Brihadishwara Temple, Tanjore, Tamil Nadu

[centralized pandemonium]

One of the oldest and greatest Shiva Temple of all times.
It was built in 1010 AD.It was built by Cholan King Rajaraja.

[centralized pandemonium]

[dcb11]

Incredible. Definitely my favorite temple in southern India.

[Luckystreak]

[centralized pandemonium]

The guy looks so tiny

[Luckystreak]

[rijul]

this is one of the best temples in india ... and its so huge too... great pics

[Hindustani]

Very nice. Its indeed massive and almost 10 centuries old. Incredible accomplishment.

[Luckystreak]

[Anniyan]

Originally Posted by Luckystreak

there is a belief among few that this bull statue is growing

[Luckystreak]

[Madras_Fan]

Thanks For the Best Collection of Photos.. I am Just Dreaming those (G)Olden Days when I studied in Thanjavur

[Jai]

I was going to start a Tanjore thread and have collected a lot of pics I'll try to do it later next week when I get some time

To me this is one of the most beautiful temples in India.

[MuthukumarChola]

Awesome pics!

Oh...the glory days of Tanjore!!

It is a standing testament, not only to the architectural brilliance, but also to the might of the Chola empire.

An interesting fact about this temple is that its different from the delicate architectural style of the Pallavas in that it is 'severe' as though it wants to proclaim the military might of the medieval Cholas.

Constructed in 1010 A.D. it was the tallest structure at least in India during its time.

[kg4129]

Originally Posted by Jai

I was going to start a Tanjore thread and have collected a lot of pics I'll try to do it later next week when I get some time

To me this is one of the most beautiful temples in India.

Nice picture...
Onething I like to share my views... It is better to make Photo's Thread instead of fullfledged discussion forum, Since Trichy is having full fledged forum to discuss any Economical, Social and Welfare activities of Central region.. Also trichy-Tanjore is only about 40 KMs of distance and it is extended part of trichy in all aspects...

Welcome to start any thread for devotional activities like sharing of Arhitectural brillience of Chola empire..

[VaastuShastra]

Raja Raja was one of our greatest Emperors.

[Arul Murugan]

Nice video on Tanjore temple history!

[Arul Murugan]

One more!

[Arul Murugan]

Govt memorial for Raja Chola if evidence exists



Ajitha Karthikeyan | TNN



Chennai: Is the ‘pallipadai’ (a memorial) of the great monarch Raja Raja Chola-I lying on the bed of a river in a sleepy village near Kumbakonam? The DMK government on Thursday announced in the state Assembly that a memorial would be rebuilt for the king at the site if the state archaeology department came up with concrete evidence about its existence.
Though the state Department of Archaeology (DoA) says there is no evidence to prove it, local historians insist that the ruins of an ancient structure at Udayalur, part of the erstwhile Pazhayarai, the ancient capital of the Chola kingdom, could possibly be the place where the great king was cremated about 1,000 years ago. The remnants of the structure are located on the bed of River Mudikondan, a tributary of Cauvery.
Successive governments had taken little effort to trace the memorial of Raja Raja Chola, whose reign was exemplified by great works of architecture, including the Big Temple in Thanjavur, now declared as a world heritage site. Dr Kudavoyil Balasubramanian, a Thanjavur-based historian, told The Times of India that an inscription found on a pillar at Paal Kulathu Amman temple at Udayalur shed light about some structures that had been built in memory of Raja Raja Chola I (985-1014 AD).
According to the inscriptions, these had been renovated during the period of Kulothunga Chola-I (1070-1120 AD), one of his descendents. This had led to the discovery of a partially-buried Shivalingam on the river bed, a km away, which could be part of a ‘pallipadai.’ During the Chola period, it was customary to raise ‘pallipadai’ where the ashes of deceased kings, queens, nobles and chieftains were kept and shivalingams installed.
Though the world famous Big Temple, built by Raja Raja Chola I, was being maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), there was no proper coordination between the Central and state departments to conduct excavations at Udayalur and neighbouring areas, Balasubramanian said. A ‘pallipadai’ for Panchavan Madevi, one of the wives of Raja Raja Chola-I, was found at Patteeswaram near Udayalur. “There is every possibility that the Chola king’s pallipadai is also situated in the area as he has spent his last days at Pazhayarai. The local people firmly believe that the site at Udayalur, where the shivalingam was unearthed, was the memorial of Raja Raja Chola,” he added.
It was a local historian named N Sethuraman who chanced upon the inscriptions about 30 years ago. However, the State DoA had neither shown interest nor taken any serious effort so far to conduct proper excavations to unearth further evidences, the historian said.
However, Dr Vasanthi, an archaeologist with the State DoA, said there was no evidence to prove the existence of the Chola king’s memorial at Udayalur. “We have not found any structural remains, inscriptional evidence or antiquities like coins dating back to the Chola period in the area so far. But, we are looking for evidences,” she added.
School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu told the Assembly on Thursday that the Government would build a memorial at Udayalur if a final conclusion was arrived at by the Archaeology Department.

REVISITING HISTORY


The DMK government on Thursday announced that a memorial would be built for the king if the state archaeology department came up with concrete evidence about its existence in Udayalur.
Though the state Department of Archaeology (DoA) says there is no evidence to prove it, local historians insist that the ruins of an ancient structure at Udayalur, could possibly be the place where the great king was cremated about 1,000 years ago

The great Raja Raja Cholan



http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily...=1210304087718

[Marathaman]