Sunday, January 3, 2016

Brihadeeswarar Temple – Attractions

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.