My visit to the internationally renowned Brihadeeshwara Temple of Thanjavur : A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Par Excellence

My visit to the internationally renowned Brihadeeshwara Temple of Thanjavur : A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Par Excellence

A Brief Write-Up On Our Visit To This Shrine Follows, The Following Pictures Of This Sacred Shrine, Of The Chola Period Of South India : Please Don't Miss It.  

 In the beginning of this year, perhaps sometime in the middle of January 2017, WE THREE, I mean Me, Shekhar & Pappu, undertook a spiritually & culturally adventurous trip to the town of Kumbakonam & Thanjavur, in the state of Tamil Nadu. The trip was to enjoy the glorious cultural heritage of my place of birth, after several decades. 

Chola Period was one of the greatest periods, in the history of medieval India. It was the golden period of Tamizhagam, when sculpture, classical music & dance, architecture, literature, ethnic textiles, and all forms of finearts, flourished, like never ever before.

Rohan was dumbstruck, looking at the temple architectural wonders & sculptures of Kumbakonam & Thanjavur. He was simply amazed, astonished, astounded, awestruck, bowled over, dumbfounded, thunderstruck, flabbergasted, stunned, stupefied, to realize that such timeless, ageless ancient marvels exist in our own dearest Motherland, and we sightless vertical beings, are wandering around the Globe like maniacs, on overseas holidays, exploring the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Sumerian, Mayan, Aztecs & Roman civilizations, for their awe-inspiring Architectural Wonders & Sculptures.

Shouldn't we then start our quest, right from our own Motherland, to begin with ???

One such Architectural Wonder of the great Chola period, was the Brihadeeshwara Temple, of the city of Thanjavur. When we entered the temple premises, in the early morning hours, soul

stirring Thevaaram was echoing all around the shrine, including the Sanctum Sanctorum of the presiding deity, a Massive 'Shiva Lingam'. 

Had heard before, that something called 'Thevaaram' exists. But never knew, it's capable of arousing the sublime emotions, burried inside us, so intensely. I was immediately shifted to some other plane of existence, some other dimension, by these special sound vibrations, in the language of a Physicist.

Holy Kumbakonam is flooded with Shiva Temples, in every corner, every Galli. And the great Thevaaram is a common feature, in all the local Shiva Temples there.

This suddenly reminded me of a Sanskrit Shloka by our Sage of the last century 'Kanchi Paramacharya', in his Immortal Work 'Deivatthin Kural' ( தெய்வத்தின்  குரல் ) (Hindu Dharma )

अन्यक्षेत्रे कृतं पापं , पुण्यक्षेत्रे विनश्यति I
पुण्यक्षेत्रे कृतं पापं , वाराणास्ये विनश्यति I
वाराणास्ये कृतं पापं , कुम्भकोणे विनश्यति I
कुम्भकोणे कृतं पापं , कुम्भकोणे विनश्यति I

The purport of this Shloka is that, Kumbhakonam is the holiest of all holy places, in the world.

As a child, born in this place, I could never realise, the depth of spiritual & cultural heritage, burried inside every inch of the soil of Kumbakonam. But now when I am moving towards the 6th decade of my life, the marvels of this region, look irresistibly mesmerizing, beyond compare. And I feel very proud today, to tell the world, that I was born, several decades ago, in this culturally rich sacred soil, of ancient India