When I went to Pondicherry, God also fulfilled my wish to go to Thanjavur. I had wanted to go earlier and tried also but there was no right opportunity that came my way. This time, I had included it in my circuit and we started early in the day on 17.12.12 so that we could return around dusk.
My experience at Thanjuvar Shiva temple was far more than I had ever imagined. The temple’s grandeour was unbelievable. It stands unparalleled in size and splendour and is visible from any side of Thanjuvar. And the mere size of the temple astonished me. The courtyard has sprawling open space and the wide sky is so clearly visible from all sides. We stand on the earth and we are in direct contact with the sky, there is nothing in between. The parapet has small bulls representing Nandi, all facing the same directions and look very pretty, although many are now falling unfortunately.
How could the people of India build such collosal temples without machines one thousand years ago? Their engineering skills and knowledge of geometry must have been examplary or else how can we build such magnificent religious structures with the most basic tools? And unlike other temples, this one stands out because it is made of hard granite to avoid fast deterioration and hence the king’s idea was to preserve it as long as it is possible for many generations.
The magnificent temple of Brihadeeshwar was made by the Chola king Raja Raja Chola. He wanted to build such a temple that was never built before by anyone. He had a vision in a dream of its inception and he invited the temple experts to design a temple that would have the tallest tower, almost touching the sky!!
And so Brihadeeshwar temple has the tallest temple tower in the world. The kalash or the top bulbous structure is carved out of a single stone. Even the Nandi bull sitting in front of the Shiva temple is cut out of a single black stone. The entire temple is made of yellow granite. It rests on the bank of a river and has a moat and fortified walls around it. It is believed that the fortified walls were made by the later kings to ward off enemies.
The main temple houses a very large Shiv Lingam in the inner sanctum and the ceilings have rare paintings or frescoes of Shiva and Parvati, possibly from Shiva Purana. This one thousand old monument is still standing tall and is the main attraction of Thanjuvar.
This much for the back ground of the temple. However, there had to be a larger cause to visit this extraordinary place, one of the oldest Shiva temples in India. Shri Mahavatar Babaji tells me that as a special gesture and out of kindheartedness towards his devotee, he sent me to this holy place so that the sins of our lineage would be cleansed and peace would return to some of our forefathers who are in a turmoil even now in some other world because of their past misgivings…..I am speechless at the volume and intensity of graciousness showered at us by the holiest and most sacred Guru, Shri Babaji. I prostrate before him humbly and thank him abundantly for being so kind to our past generations whom I don’t even know, yet have made a contact in my meditations and in return earned their profuse blessings……. This one is dedicated to Lord Shiva for relieving the pain of so many unknown faces and giving them deep peace after ages of turmoil……! May God give all of us peace and more lasting peace, where ever we are…….!!
Thank you for sharing Sarika <3
Dear Sarikaji, Thanks for blessing us all with photos of one of the oldest Shiva temple of India. And its so wonderful to know our Beloved Babaji’s purpose to send you there ! How kind, caring and loving he is ! And how sacred that temple is ! Can u please tell in detail, how the divine vibes of such place works for our forefathers in cleanising their sins and getting peace?
Pranaam…Nirav…
Dear Nirav, Thanks for your swift responses and I appreciate your kindness in feeling blessed in every little thing I do here on the blog. Indeed, it is true that we are blessed to get an opportunity to be able to travel mentally to these holy places through the blog. We all benefit whether we could make it physically or not because the sacred feelings and intentions emitted by the glorious divine souls of the astral world come along with the words that are written here. They are always blessing the striving souls.
As I am preparing the upcoming post on ‘Why is it important to know our souls?’ I feel I should reply to your question in that. It is a very good question and I want to reply in more space for my expression.. So until then, please allow me to complete the next post and you shall get the answers.
Sarika
Dear Sarikaji,
You are so humble and very kind that you are thanking me for my responses! But i always feel that any words are never enough to express my gratitude to you and Babaji! Still i always do it with a pure intention to say thanks and to learn something more. And i shall wait for the next post very eagerly.
Pranaam With love and gratitude.. Nirav
Guruji said, ” You must love and serve one another, as you have served me.I am the servant of all.” (Paramhansa Yoganandaji)
Nirav, found these lines randomly somewhere and this is my answer to you!
Blessings
Sarika
Thank you Ma and Babaji for this sacred post..
We all got blessed to know, see and mentally travelled to Lord Shiva’s sacred temple.
I have found one youtube link about the temple and i posting the same here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0l1E143Leg
I love to read your responses to Nirav:
We are blessed to get an opportunity to be able to travel mentally to these holy places through the blog. We all benefit whether we could make it physically or not because the sacred feelings and intentions emitted by the glorious divine souls of the astral world come along with the words that are written here. They are always blessing the striving souls.
I also love the quote you have mentioned of Paramhansa Yoganandaji ” You must love and serve one another, as you have served me. I am the servant of all.” Master is so Humble..
Many Pranams and thanks to those glorious divine souls..
with love and gratitude
Paripurna
Dear Paripurna, as I thought yesterday how you are progressing, your comment arrived soon after. I am glad to see the inner progress that you have been making slowly and steadily and also to see that your grip over the subject matter has increased gradually.
I appreciate your effort in reading the blog thoroughly, it is a gold mine. A few people have responded on Thanjuvar post, hopefully after you others will also penetrate into it. Each post is crucial and interlinked with others.
There are hidden so many, so many blessings, they are embedded here, need someone to unconceal them with their concentrated effort.So continue with your effort and may God bless you with many precious gems as you try more.
With love unconditional and blessings
Ma.
ohm namah sivaya. ॐ
dear ma , thanking you for this post.
with beautiful pictures of thanjavoor temple.
the old temples are really great in its complicate structers, enginnering.
in kerala, ancient times , there was a great architecutre who is also brother of legend naranathu branthan ( A divine person, who always lived like a mad man infront of peoples) , made lot of great temples, structures, still some of his creations not yet understood,
one of his creation is there in a temple in Kerala, which is made of two square pillers in which both are jointed by four interlocks each side. the picture is in below link. still no one knows how it is jointed together.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Perumthachan_Pillar%E0%B4%B5%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%B4%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%AA%E0%B4%B3%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B3%E0%B4%BF.jpg
Dear ma,
again thanking you ma, those are not just photos, but can feel the temple atmosphere.
may god bless all of us.
with love,
Midhun Pk