TANJORE

Brihadiswara Mahatmya narrates that King Raja Raja I suffered from black leprosy in the early period of his reign. He learnt, on referring this with his Guru Haradatta that he had brought misery to the animals in his previous birth as hunter. The Guru, out of compassion for his noble ward, recommended him to build a great temple with a tall gopuram and dedicate it to the Lord of Kailas.  Accordingly, a gigantic temple with a great pagoda considered by far the greatest in India, built with a stately, and well defined plan, unknown to the temple history till then. 

Its massive grandeur wrings homage from theists all over the world. Moreover it was built in a very short period of six years. This Herculean task was accomplished with the infinite mercy of Lord Maheswara, whose image linga was brought from the river Narmada with the help of 64 mighty merchants and thousands of laborers taking six months time for transport. After the celebration of Kumbhabhishek with rich and liberal grants, the king stepped into the tank for bath and emerged as lustrous and bright as the moon, rid of black leprosy that marred his magnetic dignified personality.  Inscription bear witness to the truth of this account. And it is by far the most invaluable relic of Chola genius, whose artists conceived it as giants and finished like jewelers according to Ferguson. 

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