Brihadeeswarar Temple – Attractions
Shadow disappears at Noon:
The most astonishing feature linked
to architecture of this world’s tallest temple is the
Vimana of temple does not cast shadow during noon time all throughout
the year.
First All Granite Temple:
The first ever temple in the whole world that has used
granite in its construction and is also the world’s tallest temple is the Brihadeeshwara
temple. The area where the temple is located has no sign of having granite even
in its nearby areas. The source of having a large quantity of granite that has
been used in the temple construction has yet not been known.
There is no pit of granite in the 100 km radius where
the temple is constructed and hence it has been calculated that a
huge logistics would have been required to move the stone to construction site.
Other than granite being difficult to find, it is even harder to carve the
granite. The temple was built by the Chola community who wanted to cover the
entire temple with the complex carved designs.
Till Date it’s the tallest temple:
The construction of the temple took almost a time
of seven years that also included the movement of the granite from an unknown
source to the construction site. It has been estimated that every day
almost 50 tons of rock was brought, carved and then aligned for the completion
of the temple. In 1003 CE, the construction of the temple was
completed and it was ranked as the countries tallest temple with a magnitude
order of 10.
This temple has still been the tallest temple of the
country with the total height of 216 feet. The Vimana also known with the name
“airplane” stands on the top of the temple holds a weight of almost 80 tons.
One of the main attractions of the Brihadeeshwara temple is that the
tower of the temple stands on the altars has higher elevation than the towers
that stand on gourami located on the temple entrance. At the time of twilight,
the light lighted on the top of the dome appears like a shining planet.
Musical Pillars:
The altar located at the entrance of
the temple has two idols of Lord Ganesha. When one taps any one of
the idol, it produces a sound that travels towards the other idol traversing
through the stone at one end while metal towards the other end. The dancers
and musicians performed for Lord Shiva in main hall of
the temple. Various pillars of the temple produce different musical
sounds.