Brihadeshwara Temple Facts for Kids

Brihadeeswarar Temple from the right side.

The Brihadeeswarar Temple (also called Peruvudaiyar Kovil in Tamil) is a famous Hindu temple. It is dedicated to the god Shiva. People also know it as Periya Kovil or Rajarajeswaram.

This amazing temple is in Thanjavur, a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It sits on the south side of the Kaveri River. The Brihadeeswarar Temple is one of the biggest temples in India. It shows off the beautiful Tamil architecture from the Chola period.

King Raja Raja Chola I built this temple. It was finished in the year 1010 AD. This means the temple was 1000 years old in 2010! The temple is so important that UNESCO has made it a World Heritage Site. It is part of the "Great Living Chola Temples" group. This group also includes the Brihadeeswarar Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Airavatesvara temple.

History of the Great Temple
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History of the Great Temple

The Brihadeeswarar Temple has strong fortified walls. These walls were likely added around the 16th century to protect it.

Amazing Architecture and Design

The main tower of the temple is called the vimanam. It is about 66 meters (216 feet) tall. This makes it one of the tallest temple towers in the world! The very top part of the tower, called the Kumbam, is special. It is carved from a single huge rock and weighs about 80 tons.

At the entrance, you will see a giant statue of Nandi. Nandi is a sacred bull in Hinduism. This statue is also carved from a single rock. It is about 5 meters (16 feet) long and 4 meters (13 feet) high.

The entire temple is built using granite stone. What is amazing is that the closest places to find granite are about 60 kilometers (37 miles) away. This means moving all that heavy stone was a huge task!

The temple has a Nandi hall, a covered walkway with pillars, and a meeting hall. All these parts are connected together.

Interesting Facts About the Temple

The Brihadeeswarar Temple is also called the Tanjore Periya Kovil, meaning "Big Temple." It was built by King Raja Raja Cholan and his sister Kundavai. They were both great followers of Lord Shiva. The King built it to show his power during the Chola rule.

Here are some cool facts about this Chola temple:

The original name of the main god was Rajarajeshwar. Later, the Marathas gave it the name Brihadeeshwara, meaning "Great Ishwara."
The main temple is made completely of granite. Over 130,000 tons of granite were used to build it!
There's a myth that the shadow of the main tower never falls on the ground. However, scientists have shown this is not true.
The Nandi statue at the entrance is carved from one single stone.
The main tower, the Vimanam, is about 60 meters (200 feet) tall. It is often called Dakshin Meru, or "Southern Meru."
King Raja Raja Cholan got the idea to build the temple after visiting Sri Lanka. He even had a dream about it.
The temple has a painting of King Raja Raja Cholan bowing to Lord Natarajar. This is thought to be the first royal portrait ever!
Inscriptions in the temple tell us that Kunjara Mallan Raja Raja Perunthachan was the main architect. His family members still practice the art of Vastu (an ancient Indian building science) today.
You can see carvings of dancers on the temple walls. These carvings show 81 of the 108 karanas. These are special movements of hands and feet used in the Bharata Natyam dance. The temple was also a place for talented dancers to perform.
The inscriptions also describe many different kinds of jewels used back then. They mention 23 types of pearls and 11 types of diamonds and rubies!

Historians are amazed because there were no granite quarries within 100 km (62 miles) of the temple. This means moving these stones was a very difficult job. But King Raja Raja Cholan insisted on using them. All these features make this Chola temple a true masterpiece!

Special Features of the Temple

The Brihadeeswarar Temple is one of the few temples that have statues of the Ashta-dikpaalakas. These are the eight guardians of the directions. Beautiful paintings called frescoes decorate the temple walls. These frescoes show Shiva in different poses.

The Brihadeeswarar Temple is known as the first temple in the world built entirely from granite. About 60,000 tons of granite were used to build it.

The temple's design also connects to the Tamil language. For example:

The height of the main tower (Gopuram) is 216 feet. This matches the number of "Uyir-Mei Ezhuthu" (Soul-Body Letters) in Tamil, which is 216.
The height of the Shiva Lingam (a symbol of Shiva) inside the temple is 12 feet. This matches the number of "Uyir Ezhuthu" (Soul Letters) in Tamil, which is 12.
The height of the Lingam's base (Peedam) is 18 feet. This matches the number of "Mei Ezhuthu" (Body Letters) in Tamil, which is 18.
The distance between the Shiva Lingam and the Nandi statue is 247 feet. This matches the total number of letters in Tamil, which is 247 (including "Ayutha Ezhuthu").