the pavilion that connects the great hall with the sanctum (ardhamandapam).

The Peruvudaiyar temple continued the Hindu temple practices of South India by adopting architectural and decorative elements, but its size far outstripped that of temples built before the 11th century. 

The Chola era architects and artisans honed their skills in scaling up and building, particularly with heavy stone, to achieve the towering vimana's height of 63.4 meters (208 feet).

The main temple-related monuments, as well as the great tower, are located in this courtyard. Smaller shrines surround the main Shiva temple, the majority of which are aligned axially. 

These are dedicated, among others, to his consort Parvati, his sons Subrahmanya and Ganesha, Nandi, Varahi, Karuvur deva (Rajaraja Chola's guru), Chandeshvara, and Nataraja. 

In the Nandi mandapam, a monolithic seated bull faces the sanctum. Stairs connect them, leading to a columned porch and community gathering hall, then to an inner mandapa that connects to the pradakshina patha, or circumambulation path.

The (bull) of the mukh-Nandi mandapam weighs approximately 25 tones. It is made of a single stone and stands about 2 meters tall, 6 meters long, and 2.5 meters wide. Nandi's image is one of the most recognizable in the world.