In Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, the Brihadeeswarar temple — the Peruvudaiyar Kovil, or Big Temple — stands as one of the supreme masterpieces of Indian architecture, built by the great Chola emperor Rajaraja I and consecrated in 1010 CE. Dedicated to Shiva, it is crowned by a colossal vimana rising some sixty-six metres, among the tallest of any temple in India, capped by a single enormous stone. A monolithic Nandi, one of the largest in the country, keeps watch before the sanctum.
A thousand years old and still in daily worship, the temple is celebrated as a pinnacle of Chola art, its walls covered in inscriptions and its inner chambers with rare frescoes. Together with two sister temples it forms the UNESCO-listed Great Living Chola Temples.
Brihadeeswarar unites profound devotion with the grandeur of a golden age — a monument to Shiva that has awed pilgrims and travellers alike for a millennium.
