Raja Raja Chozha” who left an indelible mark Raja Raja Chozha was the second son of the king Sundara of Chozha kingdom and Madhavi of the Chera kingdom, born between 957 CE and 973 CE 15 years past his father’s demise, he took throne in a democratic manner. With this ascension to the throne he was rechristened from Arulmozhi Varman to the illustrious “Raja Raja Cholan” The kingdom saw its heydays under his rule. It was a golden period in the south Indian history A true wizard of warcraft, he conquered and ruled the heart & people of Srilanka and a large part of India He put together a mighty naval empire with neatly listed ranks and divisions.
Raja Raja Cholan
He is credited for introducing “Elephantry” as a fighting unit in warfare Not contented with his individual finesse and mastery of war techniques and strategy, he was diligent in building a disciplined war unit with over 28 specialized divisions including elephantry, archery etc.. Raja Raja Cholan had a totally of 10 lakh soldiers Krishnan Raman was the commander in chief of the million strong infantry unit A true believer of Lord Shiva, he established a temple in memory of his cherished God in every territory that he annexed Raja Raja Cholan was a proponent and connoisseur of arts and artifacts. He envisaged erecting a temple that would withstand centuries if not millenniums. The inextinguishable thirst to build a majestic temple set its seeds when he witnessed the majestic Kailayanathar (Shiva temple) in the city of Kanchi built by the king Raja Simhan His sister Kundhavai was supportive of such a monumental project With the blessings of Karuvooraar, his spiritual master & with the support of two of his best engineers Kunjaramallan and Rajaraja Perunthachchan, Raja Raja chozhan breathed life into the blue prints of the great edifice Granite stones weighing over 130,000 tonnes were lugged over 69 miles of distance from the hills of Narthamalai The most exiquisite natural methods were adapted to break the rocks As a first step, holes were drilled in a neat single file and filled with water. Following which timber were inserted into the holes. A perfect cube of rock gave away as the timber expands in the water Over 30,000 elephants were employed to haul the granites to the construction site 600 of the finest sculptors and over a 100,000 task force were engaged in the exalted project Temporary walls were erected. Intricate spiral and circuitous path were paved to carry the stones to the top of the temple tower the stunning 81 ton single rock atop the tower was carried up by establishing sloping pavements of implausible dimensions. Elephants were used intelligently to move the rock over timber rollers over the great distances and against all odds He believed the project was never about him as an individual but rather an outcome of a collective effort. He encouraged participation across all corridors of people including his family, government staff and the common people He ensured all the participant’s names in the mammoth effort were recorded in the stone engravings for the annals of history During the construction, a poor and elderly woman of the cowherd clan known as “Azhagi” Was overwhelmed by her piety towards Lord Shiva and extended her support to the construction workers. She quenched the thirst of the workers by supplying them with rich milk & yoghurt at regular intervals to her capacity. No little deed missed the attention our emperor Raja Raja Chozha.
He recognized her effort and ensured that her name was not only set in stone but as a sign of respect it should be engraved on the stone right atop the temple tower He erected a gigantic idol of Lord Shiva commensurate with the quantum of piety he had on his endearing God and for the Tamil language Indeed, the base height beneath the sanctum had to be 18 feet congruous to the 18 consonants in Tamil, while the height of the Lord himself had to 12 feet synonymous to the 12 vowels in the language The height of the temple tower was set as 216 feet equalling the product of number of vowels and consonants (12*18= 216) It was apt to maintain a distance of 247 feet between the Lord Shiva and his God’s vehicle Nandi equalling the total unique letters in Tamil which is 247.
Brihadeeswara temple is the most ancient and mysterious temple in Thanjavur. This temple was built by the great king Rajaraja Chola between the period of 1005 to 1010.
By looking at this temple, we can feel the prosperity of our country in those ancient times. and by seeing the ancient stones of this temple, “Kunjara Mallan Raja Raja Perunthachan” is the architect of this famous temple.
Things about the Thanjavur Big Temple:
There are nearly 100s of underground passes to reach various places around the Thanjavur temple. Which means it has the secret underground passes to reach Raja Raja Cholan palace and other essential destination places also? And the maximum number of underground paths is sealed by the government. Because people can choose the wrong path to get outside the underground, which also has some mysterious ways to arrive. So, by seeing these underground paths, the scientist has stated that the Chola kingdom has strong security to safeguard them.
Hindu festivals like Deepavali, Makara Sankranti, Maha Shivratri and other festivals have the crowd of lakhs of peoples in the temple. So, that time these routes were used by the kings, queens and saints who has to reach the temple safely. And these underground paths are built at a little bit height for the comforts of king Rajaraja Chola.
Huge Cap Stone:
And the other greatest wonder of the Thanjavur big temple is Huge granite Cape Stone which amused everyone. And visitors to that temple has questioned by thinking how they carried to the massive top? It is not a small stone or rocks, Because it weighs up to 80 tons.
How the builders successfully placed the heavy cape stone at the top of the temple at the height of 216 feet?
First, we can see why this cape stone was placed on the top of the temple.
The Garbhagriha, were the shiv lingam is placed, which has a vast amount of positive electromagnetic energies. But these positive energies are released out of the temple without no use. So, this 80- tone stone was kept as an energy-absorbing force which makes the energy to keep in the temple perimeter and keep the place divine and peaceful. If you were going to visit the Thanjavur big temple, close your eyes, and sit for a while to feel the divine.
Nowadays there are many types of equipment has been invented to lift up the vast stones, But before 1000 years ago, there were no equipment’s used to place this huge stone. And this impossible mission was completed by using the elephants and army men’s as their primary source for lifting the stone.
And through this platform, a vast elephant army and many warriors carried out this massive stone. So, remember guys, how challenging to drag these stones by them.
Painting in Thanjavur Big Temple:
There are lots of paintings in the Thanjavur big temple that explains the kingdom of Cholas. some paintings also explain about the Rajaraja Cholas divine to lord shiva. Specifically, Thanjavur has a unique history of Indian paintings. Because these paintings seem very beautiful and show the visibility of recently painted. And many world-famous painters are questioning how these paintings are still looking fresh and beautiful like recently painted. And if you visit this temple, don’t miss the fantastic paintings to watch.
Granite Stones:
The granite stones are one of the most vital rocks in the world. So, it is tough to carve the designs on granite stones without any powerful equipment’s. Granites stones are weighty, and the movement of huge rocks from one place to another is extremely tough. Moreover, nearly 1,30,000 tons of granites are used to build the Thanjavur temple. And these granites are bought from 80 km from the temple.
For carrying these massive granites, 1000s of elephants and 5000 horse carts are used to bring in that place. After the completion of the work, Raja Raja Chola and his engineers became the master of building the temple through granites.
Cutting and Curving:
The cutting and carving of the granite stone are exceedingly complicated. While at the time of British ruling our nation, they decided to build the carve in the granite. But immensely failed to make it. But they immensely failed to build it. Rajaraja Chola’s selfless and patience towards lord shiva makes the massive history of the temple. And while building the temple, he damns sure not to destroy the nature at any situation. Whenever he cuts the trees from the forest, an equal and double number of trees were planted. For cutting these granite rocks, they used a technical method. For, they make a-holes in the stone and pour some water to fill in the rocks which cause the rocks to crack easily in a few days. And they cut and curve the granites according to the shapes. But even today it is impossible to build another Thanjavur big temple by using modern technology. So, not only our India, the whole world was getting amused by seeing the arts and sculptures of our TamilNadu.
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