Thanjavur Tanjore)

Thanjavur was the capital of the Chola Empire from the 9th to the 13th centuries. The Chola dynasty controlled a good part of South India and Sri Lanka. They celebrated many of their victories by constructing temples, financed by the defeated party. There are over 70 temples in Thanjavur, the most important being the famous Brihadeeswara Temple, which is the main reason to come here. Thanjavur is situated halfway between Tiruchirappalli (60km) and the coast. It is 35km southwest of Kumbakonam and 334km south of Chennai.

In Thiruvaiyaru, 14km away, there is a Carnatic classical musical festival in January, in honor of the Carnatic music saint, Thyagaraja.

Getting Your Bearings
The Grand Anicut Canal divides the city into a northern and southern part. The old city is between the Grand Anicut Canal in the south and the Vadavar River in the north. The Brihadeeswara Temple is in the southwest part of the old city on Hospital Rd, by the canal. The palace is in the center of the city, about 1km from the canal.

Most of the hotels, souvenir shops, and the tourist office are on Gandhiji Road. The railway station is about half a km south of the canal at the southern end of Gandhiji Road (Railway Station Road). The bus station is in the south part of the old city, by the canal.

Information
There is a Tamil Nadu Tourist Office (223017) at the Hotel Tamil Nadu on Gandhiji Rd (daily 9 am to 4 pm). There is also a Tourist Office across from the GPO. They organize a temple tour of Thanjavur and the area. Open Mon to Fri 10 am to 5.30 pm.

The Canara Bank on South Main Rd is a good place to change travelers cheques. State Bank of India, Hospital Rd. The Hotel Parisutham change money after banking hours, but at a bad rate.

The post office is on Gandhiji Rd, near the railway station, and is open daily 10 am to 4 pm and Sun 10 am to noon. The telegraph office next door is open 24 hours. Postal Code 643001.

Internet at BBC Net, NKM Rd (9am-9pm) for Rs 25 per hr and Netcafe Internet Zone (338148), Gandhiji Rd (9am-11pm) for Rs 25 per hr.

Brihadeeswara Temple
This magnificent Siva temple was built in 1003 AD by King Rajaraja I, the Chola King. It is considered one of the grandest temples in India. The main shrine is dedicated to Lord Siva. The story of the temple is that King Rajaraja, being unable to cure his leprosy, was instructed by his spiritual teacher to bring a Siva-linga from the Narmada River and construct a temple for it. He went and got a linga from the river and then the linga started to grow and became huge. King Rajaraja then had to build a huge temple to put it in.

This temple is unique because the vimana (the tower over the altar) soars into the sky, while the gopurams (the towers over the entrance) are small. The 14-storey tower of the temple is 64 metres (216 ft) high, making it the tallest temple in South India. There has been continuous worship at the temple for more than 1,000 years.

The temple is capped by a single 80 ton (73,700 kg) monolithic solid granite block. This enormous stone is said to have been moved up an incline that started 6km from the temple. The sikhara, a spherical dome, is octagonal and rests on top of this granite block. The shadow of the sikhara never falls on the ground.

The temple is entered through a 30m high gopuram guarded by two impressive dwarapalakas (door guards). You then come to a giant Nandi (bull of Lord Siva), which is carved out of a single stone. It is considered to be the second largest in India, next to the one at Lepakshi. It is 3.7m high (13 feet), 6m long (16 feet), 2.5m wide, and weighs about 25 tons. It is said that it grew in size every day until a nail was driven in its back to keep it from growing.

In the inner sanctum is the gigantic Maha-linga, 3.5 metres (10½ feet) high and 7½ m (25 ft) in circumference. It is said that when the linga was taken from the Narmada River, it kept increasing in size; which is why the linga is known as Brihadeeswara. There are over 250 lingas in the temple.

There are fresco paintings on the ceiling and walls of the inner sanctum dated to the Chola period. These often cannot be viewed, but there are reproductions of the paintings in the museum.

There is a 16.5m (55ft) high temple dedicated to Lord Subrahmanya that is considered to have some of the best carvings in South India. Also here is a shrine dedicated to Ganesh. There are many Vaishnava sculptures on the gopurams.

There is a deity in this temple of Jwarahareswara who controls fever. It is believed if a person has a chronic fever, it will subside if they offer sandalwood paste to this deity. Many people have experienced this.

