Brihadisvara Temple

Brihadisvara temple located in the town of Thanjavur in the state ofTamil Nadu in India is an exemplary production in the Dravidian style of temple architecture.

It was built by one of the greatest emperors, king Raja Raja Chola of the Chola dynasty. In the twenty-fifth year of Rajaraja Cholan (A.D 1009-10) on the 257th day of the year the king handed over the copper pot for the finial at the top of the Vimana. It weighed about 235 lbs., and was overlaid with gold plate of the weight of 292.5 Kalanju or nearly 35 lbs. Troy. The main deity of the temple is Siva Linga.

The Sivalinga of Sri Brihadisvara is probably the grandest in existence. This image was originally called Adavallan (the one who is good in Dance). Another name was Dakshina-Meru Vitanken. Both the name occur in Thiruvisaipa as the names of the deity at Chidambaram. This possibly indicates that the Saiva creed derived its support at the time mainly from Chidambaram. Rajaraja Cholan calls the image Rajarajeswaramudaiyar, - The Lord of Rajarajeswaram. The tower over the shrine is named Dakshina-Meru after the abode of Lord Shiva at Kailasam, the Uttara-Meru.

The Brihadisvara Temple is listed as one of the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.