Thanjavur was the ancient capital of the Chola kings whose origin goes back to the beginning of the Christian era. Thanjavur, also known as the "Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu" is blessed by the waters of the river Kaveri in south India. Thanjavur is the culture capital of the region. It reached its pinnacle of glory under the later Cholas (10th to 14th centuries AD), under whom several great temples were built and the art of developing bronze figures emerged. They were followed by the Nayaks and Marathas, for the last of whom Thanjavur or Tanjore was the southern capital.

There are 74 temples in Thanjavur, of which the most famous is that of Brihadeeshwara.

The Brihadisvara temple (also spelled Brahadeeswarar temple) is an ancient Hindu temple located at Thanjavur in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. This 10th century CE temple, one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, is a brilliant example of the Dravidian style of temple architecture. The central temple known as the Periya Koil (Big Temple) stands within a fort, whose walls are later additions built during the 16th century. The vimana (main tower) of the temple is about 70 m high and is the tallest in the world.


Rajagopuram (main tower) of the templeThe shikaram (crown), an octagonal, carved cupola, itself is very large and heavy (81.25 tonnes) and (until a few years back) was thought to be carved out of a single stone. However during one of the cleaning efforts, it was found to be in two pieces. The task of carrying this huge crown to a height of 70 m is another feat worth mentioning. In order to do this, an inclined plane of sand was built from a distance of nearly 11 km. The place where this scaffold began is called the Sarap pallam ("Scaffold Pit").

The Brihadisvara temple was built by the great Tamil ruler, Rajaraja Chola I of the Chola dynasty. In the twenty-fifth year of Rajaraja Chola (1009–1010 CE), on the 257th day of the year, the king handed over the copper pot for the final decoration atop the Vimana. It weighed about 107 kg and was overlaid with gold plate of the weight of 292.5 Kalanju (nearly 13 kg). The main deity worshipped the temple is Śiva, in the usual form of a linga.

The Śivalinga of Sri Brihadisvara is probably the grandest in existence. It is the largest Shiva linga in the world. This image was originally called Adavallan (Expert Dancer). Another name was Dakshina Meru Vitanken. Both the names occur in Thiruvisaipa as the names of the deity at Chidambaram. This possibly indicates that the Śaiva creed derived its support at the time mainly from Chidambaram. Rajaraja Chola calls the image Rajarajeswaramudaiyar (The Lord of Rajarajeswaram). The tower over the shrine is named Dakshina Meru after the abode of Lord Śiva at Kailasa.

A remarkable feature of the temple is the great Nandi (stone bull). The Nandi that figures at the entrance is immense in size (a popular belief is that it is growing by the day), and the ceiling of its enclosure is decorated with frescoes in the typical painting style of Thanjavur. The Nandi weighs 27 tonnes and is the second largest in the world.

The tall Rajagopuram of the temple also found use as a survey platform during the measurement of the Great Arc, by the Survey of India under William Lambton. The Great Theodolite used during the Survey of India was damaged in a fall from the roof, and its carefully calibrated plates were bent. This instrument was later repaired at Trichy.