Poetry in Stone - 21

This is twenty-first in the series on the rich cultural heritage of ancient temples in India. The ancient temples are richly carved and they behold ones attention for their craftsmanship. One of the prominent sculpture of different type are Yali which has a catlike graceful body, but the head of a lion with tusks of an elephant and tail of a serpent. 

This beautiful sculpture of  Yali with a warrior is in  10th century Ranganathswamy Temple at Srirangam.

This sculpture of  Yali is in the 100 pillar Kalyanmantap at 1624 A.D  Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple at Madurai.

This fabulous sculpture of  Yali with a warrior is in  16th century Veerabadhra Temple of Lepakshi.

This sculpture is prominently seen in South Indian temples.  First one is from  1515 A.D Bala Krishna Temple at Hampi,  6th century Thayumanaswami Temple at Trichy and  1010 A.D Brihadeeswarar Temple at Thanjavur.

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Images of India - 65

A glimpse of heritage monument of India in black and white. Check other posts that will give you more details about this monument.

Entrance gate of Tanjore Temple

Images of India - 3

A glimpse of heritage monument of India in black and white. Other posts will give you more details about this monument.

Brihadeeshwar Temple tower at Tanjore

Poetry in Stone - 13

This is thirteenth in the series on the rich cultural heritage of ancient temples in India.  They are richly carved and they behold ones attention for their craftsmanship. Some of these temples have carvings of Goddess Lakshmi in various forms. Each of these sculptures are marvel stone in their own right.

In the Brihadeeshwara Temple at Gangaikondacholapuram on the exterior walls there is a magnificent larger than life sculpture of Lakshmi. On the Lotus flower in the sitting posture with 4 hands every minute details have been beautifully carved.

In the Kailasha Temple at Ellora, there is a beautiful sculpture of Lakshmi surrounded by elephants. Here she is known as Gajalakshmi.

There are many more such sculptures of the Goddess in the various temples decorating the exterior walls. Here we see some of those sculptures. First one is at Brihadeshwar Temple at Tanjore. The second one again the larger than life sculpture is at Kailasha Temple, Ellora. The third one is at Srirangapattana Temple where Laksmi is sitting at the feet of Vishnu. I shall feature more such sculptures as I discover them. 

Royal Palace, Thanjavur

The Royal Palace of Thanjavur was built durinr the reign of Nayak's sometime during mid 17th century. After the fall of Nayak's the place was ruled by Marathas. They further developed this palace and used it as their residence.

Marathas had control over this region even after British took over most of their kingdom. The palace complex has several sections like Sadar Mahal Palace, the queen's courtyard and the Durbar Hall.

To understand how the place would have been in the olden days one has to see the Durball Hall. It is is beautifully painted and one can see several designs and patterns here.

In the complex there is also a huge 190 ft high tower with eight storeys and it is known as Goodagopuram. This was used as a watch tower and also the storage for armory during those days.

Nandi at Brhadeeswarar Temple, Tanjavur

In the 1000 year old Brhadeeswarar Temple complex of Tanjavur there are several sculptures of Nandi. Some of them are on the tower of the temple.

The Main Nandhi is made up of huge monolithic stone is housed in a Mandapam with numerous pillars. It is 13 feet in height. The Nandhi and the mandapam were erected during the Nayaks period 1000 years back. The Nadhi is erected here before the flag-mast and such a Nandhi is called Porkala Nandhi or Wartime Nandhi.

The ceiling of the Nandi mandapam is beautifully painted. Centuries old paintings have passed the test of time so far.

At the top of the temple tower near its neck there are 8 Nandhis facing the 8 directs. These Nandi are visible prominently even while standing on the ground near the temple. They are huge and carved from single stone. There is also a Nandhi of the similar scale on the Southern side of the temple.

Tower of Brahadeeswarar Temple, Tanjavur

The 1000 year old Brihadeeswarar Temple of Thanjavur has a magnificent tower that has been carved beautifully. On a square base stands the tall pyramidal structure of 66 meters in height, above which an enormous dome-like crown is placed.

The complete tower is built using granite rocks and the sculptures on them are held by a thin layer of mortar. There are 13 stages in the tower and the the first three stages of the tower houses the various forms of Lord Shiva and Parvathi including the Bichadanar, Lingothbavar, Durga, Shiva & Parvathi in natural standing pose.

Not only the outer view and the sculptures housed on the tower is amazing, the construction style of it is an architectural wonder. The tower is carved in such a way that at no time the shadow of huge tower does not fall on the ground.

On the front side of the tower in the east direction there is a sculptures that represent the abode of Lord Shiva called as Mahameru. One can see on this other Gods like Ganapathy, Subramania. This prominent masterpiece spans 3 stage of the tower from the 3rd to 5th stage.

At the top the tower is a monolithic huge octagonal crown of 7.8 meters height and weighing approximately 81 tones. Above this is the shining Kalasam of 12 feet height made up of gold. Also at the top of the tower are 8 nandhi's one in each corner. These Nandhi's are huge and each of them are carved from single stone.

Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur

The Brihadeeswarar Temple at Thanjavur is the world's first complete granite temple. Built in 1010 A.D under the patronage of King Raja Raja Chola I of Chola Dynasty it is a Dravidian architectural masterpiece. This temple is also popularly known as the ‘Big Temple'.

The entire temple area is constructed using hard granite stones. The temple complex is surrounded by fortified walls. The complex is made up of many structures that are aligned axially. Inside the complex there is main temple, a Nandi, a pillared hall and an assembly hall and many sub-shrines.

The main temple tower is 216 ft in height and is among the tallest of its kind in the world. There is a big 13 ft statue of Nandi carved out of a single rock, at the entrance in front of the main shrine. The garbhagriha is square and sits on a plinth. In the center is placed the image of the Lord Shiva.

The external surface of the temple has been richly carved and is a treat to the eyes. The entire surface is treated with high quality sculpture of myriad manifestations of Shiva.

The temple is part of UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Next we will see more details of the temple tower.

Serfoji Saraswathi Mahal Library, Thanjavur

Located in campus of the Royal Palace of Thanjavur, it is one of the oldest libraries in World. The library has exceptional collection of books, manuscripts, paintings and other valuable items. This library was started sometime between 1535 - 1675 AD by the Nayak Kings of Thanjavur. From 1875 the Maratha rulers further developed this library until 1855.

Most notable among the Maratha Kings was Serfoji II. He took special interest in the enrichment of the Library. He employed many learned people to collect vast number of works from all renowned Centers of learning. As a tribute to the Great Collector Serfoji, the Library has been named after him.

The library has a rare collection of palm leaf, and paper manuscripts in Indian and European languages. Over 80% of its manuscripts are in Sanskrit. The manuscripts on palm leaves are very unique. There are manuscripts covering a wide area of literature, music and medicine. Some of the manuscripts are from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.

A Museum is located in the Library building and one can see some of these items on display. This Museum is small but organized into sections highlighting ancient manuscripts, printed copies of the original drawings, paintings.

Thanjavur, Rice bowl of Tamil Nadu

From Chidambaram we drove to Thanjavur to see the magnificent place, the treasure house of art and handicrafts. This city is one of the ancient cities in India and has a long and varied history. The city came into prominence during the Chola period between the 9th and 14th centuries A.D. Later it further flourished during the rule of the Nayaks and Mahrathas. The city is an important agricultural center is known as the "Rice bowl of Tamil Nadu".

It is well known for handicrafts ranging from pithwork, bronze icons, Thanjavur paintings and the classical South Indian musical instruments. It is regarded as the major learning centre for culture and education.

The main tourist attractions in the place are:

• Brihadeeswara Temple, a World Heritage Site (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
• Royal Palace
• Serfoji's Saraswathi Mahal Library

We will soon explore these above places.

Travel Photo Challenge

BlogAdda has organized a ‘Travel Photos Contest’. After a long time I am seeing a contest in my area of interest - travel and photography. So I am glad to participate in this, where I have to post 5 of my best travel photographs as I see it.

The above image is of Jaisalmer Golden Fort taken during the Rajasthan tour. Built in 1156 on the Trikura Hill it is one of the oldest forts that has 99 bastions around its circumference and is protected by three walls. Why the fort is called so, is very much evident when Sun rays fall on the fort. I wanted to capture the fort shining like gold in the night when focused by light and went around the fort to get the best possible view. The shot which was taken with film SLR camera without the support of tripod when developed was truly satisfying.

The above image is of Brhihadeeshwrar Temple in Tanjore taken during the Tamil Nadu tour. This Big Temple was built during the period 985 -1012 A.D. Because of its unique architectural excellence the UNESCO has declared it a World Heritage Monument. It was a pleasure to capture the gigantic temple and the big Nandi Mantappa in one frame. The size of the people around the temple gives us an idea of how huge the temple really is.

The above image is of Jog Falls taken during the Karnataka tour. The sight of river Sharavathi taking a leap from a height of 900 feet is spectacular. It is the highest waterfall in India. When we had visited the place it was the beginning of the rainy season and on the day it rained heavily with low flying clouds. It was a challenge to capture the beautiful waterfall in image because of low flying clouds blocking the view.

The above image is of Qutub Minar taken during the Delhi tour. Measuring 72.5 meters is the world's tallest brick minaret. Construction of this started in 1193 and the topmost story of the minaret was completed in 1386. It is surrounded by various medieval and ancient structures. People will love to capture this monument in various angles along with other ruins surrounding it. This image is one such attempt.

Finally the above is image of Glass House at Lalbagh Botanical Gardens in Bangalore. This beautiful garden of 40 acres is home for various rare plants. It is regarded as one of the best gardens in Eastern part of the World. The glass house when lighted in the night looks more beautiful than during the day time. The shot which was taken with film SLR camera without the support of tripod when developed was truly satisfying.

India is such a wonderful treasure of architecture, nature, and wildlife it is very difficult to choose only 5 images. Each image have their own story to tell. Truly a Picture is worth a thousand words.