Brihadeeswarar Temple "A Peerless Piece of Chola Architecture"

Another magnificent temple in South India is dedicated to Lord Shiva. This temple is located on the South bank of the Kaveri River in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. Peruvudaiyar Kovil, mostly known as Brihadeeswarar Temple, Raja Rajeshwara And Rajarajeswaram Temple.
 

The Statue of Nandi at the temple

It is a peerless piece of architecture and represents the culture of the Chola Dynasty in India. This temple is built in Dravidian architecture and was built by Tamil King Raja Raja Chola I between 1003 and 1010 AD, also listed in UNESCO World Heritage Site known as "Great Living Chola Temples". 

Due to lack of restoration and ignorance, some parts of it was damaged and some of its artwork is missing now.

Although South India is full of temples, but this was one of the tallest structures in the world at the time of its construction. The temple has a massive collonaded prakara (corridor) and is also one of the largest Shiva Lingas in India. There is a big statue of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single rock measuring about 16 ft (4.9 m) long and 13 ft (4.0 m) high at the entrance. The entire temple structure is made out of granite.

Tamil Inscription at the temple walls..........

We will be back with another temple of India with its magnificent architecture......