Introduction:

Welcome to Thanjavur.net, the website for the Chola Capital city and the Granary of South India. Thanjavur was the royal city of the Cholas, Nayaks and the Mahrattas.

Thanjavur was at height of its glory during Rajaraja cholan. Let us take Thanjavur back to its past glory in the information age. Thanjavur is still the center of all the classical arts and music. It has produced many classical musicians and bharathanatyam dancers and is also well known for its unique painting style called Tanjore Painting and Thavil, a percussion instrument.

Here we have the ultimate site for all the information about Thanjavur and its neighborhood. It is the capital of the Thanjavur district and its been the center for learning Tamil during Chola and now with the establishment of Tamil University by our late Chief Minister Dr. M.G. Ramachandran. There are a lot of beautiful temples in Thanjavur region. Big Temple stands tall with its beaming tower. It's one of the architectural wonders of the world.
The celebrated Saiva temple at Thanjavur, appropriately called Brihadisvara and Daksinameru, is the grandest creation of the Chola emperor Rajaraja (AD 985-1012). It was inaugurated by the king himself in his 19th regnal year (AD 1009-10) and named it after himself as Rajesvara Peruvudaiyar. Architecturally, it is the most ambitious structural temple built of granite. It has been regarded as a ‘landmark in the evolution of building art in south India’ and its vimana as a ‘touchstone of Indian architecture as a whole’. The temple is within a spacious inner prakara of 240.9 m long (east-west) and 122 m broad (north-south), with a gopura at the east and three other ordinary torana entrances one at each lateral sides and the third at rear. The prakara is surrounded by a double-storeyed malika with parivaralayas. The temple with its massive proportions and simplicity of design provided inspiration for future designs in constructions not only in south India but also in south-east Asia.

Main attraction of Thanjavur:

Brihadisvara Temple and Fort:

Brihadiswara Temple and Fort was constructed in the 10th century by Rajaraja I. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is considered to be an exemplar of Chola architecture. The dome of the temple is reminiscent of the pyramids of Egypt. It is noteworthy that only Hindus are permitted to enter this holy shrine of Lord Shiva.

Thanjavur Royal Palace and Museum:

Thanjavur Palace is a huge building dating back to 1550. Situated near the Brihadiswara temple, the palace was partly built by the Nayakas and partly by the Marathas. It has arsenal towers, broad corridors and gigantic halls. The palace is known to possess an art gallery, a museum and a library. The art gallery of the palace houses a rich collection of bronze statues belonging to the Chola Dynasty.

How to reach Thanjavur:

By Air: The nearest airport is at Trichy, 65 km from Thanjavur.

By Train: Thanjavur is well connected with a network of railways to and from Trichy, Chennai, Madurai and Nagore.

By Road: Well connected by roads to all the major towns and cities in Tamil Nadu, Kochi, Ernakulam, and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala and Bangalore in Karnataka.