Thanjavur

Thanjavur (earlier known as Tanjore) is known as the royal city of the Chola, Nayak and the Maratha rulers.

Tanjore is a small city in Tamilnadu which lies to the east of Trichy. Tanjore also known as Thajavur is a divine land with lots of incredible temples. Though the city is small it has lots of amazing places to visit. The world renowned “Tanjore big temple” built by the great Chola king “ Raja raja Cholan is located here. Tanjore is a promising agricultural land in cultivating corns, millets and rice. Tanjore is also famous for paintings and Veena making. Every tourist destinations here manifest the glorious history of Tanjore.

The lore has it that the city was named after the great demon “ Thanjan” who was killed by lord Vishnu in this place. Yet another version states that the city gets its name from Than-sei-oor, which means a place surrounded by rivers and green paddy fields. This city was ruled by many, but flourished under the rule of Chola Empire and Tanjore acted as the Chola dynasty headquarters for some period.

The Brihadeeswara Temple, also known as the Temple of Great Lord Shiva, is a Hindu temple located in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. It is considered one of the largest and most impressive structures ever built in India, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The temple was built in the 11th century AD during the reign of Rajaraja I and is dedicated to Shiva as the universal god. The temple complex covers an area of 40 acres and features a range of impressive structures including the magnificent main gate, the vimana or sanctuary, and the gopuram or outer gateway. The temple is also

Brihadeeswara Temple

Location:   map.             

Timing: 6 AM – 12 noon and 4 PM – 9 PM                          

How to get here?

Tanjore is a well-developed city, having transport facilities to all parts of the city.

Bus:

There are direct busses to Tanjore from cities like Madurai, Trichy, Pudukkottai and chennai. The main bus stand has bus facilities to all major cities of Tamilnadu.

Rail:

Rains including Rameshwaram express, Velankanni special train, Boat mail and sethu express arrive at Tanjore junction regularly. There are lots of train frequencies to Trichy.

Airport:

Tanjore didn’t have its own airport. The nearest airport is at Trichy.

History & Culture

Tanjore has a rich history and a legendary past. Tanjore was ruled by many rulers including Chola, Chera and Pandya.

The legend has it that Tanjore got its name after the great demon Tanjasuran, who was beheaded by Lord Vishnu in order to bring peace to the world. During the reign of Cholas Tanjore changed tremendously, during which lots of improvisation were done in the field of art, literature, and agriculture. Tanjore served as the capital of Cholas till 13th century AD. Later as Rajendra Cholan took over the throne he shifted the capital to Ganagaikonda Cholapuram. And soon the Cholan dynasty faced a great fall and was eventually captured by Pandiyas. Rule of Pandyas also didn’t last long, soon it was took over by the Nayaks. Nayaks rule Tanjore successfully for about hundred and twenty five years. Later in the year 1749, the Mahrattas ruled Tanjore for next hundred and seventy nine years. By the year 1773 Tanjore was captured by the British.

People of Tanjore are very friendly and highly artistic. Most of the people indulge themselves in creating art works, paintings and toy making. Tanjore Veena one of the important traditional musical instrument is very famous.

Tourist Attractions

Thanjavur is popularly known as the Delta area and the Rice Bowl of Tamilnadu.

Tanjore palace:

This palace was the residence of Nayaks and Marathas. The architecture of the palace is truly amazing

Tanjavur Palace is known for its fine masonry, there are two Dubar halls designed with exemplary art work. The palace comprises of temples, fountains and parks. There is also palace watch tower, the armoury tower and grand museum.

Saraswathy library mahal

This library is one of the oldest libraries in Asia. The collection has about 60,000 volumes and few of them are on display.

The rare palm manuscripts written many eons back in various language including Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, English and many more languages can be seen here.

This library was created for the use of Royal people of Nayaks who ruled Tanjore in the year 1535 – 1675 AD. Later this library was developed by Maratha rulers. Maharaj Serfoji done a great contribution to this library and so to honour him the library name has been changed to “The Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji’s Saraswati Mahal Library”.

Brahadeeswarar temple:

Brahadeeswarar temple is an icon of Tanjore city. This temple is dedicated to lord shiva Brahadeeswarar temple is widely known as the Tanjore Big temple. This temple is a standing exemplar of the peerless architectural knowledge of Cholas. This colossal temple was built by the great king Raja Raja Cholan (985-1012). The Mani sanctum is erected to the height of 15 mts with the grand vimanah which is carved out from a single rock. It is an architectural marvel that the shadow of the tower never falls on the ground.

Sangeetha Mahal

Sangeetha mahal is a perfect place to study and observe music. This mahal was built by Raja Serfoji.

Sangeetha mahal or the Hall of Music is a grand palace specially built to exhibit the musical wonders. This music hall was built by Raja Serfoji in the year 1779 AD. Raja Serfoji had a great interest in music and he built this mahal as a token of love to the Spanish Missionary Rev CV Schwart, who taught music to Raja Serfoji. This mahal is full and fully dedicated to music and exhibit all musical instruments, and notes.

Raja Raja museum

Raja Raja museum is one of the notable places to visit at Tanjore. This museum is located inside the palace.

Raja Raja museum flaunts all kinds of Bronze utensils, belonging to various era and different countries. We can witness soldier armours, luxurious attires of the kings and queens, cooking vessels, artifacts made of elephant tusks, silver, china wears and lot more. This museum exhibits lots of statues, most notable among them are Bhairava, Umasahita Siva, kali, Somaskanda and Ram Lakshmanan

Highlights

There lots of places to hangout and things to do at tanjore. This land of agriculture is famous for temples, and doll making.

Tanjore is known for many things including agriculture, Painting, music, instrument making bronze statue casting, exquisite artifacts, handicrafts silk saree weaving, musical instruments like veena and mridhangam making. Tanjore thailyatti bommai is world famous. Tanjore cuisine needs a special mention as, the food served here is extremely palatial.

Tanjore Big temple is a architectural marvel which can’t be replicated in future. This temple is a pride of Tamilnadu and has been titled as the world heritage site by the UNESCO.

Festivals

People of Tanjore celebrate every festival in great manner. As the people of Tanjore are mostly artist and musicians, they commemorate musical festivals in a great manner.

Natyanjali Dance Festival:

Natayanjali dance festival is dedicated to lord shiva “the cosmic dancer”. This festival take place during the mahashivarathiri.

Natyanjali dance festival is celebrated in a grand manner in Tanjore Big temple. One this eve dancers and musician from various parts of Tamilnadu throng at Brahadeeswarar temple of Tanjore. It is a great sight to behold the group dance of Bharathanatiyam dancers.

Classic Musical Festival:

Dancers and Singers from all over India participate in this ‘Margazhi Festival of Dance and Music’ to exhibit their talents and to hail their traditional art. This festival falls in the month of mid-December. It is a feast to our eyes and ears to see artist’s excellent performance on the stage.

Pongal – Festivals:

Pongal is the famer’s festival, which is celebrated in a grand manner at Tanjore. On this day people worship Sun god for his blessings.

Like rest of Tamilnadu Pongal is commemorated in a great manner at Tanjore. On this auspicious day people cook sweet pudding called Pongal and offer it to Sun lord and farm animals who are responsible for the production in the fields.

Christmas- Festival:

Christmas is celebrated in a grand manner at Tanjore. On this day people visit the church and exchange sweets and gifts.

Christmas is also celebrated in a great manner at Tanjore. People adore their houses with colorful stars irrespective of religion. On this eve they share sweet and happiness among their family and friends.