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| Brihadeeswarar Temple |
Name of the temple: Brihadeeswarar Temple
Area (m²): 102,400
Place: Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu
Country: India
About:
- The Big Temple was built by Raja Raja Chola I in 1010 CE and is dedicated to Shiva.
- The Big Temple is not only a magnificent edifice with its majestic vimana, sculptures, architecture, and frescoes but also has a wealth and richness of Tamil inscriptions engraved on stone in superb calligraphy.
- The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- One wonders of how such a big temple could be built in flat 6 years taking into account the amount of stone and soil to be moved and the lack of powered machinery available in those days.
- The massive sized main Vimanam (Tower) is 200 feet high, possibly the highest in the world when it was built.
- The Vimanam has 16 elaborately articulated stories and dominates the main quadrangle.
- It has a monolithic Nandhi weighing about 25 tonnes and is about 12 feet high and 20 feet long.
- The presiding deity of the lingam is 12 feet tall.