THANJAVUR, KUMBAKONAM

We started from Rameswaram for Thanjavur, a drive of about 5 hours.

The first half of the drive was spent snoozing after the heavy breakfast.

After the coffee break, everyone was game for songs and the bus resounded with melodies.

We reached Thanjavur and checked in at Hotel Lakshmi and occupied our rooms at 1.30 pm.

Lunch was a combo of North Indian and South Indian dishes.

When we assembled at the hotel lobby at 3.30 pm, we did not fail to check out their display of the dancing dolls and gold leaf paintings that Thanjavur is famous for.

We reached Brihadeeswara Temple at 4 pm, after a 15 minute drive. We could spend some three hours in the temple complex.  

What made me jubilant was that there were no restrictions regarding photography ...... 

so I went berserk clicking and clicking to my heart's content, with a vengeance to make up for the Srirangam and Madurai experience.

Brihadishvara Temple in Thanjavur, also called Rajarajesvaram or Peruvudaiyar Kovil is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, and is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Tamil Nadu.  It is one of the largest South Indian temples, an exemplary example of Dravidian architecture and is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the 'Great Living Chola Temples'. It is renowned for the quality of its sculpture, and also as the location that commissioned the brass Nataraja – Shiva as the lord of dance, in 11th century.

Built in the year 1010 CE by Raja Raja Chola in Thanjavur, the temple is popularly known as the Thanjavur Big Temple. It turned 1000 years old in September 2010.

The original monuments of this 11th century temple were built around a moat. It included gopura, the main temple, its massive tower, inscriptions, frescoes and sculptures predominantly related to Shaivism, and also to Vaishnavism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism. The temple was damaged in its history and some artwork is now missing. Additional mandapam and monuments were added in centuries that followed. The temple now stands amidst fortified walls that were added after the 16th century.

Built out of granite, the vimana tower above the sanctum is one of the tallest in South India. (Some repair works were going on during our visit). It was, in all likelihood, one of the tallest structures in the world at the time of its construction. The complex includes shrines for Nandi, Parvati, Kartikeya, Ganesha, Sabhapati, Dakshinamurti, Chandeshvara, Varahi and others. The temple has a massive colonnaded prakara (corridor) and one of the largest Shiva lingas in India.

The main temple along with its gopurams are from the early 11th century. The temple also saw additions, renovations, and repairs over the next 1,000 years. The raids and wars, particularly between Muslim Sultans who controlled Madurai and Hindu kings who controlled Thanjavur caused damage. These were repaired by Hindu dynasties that regained control. Also murals were redone, new shrines constructed.

The temple complex integrates a large pillared and covered veranda (prakara) in its spacious courtyard, along its perimeter) for circumambulation. Outside this pillared veranda there are two walls of enclosure.

In rectangular temple complex are five main sections: the sanctum with the towering superstructure (Sri Vimana), the Nandi hall in front (Nandi-mandapam) and in between these the main community hall (mukhamandapam), the great gathering hall (mahamandapam) and the pavilion that connects the great hall with the sanctum (ardhamandapam).

The entrance is so fascinating that you tend to stand and stare at the beautiful sculptures adorning the top portion. 

Next you come to another gopura, equally magnificent.

There are dwarpalas (guards) sculpted in stone, standing on either side of both the entrances.

The  Sri vimana is simply out of the world. The interior of the sanctum sanctorum hosts an image of the primary deity, Shiva, in the form of a huge stone lingam. It is called Karuvarai, a Tamil word that means 'womb chamber'. This space is called garbha griha in other parts of India. Only priests are allowed to enter this inner-most chamber.

Nandi mandapam has a monolithic seated bull facing the sanctum. In between them are stairs leading to a columned porch and community gathering hall, then an inner mandapam connecting to the pradakshina patha, or circumambulation path. 

The Nandi (bull) facing the mukh-mandapam weighs about 25 tonnes. It is made of a single stone and is one of the largest in the country. We looked like dwarfs in front of the giant Nandi.

Nayaka dynasty ceiling mural in the Nandi shrine is still colorful. 

After darshan of Nandi, we joined the short queue and climbed up the steps to have darshan of the awe-inspiring Shiva lingam in the main temple. 

There are two major shrines, one for Parvati ...

and another for Kartikeya, in addition to smaller shrines dedicated to Ganesha, Chandeshvara, Karuvur deva (the guru of Rajaraja Chola),  and Nataraja all around the temple complex.

