About Temples In Tanjore :
Tanjore is a night's journey from Chennai. As a tourism spot, Tanjore is visited by most of the foreigners who come to India to learn about its culture. Raja Raja Chola during his rule built the Tanjore Brihadeeswarar temple. Otherwise called 'Big Temple' (Periya Koil) the temple was built by the King on a sprawling piece of land. The greatness of this temple is marked by the enormous Lingam - the 'Brihadeeswarar' which is the prime deity of the shrine. The tall Lingam is reached by the Gurukkal (priests) through the stairs leading to the top. This temple is located about one km from the bus-stand. The famous name of the temple is RajaRajesuram and the earlier history says that the "Naimicharanya" hermits lived in the place where the temple was erected. The speciality of this temple is that it has been sculptured completely with stones without having the mountain around its surroundings. The tower of this temple was previously called as "Dhakshina Meru". This temple is facing along the East direction and it has three main entrances namely "Keralandagam", "RajaRajan" and "Anukkan".

Brihadeswara Temple :
The Brihadeswara temple is one of the most ancient and the most celebrated Hindu temple in the world. The temple is located in the city of Thanjavur that is also known as Tanjore, in the Indian province of Tamilnadu. The UNESCO has adjudged this thousand years old temple a "World Heritage Site".Brihadeswara is the most illustrious and a brilliant example of the Dravidian style temple architecture. The building that carries the main sanctum is known as the 'Periya Kovil'. This stands amidst fortified walls that were probably added in the 16th century. The 'Vimana' of the temple is about 70 meters and is among the tallest of its kind in the world. The 'Shikharam' (crown) of Brihadeswara temple is itself very large and heavy (81.25 tons) and has been carved out of a single stone.The great Tamil ruler, Rajaraja Chola I of the Chola dynasty, built the Brihadeswara temple. Later various additions were made in the temple but the most prominent one among these was the addition of a copper pot over the tower by King Rajaraja Chola II. The main deity that is worshiped in this temple is Lord Shiva. He is worshipped in the form of Lingam. This was originally called Adavallan that meant an expert dancer.