Brihadeshwara temple: The world's first shrine made of granite
World over, India is known for its beautifully-carved temples. But do you know, our country also houses the world’s first granite temple? Yes, we are talking about the Brihadeshwara temple in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. It is a Hindu temple, over 1,000 years old, dedicated to Lord Shiva.
A temple with many names
You may also know the temple by a different name. It also goes by the name ‘Rajarejesvaram’, since it was built by Raja Raja Cholan I in the Chola period. Infact, you can find the portrait of Raja Raja Cholan I paying obeisance to Lord Nataraja in the temple. You may know it as ‘Peruvudaiyar Kovil’.
The granite story
The temple, located on the south side of Kaveri river in Thanjavur, was completed in 1010 A.D and it became the world's first among all buildings, which made use of granite fully. Believe it or not, it was built using about 1,30,000 tonnes of granite. What astounds historians is that they could not find evidence of even a single granite quarry in a 100 km radius of the temple. This means that these stones were transported for building the temple. A herculean task indeed!
Brihadeshwara temple celebrates 1000 years
The temple celebrated its 1000th birthday in September 2010 and in its commemoration, a rupees postage stamp, featuring the 216 feet tall Raja Gopuram (Vimana) was released by the India Post. Also, a 5 rupee coin was released by the Reserve Bank of India. Wow! But this was not the only time it got so much attention. In April 1954, the Reserve Bank of India released a 1000-rupee currency note with a panoramic view of the temple. But later on, during the Indira Gandhi rule, all 1000 rupees notes were demonetised to curtail black money. It is currently a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Great Living Chola Temples.
The architecture
But what makes this temple so unique? Well, the answer is its beautiful Dravidian architecture. The temple’s layout is asymmetrical and axial and follows geometric rules. It is built with stones that are bonded without any motor with the topmost stone (kumbam) weighing 80 tonnes. An engineering marvel for sure! The kumbam is the apex or the bulbous structure on the top and is carved out a single rock. The 216 feet tall temple also boasts the world’s tallest temple tower (vimanam) and a massive 20-tonne statue of Nandi – the bull of Shiva, again carved out of a single rock at the entrance of the temple.
The inscriptions on the walls of the temple show the rise and fall of the Chola empire. You can trace the chronology of when the Cholas were ousted by the Pandyas who were later thrown out by the Vijayanagara Empire. If you see carefully, you would also be able to see that the region was ruled by the Tanjore Nayaks till the mid-17th century who were captured by the Marathas. The region eventually fell into the hands of the British.
Bonus fact: The original name of the deity in the temple was Rajarajeshwar but the Marathas later changed the name to Brihadeeshwara.