The temple has Tamil inscriptions from the 11th century.

Wonderful sculptures all around attracted us.

Elephant reliefs were so true to life.

Horse sculptures - we could touch their tongue too. 

Wall relief details were so intricate .....

We strolled along the prakara and took in the views from different angles.

After enjoying the round of the entire temple complex, we chose to relax in the sprawling precincts ......

savoring the beauty of the structures during sunset. 

The Brihadeeswara temple at Thanjavur is the site of annual dance festivals around February, around the Mahashivratri, when major classical Indian dance form artists, as well as regional teams, perform at this Brahan Natyanjali festival over 10 days. 

We saw young dancers who were ready to perform later that evening. But we couldn't wait to watch their performance. They obliged us by readily posing for us.

For a little while, we enjoyed the local artists' musical performance that was going on .

It was almost 7 pm, when made our exit from the temple and started back for our hotel.

One good thing about this week-long tour was that we'd be back in the hotel before 8 pm. The mornings would be spent in drive, evenings in temple visit - not a strenuous itinerary at all. But then we would get just one slice of the temple town. The curious cats who would want to discover more about the temples need to take a longer stay at each temple town.

The next morning, we had the ubiquitous South Indian staple idli - vada - dosa - pongal items, along with masala idli, paratha, .....   not to forget continental fare too.

We checked out of our hotel leisurely around 10 am and before leaving for the next destination, we drove to Airavateswara temple, some 40 kms away.

Airavatesvara Temple is a Hindu temple of Dravidian architecture located in the town of Darasuram, near Kumbakonam, Thanjavur District. 

This temple, built by Rajaraja Chola II in the 12th century is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur, and the Temple of Gangaikondacholisvaram at Gangaikonda Cholapuram. All of these temples were built by the Cholas between the 10th and 12th centuries. The temple continues to attract large gatherings of Hindu pilgrims.

The Airavatesvara Shiva temple has a water tank, which has a connected channel that brings in Cauveri River water where Hindus gather annually to take a dip. The local mythology narrates how Airavata, Indra's white elephant was restored with clean, white skin after he took a dip in this tank. That is how this temple got its name.

The stone temple incorporates a chariot structure, 

and has the Nandi inside and also on the top.

Nandis adorn the top of the walls too. 

We climbed up the narrow steps and entered the narrow door, had darshan of the deity and came down.

Shiva's consort has a dedicated shrine called the Periya Nayaki Amman temple. There are deities of Shiva, and Ganesha and Karthikeya, in addition to the Shiva lingam.

It was sunny, but we walked along the sprawling temple, admiring the exotic stone carvings all over the place. 

The temple also includes major Vedic and Puranic deities such as Indra, Agni, Varuna, Vayu, Brahma, Surya, Vishnu, Saptamtrikas, Durga, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Ganga, Yamuna, Subrahmanya, Ganesha, Kama, Rati and others.

There is the statue of Shiva flanked by Brahma and Vishnu.

The details sculpted along the lower borders are very impressive.

There are two sundials namely morning and evening sun dials, seen as wheels of the chariot. 

This temple is a storehouse of art and architecture and has some exquisite stone carvings. 

Although this temple is much smaller than the Brihadeesvara Temple or the Gangaikondacholapuram Temple, it is more exquisite in detail. 

Intricate reliefs adorn the ceilings - wonder how the sculptors must have strained to create them!

The exquisite reliefs all along the base of the main temple narrate the stories of the sixty three Shaiva Bhakti saints called Nayanars. We find it difficult to bend and scrutinize them. Imagine bending for long hours, sculpting such intricate figures on stone!

The chariot wheel, the head and body of the horses and elephant are ruined. It really breaks our heart to see the cracks and ruins in the exotic sculptures. We truly wished some timely restoration work had been done to keep it in better shape.

After the temple visit, our local guide took us to a hand-loom weaving house, where we spent half an hour, once again looking for saris / dress materials. Ladies will never get tired of this fad, believe me.

We drove for lunch to Navadhanya restaurant, Kumbakonam.

It was authentic lunch with delicacies from Tamil Nadu, including vathakozhambu, vaazhathandu (banana stem) poriyal, thayir milagai .... along with chapathis, to cater to the tourists from all over India.

We took our seats in the bus, all ready to enjoy a cozy siesta, during our four hour journey to Puducherry. Bye bye Thanjavur!