Beyond the western wall of the temple is the giant Seppunaikan Tank. The Siva-ganga Tank is a sacred tank in the temple courtyard, within a 100-pillar mandapa (hall). There is a nice garden here.
There are three hallways that encircle the temple. The third hallway is always open. The inner hallways, where the Siva-linga is located is open from 6 am to 1 pm and 4 to 8 pm.

Unless you get special permission from the Archaeological Department of Chennai, you cannot enter the inner sanction. Non-Hindus can go everywhere in the enclosure except the room where the Siva-linga is located and the halls that approach it.

On the south side of the courtyard is the interesting Archaeological Museum, which has exhibits that give a good history of the temple’s restoration and the Chola Empire. There is also a good collection of sculptures. The museum is open daily 9.30 am to 1 pm and 4 to 7 pm. Chola Temples by C Sivaramamurti is sold here for Rs 10. It includes a good description of this temple and the ones in Gangaikondacholapuram and Dharasuram.

Thanjavur Palace
This interesting palace was built partly by the Nayaks around 1550 AD and partly by the Marathas. The Sangitha Mahal (Durbar Hall or Hall of Music) on the first floor has a fine auditorium with excellent acoustics. The grand Durbar Hall was used for public audiences. The walls and ceiling are intricately painted. The former armory is 57m (190 ft) high and was used as a lookout. From the top of the bell tower there is a good view of the area (Rs 2). Camera/video Rs 35/200.

In the Royal Museum are portraits and items used by the royal family such as weapons, costumes and musical instruments. The museum is open 9 am to 6 pm; admission Rs 2.

The Palace contains the Saraswati Mahal Library, which dates back to 1700. The library has over 40,000 volumes in Sanskrit, Tamil, Marathi, and English. The volumes are mostly paper manuscripts and palm leaves. It is closed to the public. There is a museum here with books from the collection on display. There is a palm leaf that has the entire Ramayana written on it and a beautifully illustrated Mahabharata.

Open daily except Wed 10 am to 1 pm and 2 to 5 pm.

The Art Museum has an excellent collection of bronze deities and statues, and stone sculptures from the Chola period, dating from the 9th to the 12th century. There is also a collection of Tanjore glass paintings. The museum is in an audience hall with huge pillars. Open daily 9 am to 1 pm and 3 to 6 pm, except government holidays; admission Rs 3.

Next to the palace is the Tamil University Museum, which has a stringed musical instrument collection, beautifully carved silver jewelry boxes, and a good coin collection. There is also a wood and ivory chess board that can be converted to a pallanguzhi board.

Schwartz Church
Southeast of the palace, just north of the Sivaganga Tank, is the Schwartz Church. It was built by Raja Serfoji in 1779 in appreciation of his teacher, the Danish missionary FC Schwartz who died in 1798.

Shopping
R Govindarajan, 32 Kuthiraikatti St, Karantha, has a good selection of Tanjore paintings, wood carvings, brass items and antiques. They produce many of the paintings upstairs.

Poompuhar Handicrafts, Gandhiji Rd, near the Hotel Tamil Nadu, is a government emporium with a good selection of quality items.

Where to Stay—Lower
Most of the hotels are on Gandhiji Rd, between the railway and bus stations, or on Trichy Rd, behind the railway station.

There are six big clean railway Retiring Rooms at the station. A double room is Rs 80 and with A/C Rs 160. It is usually full.
Raja Rest House (230515), by the Hotel Tamil Nadu, has rooms with bath for Rs 150/200. It has a large, peaceful courtyard and is a friendly place. It is a very good value and is a recommended budget place. Ask to see a few rooms.
Ashoka Lodge (30021), 93 Abraham Pandithar St, has nicer rooms on the second floor than the first, but it isn’t such a good place. Ask to see a few rooms. Rooms are Rs 100/150 with common bath, with bath for Rs 150/200 and Rs 500 with A/C.
Sri Mahalakshmi is centrally located.
Hotel Anand, 1 Racquet Court Lane, and Hotel Arun, 24 State Bank Road, are both nice places.
Hotel Karthik (30116), 73 South Rampart St, opposite the bus stand, has fairly basic rooms (bring you own sheets) with attached baths with squat toilets for Rs 90/180.
Hotel Yagappa (330421), off Trichy Rd, near the station, has rooms with bath for Rs 300/350 and Rs 800/950 with A/C.
Tamil Nadu Lodge (331088), off Trichy Rd, near the station, has rooms for Rs 125 to Rs 300.
Hotel Valli (331584), 2948 MK Rd, has rooms with bath for Rs 285/325, Rs 400 with TV and Rs 750 with A/C. They have rooms with 3 to 6 beds. It has a veg restaurant.
Hotel Tamil Nadu II (20365) is run down. Rooms are Rs 175/275.

