This temple is a perfect illustration of the great heights achieved in the field of architecture by the Chola rulers. It is a homage paid to Lord Shiva and is a display of power of Raja Raja Chola I.
Brihadeeshwar Temple is one of the most beautiful architectural splendors of the country. It is erected amidst the great walls made perhaps in the sixteenth century. Inside the temple, there is a temple tower famous as Vimana among the devotees and tourists. This temple tower has an elevation of 66 meters. Vimana is one of the tallest temple towers on the earth. A rounded apex structure is there in the Brihadeeshwar Temple, which is believed to be constructed out of carving on a single stone only.
There is also located a figurine of a consecrated bull or Nandi at the entry of this Brihadeeshwar Temple, which is approximately thirteen feet in elevation and sixteen feet in length. Remarkably, this idol is made by a single rock carving.
The Brihadeeshwar Temple is edified by using granite, which can be brought from the granite sources near Tiruchirapalli, located roughly 60 kilometer from the western side Thanjavur.
Brihadeeswarar Temple is also widely known by name of ‘Big Temple’. This temple completed its 1000 years in the year 2010. This temple is swarmed by tourists all through the year, who visit this place to witness the unsurpassed display of fascinating architecture.
History
A spectrum of Hindu temple styles continued to develop from the 5th to the 9th century over the Chalukya era rule as evidenced in Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal, and then with the Pallava era as witnessed at Mamallapuram and other monuments. Thereafter, between 850 and 1280 CE, Cholas emerged as the dominant dynasty. The early Chola period saw a greater emphasis on securing their geopolitical boundaries and less emphasis on architecture. In the 10th century, within the Chola empire emerged features such as the multifaceted columns with projecting square capitals. This, states George Michell, signaled the start of the new Chola style. This South Indian style is most fully realized both in scale and detail in the Brihadeshvara temple built between 1003 and 1010 by the Chola king Rajaraja. The architect and engineer of the temple was Kunjara Mallan Raja Raja Rama Perunthachan as stated in inscriptions found at the temple.
Additions, renovations and repairs
The main temple along with its gopurams are from the early 11th century. The temple also saw additions, renovations, and repairs over the next 1,000 years. The raids and wars, particularly between Muslim Sultans who controlled Madurai and Hindu kings who controlled Thanjavur caused damage. These were repaired by Hindu dynasties that regained control. In some cases, the rulers attempted to renovate the temple with faded paintings, by ordering new murals on top of the older ones. In other cases, they sponsored addition of shrines. The significant shrines of Kartikeya (Murugan), Parvati (Amman) and Nandi are from the 16th and 17th-century Nayaka era. Similarly the Dakshinamurti shrine was built later. According to an inscription dated 1801, the Marathas made elaborate repairs to the shrines of Ganesha, Kartikeya, Parvati, Sabhapati which houses the Nataraja bronze, Dakshinamurti, Chandeshvara, mandapas and the prakara walls. They also rebuilt the temple kitchen and put in a new floor in the courtyard.