Great Chola Temple @ Thanjavur

Last week I had a chance to visit the city of Thanjavur, the capital of the Great Chola Kingdom and the glorious Chola Architecture Rajarajeswaram (Thanjai Periya Kovil), the grandest construction of the Emperor Rajaraja Cholan (AD 985-1012). I have visited this temple so many times, but this time it was very special. As a mature man, I viewed this Granite Architectural marvel with owe. 

It is a huge complex filled with many temple, the bigger one in the middle, some sub temples, few halls and a massive wall and few towers. The whole complex is constructed of granite. It is said that the granite is not available in the neighbourhood and brought from a distance; in those days it was a real challenge to have such a huge structure.

  

The happy thing is there is no entrance free, and one can without any fee take photography/ videography with handheld cameras (except the sanctum sanctorum). Even the fee collected for car parking is very minimal.

The climate is very hot now (March), probably November- January would be the best time to visit, or else you may burn your skin, if you visit the temple during the day time.