Tanjore - Brihadeshwara Temple

Brihadeshwara Temple

 We planned for a day out from our home town and decided on Tanjore and few other temples nearby. Tanjore is surrounded by lovely lush green paddy fields and its the "Rice Bowl " of India. This post exclusively about Brihadeshwara temple in Tanjore, for its a marvel in architecture which will eclipse the beauty of all the other temples.

Paddy fields  near Tanjore

Side View of Brihadeshwara Temple

Front View of Brihadeshwara Temple

Nandi

The main deity of this temple is Lord Shiva and there is a huge Nandi sculpture in the front side of the temple and a Majestic Shiva Lingam in sanctum sanctorum. The main deity's consort Periya nayagi's temple is adjacent to the main structure. There is a museum in the temple premises which showcases various sculptures, inscriptions and facts related to the plan and construction of the temple.

Temple Layout

Inscriptions on Walls

The beauty and magnificence  of Brihadeshwara Temple has to been experienced to truly appreciate our cultural heritage . 

Tiruchendur Murugan Temple

Enroute to Tiruchendur

  We traveled from Madurai to Tiruchendur by car. We started around  7 am reached by 10 am. Lord Muruga's Temple in Tiruchendur is a part of Arupadai Veedu ( 6 Major Abodes of Lord Muruga). The temple is situated right on the shore of  Bay of Bengal. Usually devotees take a dip in the sea before going for darshan of Senthil Andavar (Lord Muruga). The temple main deities are Senthil Andavar with his consorts Deivanai and Valli. We traveled on a weekday and it did not fall on any festival observed at the temple, so there was hardly any crowd. We had a wonderful darshan , went to the beach for a little bit , had a picnic lunch on the way back and returned to Madurai by 4.30 pm.

View of Beach from Temple

Tiruchendur Temple

Tiruchendur Beach