Millineum year of Thanjavur Big Temple

Millineum year of the Thanjavur big temple will be celebrated in September 2010.The Brihadeeswarar(Lord Shiva) temple has the unique honour of being a world heritage site and also a living temple.The great Chola emperor Rajaraja Cholan of the Chola dynasty built this colossal temple in the year 1010.But it is an irony,this great architectural wonder does not have a statue of its conceiver inside the temple complex. Two decades ago the Tamil nadu government wanted to install a statue of the great Tamil king inside the temple complex.Arecheaological Survey of India opposed to this move and the statue was put up outside the huge temple complex.The temple tower is stupendous standing at a height of 190 feet.The finial (Kalasam in Tamil) atop the tower is said to be monolithic and weighs 82 tonnes.It is considered as an architectural marvel that an 82 tonne finial is held atop a 190 feet tower.The temple complex measures 750 feet long and 250 feet wide.The Nandi (Sacred Bull)at the centre of the complex is reportedly one of the biggest in India.This bull is also carved out of a single granite stone.The temple complex is stiuated among fortified walls.Raja Rajan wanted to carve the 108 dance poses in the temple.This can also be seen in the temple.This temple was considered as his pet personal project.

Raja raja cholan was the greatest emperor of the Chola dynasty.Under his rule(985 - 1016 AD) he conquered Maldives,Andamans, and northern Sri Lanka.The cholas also conducted naval expeditions to Java,Sumatra,and straits of Malacca.They had trade ties with China.The naval expeditions were to protect their trade routes.Those days the Chola's also occupied Kolar Bangalore,Mysore and Chamarajnagar districts for about a century and built temples.He also conquered Kalinga(Orissa) in the North east.He occupied northern Sri Lanka for over a century.The chola dynasty kings were connossieurs of art and had aesthetic sense.World's first university is the Nalanda University in India.It is believed The chola dynasty kings have  contributed to the construction of Nalanda university buildings.Another king of the Chola dynasty Karikalan built the Grand Anicut(Kallanai) dam in the 1 st BC.This is considered  as the world's oldest constructed dam still in use(Surviving and standing dam).It is believed the union government has agreed for a commemorative coin of the Big temple on its Millineum year next month.On the occassion of the millineum year of the big temple,let us salute the mighty Chola emperor Raja Raja Cholan.

click here  for a virtual tour of the Thanjavur big temple .