Where to Stay—Middle & Higher
Hotel Tamil Nadu, (331421; fax 331970), Gandhiji Road, is one of the best places to stay. It has both Indian style and western style bathrooms with hot water in the morning. Most rooms have balconies, set around a courtyard garden. It was once a Maharaja’s guest house and is a good value with good service. It has comfortable, clean rooms for Rs 450/500, with TV Rs 600, and Rs 900 with A/C. It is usually over booked. You can book in advance at a Tamil Nadu Tourist Office or a Tamil Nadu Hotel in another city.
Hotel Sangam (339451; fax 336695: Email: hotelsangam@vsnl.com), Trichy Rd, has A/C rooms for $80/110. It has a pool and a garden.
Oriental Towers (330724; fax 330770; Email: tnj.hotowets@sanchar.net), 2889 Srinivasam Pillai Rd, has rooms for $45/55. It has good facilities, including a pool.
Pandiyar Residency (30574), Cutchery Rd, is a new place. All rooms have a TV, and the deluxe rooms have a view of the temple.
Hotel Parisutham (331801; fax 330318: Email: hotel.parisutham@vsnl.com), 55 Grand Anicut Canal Rd, is the best hotel in town, and everything looks neat and clean. It has a good pool and comfortable A/C rooms with a fridge for $70/95. It also has suites.

Where to Eat
Ananda Bhavan serves good, cheap thali meals (Rs 15). It is near the bus stand on Gandhiji Rd.
Padma Hotel, Ananda Bhavan, Gandhiji Rd, opposite the Hotel Tamil Nadu, has simple, good vegetarian meals.
The restaurant on the ground floor in the Hotel Karthik is a good popular place, with reasonably priced veg meals.
The rooftop Golden Restaurant, Hospital Rd, is a good vegetarian place. Recommended.
Sathars is a good place, which is open late.
Oriental Tower, 2889 Srinivasam Pillai, has a very good restaurant.
Hotel Parisutham has the very good Geetham vegetarian restaurant in it. The Les Repas serves both Chinese, Continental and South Indian breakfasts (Rs 75). It has real good sizzlers (Rs 125) and good thali lunches (Rs 75). Open daily 10 am to 2.30 pm and 7 to 11 pm.

Travel
Air The nearest airport is in Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), 60km away. It is a small airport with flights to Chennai and Madurai.

Train There are trains to Chennai (9 hr, 3 daily), Chidambaram (3 hr, 4 daily), Rameswaram, Madurai (6 hr, 2 daily), Villupuram (for Pondicherry) (6 hr, 190km), Tirupati, Kumbakonam (1 hr) and Tiruchirappalli (1½ hr, several). The railway station is south of the Anicut Canal, about 2½ km from the center of town.
Chennai Cholan Exp #6854 (9.20 am, 9 hr), the Rameswaram Exp #6702 (8.25 pm, 9½ hr); Chidambaram Cholan Exp #6853 (9.20 am, 2½ hr); Rameswaram Sethu Exp #6713 (10.30 pm, 7½ hr); Tiruchirappalli Cholan Exp #6853 (5 pm, 2 hr).

Bus There are two bus stations in the south part of the old town, near the junction of Hospital Road and Gandhiji Rd—TTC bus stand and the Municipal (State) bus stand. Regular buses depart from the local Municipal bus stand to Kumbakonam (1 hr) and there are buses to Tiruchirappalli.

The long distance TTC Thiruvalluvar (Mofussil) bus stand is 4km south of the center of town. Rickshaws into town are around Rs 30 and there are frequent local bus into center city. Frequent buses go to Madurai (8 hr, 9 daily) and Tiruchirappalli (1½ hr, 10 daily). There are also buses to Chennai (9 hr, 20 daily), Tirupati, Chidambaram (9 hr), and Pondicherry (6 hr, 2 daily). There is a computerized booking office (7.30 am to 9.30 pm).

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