Thanjavur Brihadeeswara Temple

By Air: The nearest airport to Thanjavur or Tanjore is Trichy Airport which is at a distance of 1 hour journey. Plenty of Buses and Taxi’s are available.
By Train: Trichy is the nearest railway station which is well connected to many places of India.
By Road: Thanjavur bus station is 5.5 KMs away from temple.

Brihadeeswara Temple

The Brihadeswarar Temple is also known as Rajarajesvaram or Peruvudaiyar Kovil, which means the Big Temple. It is also recognized by Unesco as a world heritage site. It is one of the largest temples in South India. It is the 7th largest Hindu Temple in the world.

Temple deity – Brihadeswarar

In Sanskrit, ‘brihad’ means ‘big. Brihadeswarar simply translates as magnificent Shiva. True to his name, the Shiva lingam is 12ft tall here and its circumference is 54ft.

Temple Legend

Lord Shiva appeared to King Raja raja Chola in his dream and commanded him to create a temple for him. The Chola king’s martial victories experienced phenomenally widened the borders of his empire. Raja raja Chola , a devout Saivite, constructed a temple for his preferred deity that would not merely befit the magnificence of the God but also set up the supremacy of the Chola empire. The primary sanctum roofing is carved from an individual granite block . At anytime of the entire year, the shadow of the shikara by no means falls on the floor at noon.

The Nandi facing the main sanctum is as tall as Brihadeswarar
Different sculptures of Shiva are available in the Prakaram around the main deity.
Goddess Brihan Nayaki, the consort of Shiva, has a separate shrine built in north of the main sanctum.
Murugan Temple is also built in the premises.
Music Pillars – There are some music pillars available in temple , which when tapped will produce different sounds.

Thanjavur Brihadiswara Temple Timings