Thanjavur

It’s the fourth day. It was only 6.00 in the morning and I was wide awake, fully energized. I watched the sunrise from our hotel room in Trichy. We arrived here the night before from Madurai. This will be our stay for the following 3 days till the end of this trip.

By 7am,  we were at the hotel refectory, gulping down whatever we could and by 8am at the lobby waiting for our ever punctual driver. He arrived at 8 on the dot. We headed to Thanjavur which is about an hour on the road from Trichy. Unlike the previous days, I was excited today.  So what’s the thrill about?

I love historical places and ancient architectures and the chronicles related to it.  

We will be visiting a one of a kind, astonishing structure today. No doubt since the day we landed here, we have been visiting temples which are more than 500 years old, and personaly I have been wanting to visit Thanjavur. Particularly, a visit to this temple.

A masterpiece from the Chola's era

Thanjavur or Tanjore, is known for its own unique style paintings which dates back to 1600s, handicrafts and architectures, as well as home for the few great living Chola Temples. As such, among the few temples, is this marvelous temple, the 11th century Brihadeeswara Temple a UNESCO World Heritage Monument which is also known by other names; Peruvudaiyar Kovil, RajaRajeswara and RajaRajeswaram. It is one of the most valued architectural sites in India.



Second entrance tower



    

 My very first glimpse of the grand pyramid like vimana (center tower) took my breath away. Standing majestically in the centre of the town, its grandeur was more than what I anticipated.
    

Part of the inner compound has a huge and well maintained lawn. Somewhat the atmosphere here is rather calm and serene. The moment we entered, I got my camera engaged and both of us wandered in silence within our own pace.

It was still in the early hours of the day, but the morning sun was already gleaming. Initially I took the pleasure of the warm bright sunny day but very soon the warmth became intense.

Yet, the crowd is nothing less.

The sightseeing involved lots of walking on the stone laid open courtyard. The temperature was a nuisance. Our feets were kinda heating up. So it was a sort of quick observations and lots of pictures. Oh ya, did I mention that footwear is not allowed in. Well, ya its not. Leave it at the shoe-keepers.

 

                                  

The wall drawings are tinted with colours derived from vegetables.



Never-ending carvings on the walls.

This astonishing temple was built around 1010 AD, and one of the first in the world that is built entirely from granite.



Stone inscriptions can be found all around the walls that explains the incidents that took place during the constructions.

Surrounding long corridors

We walked up, came down.. went in, came out till we reached the main sanctum where the huge linga is and only when I thought we are done exploring, Ah..there again is the ever dedicated guide, without fail, surfacing. We were attacked by this very thin gentleman that assured to show us around for a minimum fee.  Well, guides will be guides. 

A rather perfectionist my bf, who thought we were lacking on some history facts, gave his consent and off we went for another round. 

Needless to say, by which time it was almost noon and Mr. Sun was aggressively smiling hard upon us. Word of caution: Visit Only Late Evenings.

An elephant figure carved in 5 separate granites joined together like a piece of puzzle. Seeing all the adornment on its body, I Wondered if all these embellishments existed 1000 years ago.

This figurine is attached to the right side of a staircase leading to a smaller shrine.  There is another on the left side. When we walk past here the 1^st time, these elephants looked similar and nothing more than a stairway décor piece but when we came back here again with the guide, we learnt otherwise. 
"If you observe carefully, the tail of this elephant is pointing upwards and it's eye wide open. In its natural state, an elephant's eye lids are always half closed and it's tail never curves upwards.” he explained and  then took us to the other side, and we saw exactly what he said, this one’s eye was half closed and its tail downwards. So silly that we didn't notice it earlier. 
“This two carvings  depicts a time of war that took place.” he explained further. “The one with the eyes open, is fierce and aggressive at the battle field, and on the other image, is has calmed down subsequently. As you can see, a human clutched by his trunk and under it a horse stepping on a body depicting warfare."

So on and on he went continuously unfolding the realism, us tailing him like obedient students. And this time around, we learnt the history, the stories and the significance of each and every single carvings and paintings. That being said, it took another well spent hour.



Perhaps the most recognized element of the temple, is this huge nandi (carved out of a single rock) in the courtyard facing the sanctum

The temple stands amidst fortified walls added in the 16th century

We came, we saw, we listened, we learnt.  But the highlight is that if I ever come across an elephant, without doubt I will take a look of his eyes first! Just in case….