Brihadeeswarar Temple
The Thousand-Year Granite Colossus
Overview
Brihadeeswarar Temple, also called Peruvudaiyar Kovil or the 'Big Temple', is a granite Chola temple in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to Shiva and completed in 1010 CE by the emperor Rajaraja Chola I. A UNESCO World Heritage Site among the Great Living Chola Temples, its vimana (the tower over the sanctum) rises about 66 metres, among the tallest of any Hindu temple, capped by a single massive granite block. A colossal monolithic Nandi bull faces the shrine. It has been in continuous worship for over a thousand years. MyTripMyTravel pairs it with the Maratha Palace on an escorted Thanjavur day.
Brihadeeswarar is the high-water mark of Chola engineering, a temple built entirely of granite in a region with little local granite, raised to a scale that a thousand years later remains barely credible. Completed in 1010, it turned a thousand years old in 2010 and has been in worship the whole time.
Everything about it is superlative: the roughly 66-metre vimana over the sanctum, the enormous monolithic Nandi facing the shrine, the frescoed inner passages and the vast walled courtyard. It was the imperial temple of Rajaraja Chola I, and its proportions still communicate the reach of the Chola empire at its peak.
MyTripMyTravel sequences it with the Thanjavur Maratha Palace and its Chola bronzes for a single escorted day that reads the Cholas in both stone and metal.
At a glance
Brihadeeswarar Temple in brief
What to see
Highlights
The vimana
The roughly 66-metre tower over the sanctum, among the tallest of any temple, crowned by an enormous single granite capstone.
The great Nandi
One of India's largest monolithic Nandi bulls, carved from a single stone and facing the shrine.
Chola frescoes
Rare surviving Chola-era wall paintings in the inner passage, overlaid in places by later Nayak work.
The granite mass
A temple built entirely of granite quarried and hauled from far away, an engineering feat still not fully explained.
The walled courtyard
The vast prakara enclosure and gateway towers that frame the classic approach to the vimana.
Visitor information
Our tips
Come early, low morning sun on the granite tower gives the best light and the coolest walking.
An expert guide reads the Chola inscriptions and frescoes that are otherwise invisible.
Carry socks; the courtyard is walked barefoot and the stone is hot by midday.
Good to know
Brihadeeswarar Temple, your questions
How old is Brihadeeswarar Temple?
It was completed in 1010 CE under Rajaraja Chola I and marked its thousandth year in 2010, and it has been in continuous worship throughout.
Why is it called the 'Big Temple'?
For its scale, the granite vimana rises about 66 metres, among the tallest of any Hindu temple, and the Nandi and courtyard are correspondingly monumental.
Is it a UNESCO site?
Yes, it is inscribed as one of the Great Living Chola Temples.
What pairs well with it?
The Thanjavur Maratha Palace nearby, whose art gallery holds superb Chola bronzes; we sequence both on one escorted day.
More in Thanjavur
Visit with us
See Brihadeeswarar Temple, properly.
A private, chauffeured visit with a licensed expert guide, timed for the best light and the smallest crowds. We fold Brihadeeswarar Temple into a wider Thanjavur and South India itinerary, built entirely around you.
- Skip the queue where possible, at the right hour
- Licensed local guide who brings the story to life
- Private car and chauffeur, door to door
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