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| St.
Peters Church
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Rice
bowl of South India |
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| Thanjavur
Famous Architecture |
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In
the height of its power, the ancient Tamil
Chola kingdom, ruled by King Rajaraja Cholan
spread across the whole of South India, and
also encompassed the islands of the Far East,
unto the present day Indonesia. Rich in ancient
culture and heritage, Thanjavur was the capital
of the Chola kingdom. One can still see the
beautiful architecture of that glorious era:
The famous Brahadeeswara temple in Thanjavur,
commonly known as the Big Temple stands tall
with its beaming tower. This is one of the
architectural wonders of the world, in that
its cupolic dome (carved out of a single rock
wighing 80 tons) does not cast a shadow on
the ground at any time of day. Its temple
tower is 216 feet tall. It is an outstanding
example of the Dravidian architecture and
dates back to the 11th century AD. The Gigantic
statue of Nandi, the bull is 12 feet tall,
19 ½ long, 8 ¼ feet wide and
weighs 25 tons. |
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| Education
Saraswathi Mahal Library |
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Raja
Serfoji's Saraswathi Mahal Library is one the
most famous Library in Thanjavur. It is a treasure-house
of knowledge built up by the successive dynasties
of Nayaks and Marathas of Thanjavur. It contains
very rare and valuable collection of manuscripts
on all aspects of art, culture and literature.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica in its survey of
Libraries of world mention this as "the
most remarkable library in India. " It
is one of the most important oriental manuscript
collections in India. Established around 1700
AD, it has over 44,000 palm leaf, and paper
manuscripts in Indian and European languages.
The Tamil works include treatise on medicine,
and commentaries on works from the Sangam period. |
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| Tamil
University |
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Thanjavur
has been the center for learning Tamil during
the Chola period and now with the establishment
of Tamil University by the late Dr. M.G. Ramachandran,
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur Tamil
University, a Temple of learning could be spoken
of, as its modern counterpart with its impressive
temple-like facade along with its library housed
in a circular building resembling the architectural
style of India's parliament. |
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| Famous
Tanjore Art |
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