Thanjavur, now one of the central agricultural cities in Tamil Nadu, was once upon a time the capital of the Chola empire; Brihadeeswarar Temple, towering above the Thanjavur skyline, still serves as a reminder of the city's glorious past.

Built over one thousand years ago by King Rajaraja I, Brihadeeswarar Temple is dedicated to lord Shiva. Located by the Grand Anicut canal, the temple is a sanctuary away from the rather dull, noisy and dusty Thanjavur city.

The complex is a study of calm and quiet once you enter through the two gopura (monumental entrance tower) gateways. Inside, the main temple shrine is the central focus around which there are smaller shrines housed in a courtyard. Directly gracing the main temple is India's third largest Nandi (Shiva's bull) statute, carved out of a single rock. The main temple's vimana (ornate tower) stands above all at 216 ft and used to be India's largest and tallest when it was built in 1010.

One of the distinct features of the temple is the use of granite in its construction, which is not found in Thanjavur and was said to have been brought in from other parts of the kingdom, but perhaps even more interesting is the absence of color which sets this temple apart from many other South Indian temples.

Rather than the technicolor brilliance, it is  the natural stone used in the temple that makes an impression with its red hue, especially in the evenings when the sunlight bounces off the temple walls creating majestic shadows and amazing color play.

It is believed that at the peak of Rajaraja I's reign the temple employed six hundred people who were a mix of dancers, teachers, musicians, tailors, potters and priests among others that made the temple a central hub of cultural activity. In contrast with those days, now the temple makes for a perfect meditative space, and its massive interiors are the perfect place to spend hours taking in the amazing architectural details, like the ancient inscriptions on the walls or the collection of lingams from all over the country housed along the courtyard.

A thousand years have brought changes and there have been rise and fall of empires; Thanjavur city play a more modest role in modern India but the grandeur and authority of Brihadeeswarar Temple still remains intact, in all the glory of history.