Thanjavur is a the original name for the Anglicized Tanjore, a city in southern India.
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Showing posts with label Tanjore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tanjore. Show all posts
Hinduism - Where Is Tanjore Or Tanjaoor?
Tanjore is a city and district in the Indian state of Tamil
Nadu, which is bordered on the east by the Bay of Bengal.
The Tanjore district is located in the Cauvery River delta,
south of the river's main channel; this exceptionally fertile region continues
to produce a significant portion of India's rice.
The Chola dynasty's fundamental base was this area, and the
land's agricultural fecundity was the underlying source of the dynasty's
dominance, which spanned much of southern India and even Malaysia at one time.
The Chola dynasty utilized its riches and influence to construct
massive temples throughout Tamil Nadu, particularly in the Tanjore area and
Tanjore city, which served as their capital.
King Raja Raja (r. 985–1014 C.E. ), who constructed
Tanjore's Brhadeshvar temple, and his son Rajendra (r. 1014–1042 C.E. ), whose
finest building is the temple at Gangaikondacholapuran, brought the Chola
dynasty to its pinnacle.
The Brhadeshvar temple is devoted to Shiva as the
"Great Lord," and the Cholas also erected or renovated temples in
Kumbhakonam, Thiruvaiyaru, Chidambaram, and Shrirangam.
Hinduism - Where Is Tamil Nadu In India?
Tamil Nadu is a state in India. The name means ("Tamil Land") or a place where Tamils live.
On the Bay of Bengal, at the southernmost point of the
subcontinent, is a modern Indian state.
Tamil Nadu is one of the so-called linguistic states, which
were established after India's independence in 1947 to bring together people
who spoke the same language and had a same culture under a single state administration.
As a result, Tamil Nadu was constituted from the
Tamil-speaking portions of the erstwhile Madras state.
Tamil Nadu has a long and illustrious past, with a literary legacy that dates back to the early years of the Christian period.
Several regional dynasties—the Pallavas, Cholas, and
Pandyas—built a slew of temples in the distinctive Dravida architectural style,
and Tamil Nadu still maintains hundreds of temple towns, or towns centered on a
massive temple complex with stores, marketplaces, offices, and residential
space.
Modern Tamil culture is the result of this long and historic
heritage, and Tamils take pleasure in having been minimally impacted by outsiders—neither
by Hindu influences from northern India nor by Muslim culture, which had such a
strong effect in the north.
There are so many cultural sites and holy places in Tamil
Nadu that it's impossible to list them all, but the most important are Rameshvaram,
Chidambaram, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Kanchipuram, Mahabalipuram, Kumbhakonam,
Thiruvaiyaru, Tanjore, and Kanyakumari; there's also a network of six temples
dedicated to the god Murugan scattered throughout the state, which Christine
Nivin et al., India, 8th ed., Lonely Planet, 1998, is an accessible reference
for general information about Tamil Nadu and all of India's regions.
Also see Tamil language.
Hinduism - Who Was Swami Malai?
Swami Malai is a Hindu sage who lives in India.
Temple and holy location (tirtha) atop a hill in Tamil
Nadu's Tanjore district, close outside Kumbhakonam's temple town.
Swami Malai is part of a network of six temples in Tamil
Nadu dedicated to the hill deity Murugan, who has been absorbed into the
greater pantheon as a version of the god Skanda, Shiva's son.
Five of these temples have been positively identified, and
each is linked to a certain place, an environment, and a specific event in
Murugan's epic career.
Swami Malai is supposed to have taught his father Shiva the
meaning of the holy word (Om), putting him in the role of a teacher, which is
one of his defining characteristics in Shaiva Siddhanta (a series of fourteen
texts, all completed by the fourteenth century C.E., which reinterpret the
ideas about Shiva found in Nayanar devotional poetry).
Every other Murugan shrine in Tamil Nadu is claimed to be
the sixth of these temples.
This concept seems to emphasize Murugan's presence across
Tamil Nadu and sacrify the whole landscape, endowing every Murugan temple, no
matter how modest, with mythological importance.
Murugan's worship is therefore a symbol of Tamil pride and
identity, and since the number six connotes completeness—as in the six
directions or the six chakras in the subtle body—it also implies that nothing
more is required.
See Fred Clothey, "Pilgrimage Centers in the Tamil
Cultus of Murukan," Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 40,
No. 1, 1972, for further details.
Hinduism - Who Was Rajendra I Of The Chola Dynasty In India?
Rajendra I. (r. 1014–42) was a Hindu king who reigned from
1014 to 42.
The Chola dynasty achieved its pinnacle of strength during
his leadership (and that of his father, Raja Raja), extended its dominance from
the Tanjore area in Tamil Nadu, across southern India, and into Southeast Asia
all the way to Malaysia.
Rajendra destroyed one of Bengal's monarchs in 1023,
extending his kingdom all the way to the Ganges, but he was unable to maintain
control over such a vast territory for long.
In order to keep control of commerce from China, he also
conducted a campaign against the Shrivijaya Empire in modern-day Malaysia.
Rajendra, like his father, was a big supporter of temple
construction and other public works of art, such as the huge temple at Ganga
ikondacholapuran, which was erected to commemorate the victory that opened the route
to the Ganges.
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Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.
Hinduism - Wh oWas Raja Raja Of The Chola Dynasty?
Raja Raja (r. 985–1014)
The Chola dynasty achieved its
pinnacle of dominance during his leadership (and that of his son Rajendra),
extended its authority from the Tanjore area of Tamil Nadu to southern India
and into Southeast Asia all the way to Malaysia.
The money that such authority provided to Raja Raja was used
to create huge temples.
He is most known for the Brhadeshvar temple at Tanjore,
which is devoted to Shiva, the "Great Lord."
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.
Hinduism - Where IS Kumbhakonam In India?
Kumbhakonam is one of the several temple towns in Tamil Nadu's Tanjore district, reflecting the territory's importance as the seat of the Chola dynasty's rulers.
Kumbhakonam is home to a number of major temples.
The temple structures, which are built in the Dravida
architectural style, are of moderate height, occupy a vast area, and are
encircled by a boundary wall with huge towers (gopurams) above each wall's
central entryway.
The most prominent landmark in Kumbhakonam is a temple
bathing (snana) pond, not a temple.
Every twelve years, a celebration is conducted in the tank,
during which the water in the tank is said to become the Ganges.
In 1992, an estimated 400,000 people attended the event,
with 48 individuals sadly died in a stampede.
The Swami Malai temple, one of the six temples dedicated to
the deity Skanda, is located just outside of town.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.
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