Brihadishwara (dedicated to God Shiva) Temple, locally known as Thanjai Periya Kovil ("Thanjavur Big Temple") was built by Chola emperor Rajaraja I between 1003 and 1010 CE, the temple is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the only temple in the world entirely made of hard rocks of Archaean group- oldest rocks on earth about 3 to 4 billion years old. It an architectural splendor built in typical chola style.
Brihadeeswara temple at Gaṅgaikoṇḍa Chōḻapuram, a village close near to Jayankondam town, Ariyalur district, TN built by Rajendra Chola, son of Rajaraja Chola, is yet another architectural grandeur. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. King Rajendra founded the town to commemorate his victory over the Pala Dynasty
Both these temples have fine sculptures of Dwarapalakas and this post is more about the Parivara devata at the Big temple, Thanjavur,
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| Dwarapalakas west wall big temple,back of sanctum. Thanjavur 23rf.com |
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| Dwarapalakas, GK Cholapuram temple .madhujagdhish.blogspot.com |
Often depicted as larger than-life warriors with fearsome look and armed with gada (mace), Dwarapalakas are the gate keepers and guardians of the temple and the inner abode of the lord. Their size, look, and other attributes are in relation to the power and size of the deity in the sanctum. At the GK Cholapuram temple similar to Thanjavur big temple, the dwarapalakas are massive in size about 18 feet tall made of monolithic granite. With protruding curved teeth firmly standing with intimidating posture they symbolize the majesty and grandeur of the deity in the sanctum.
They may be gentle looking or fierce looking but are ever armed with weapons mostly mace - gada, doing duty for the lords in the inner sanctuary. They are always displayed in pair or in even numbers at Hindu temples. The Agama texts recommend four pairs of Dwarapalakas, each pair to guard a cardinal direction based on the size of the temple. In rare cases smaller structures may have had only one dwarapala. Some larger temples have four (lokapālas, guardians or 8 or 12 facing cardinal direction. Unlike in Shiva temples, at Vishnu temples dwarapalas look subdued and not ferocious.
Dwarapalakas as an important temple architectural feature have their origin in tutelary deities, like Yaksha and warrior figures, such as Acala, of the local popular religion. Depending on the size and wealth of the temple, they are placed in pairs or in larger groups.
The Dwarapalakas at the Brihadeshwara temple of Thanjavur are massive sculptures and have attributes of the presiding deity- God Brihadeeswara in the form of large monolithic Shivalinga in the sanctum which itself is more than two floors tall.
What is interesting is the entire Dwarapalaka panel is related to the image of an elephant, the largest animal on earth. This depiction will give you some idea about the size and power of the parivara devata- gate guardians at the big temple. This is linked to the size of the temple as well as the main deity in the inner sanctuary.
This being a Shiva temple, the temple guardians have four hands holding a Pasha (noose) and Trishula (trident) with their upper hands and one of the lower hands holding a Gada ( mace) and another showing Suchi or Tarjani Mudra warning the devotees to enter the holy shrine with reverence and bhakti.
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| Dwarapalaka with protruding teeth Thanjavur big temple dreamstime.com |
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| Brihadeeswara temple Thanjavur. thehindu.com |
Above image: A dwarapalaka at the entrance of Brihadeshwara temple, Thanjavur showing a python swallowing an elephant at the foot of the dwarapala at the bottom of the panel, The serpent which in turn is coiled around the mace held in the hands of the guardian. The serpent looks quite small in comparison to the mace on which the Dwarapalaka has planted his foot. The big mace itself looks like a toy in the hands of the gatekeeper.
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| Dwarapalaka Thanjavur big temple tamil.abplive.com |
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| Dwarapalaka in Gangaikonda cholapuram temple, TN. dreamstime.com |
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| G.K.holapuram temple, TN.dreamstime.com |
Above image: A Bhikshatana-murti and dwarapalaka, southern niche of the central shrine, Brihadisvara Temple, Gangaikonda cholapuram, Tamil Nadu, India
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| dreamstime.com |
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| Brihadeeswara Temple, G.K.Cholapuram Dwarapala with Saraswati. image. dreamstime.com |
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| Brihadisvara Temple, Tanjore dreamstime.com |
Above image: Dwarapalaka and deities in niches, southern entrance, Brihadisvara Temple, Tanjore, Tamil Nadu......
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| Dwarapalaka Alamy.com GK Cholapuram |
Above image: Chandesanugraha-murti and dwarapala, southern niche of the central shrine, Brihadisvara Temple, Gangaikonda cholapuram, Tamil Nadu........
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| dwarapalakas 2nd entrance gate, big temple, thanjavur. en.wikipedia.org |
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| Thanjavur temple canstockphoto.com |
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| Dwarapalakas on higher floors at entrance tower Brihadishwara, Thanjavur |
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| Thanjavur temple dreamstime.com |
Above image: Stone Dwarapalaka Statue on Gopuram Of Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur......
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| Dwarapalakas north wall big temple, Thanjavur 23rf.com |
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| Dwarapalakas, Big temple, Thanjavur. upload.wikimedia.org |
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| Dwarapalakas south wall big temple, Thanjavur 23rf.com |
Above images; Giant Dwarapalakas at Brihadeeswarar temple, Thanjavur, facing south direction and the open court yard on the north side. The image are mirror reflection of the other. A small shrine dedicated to Dakshinamurthy is nearby and can be accessed by a flight of steps.......
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| Dwarapalakas at the 2nd entrance gate, big temple, Thanjavur meer.com |
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| Dwarapalaka, Subramanya shrine, Big temple, Thanjavur. dreamstime.com |
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| Subramanya shrine, Dwarapalaka. dreamstime.com |
Above images: Thanjavur big temple. Sculptures of Dwarapalaka, inside the Subrahmanya shrine.They are well polished medium size images. Part of it is damaged by the vandals.
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| Brihadisvara Temple, Tanjore dreamstime.com |
Above image: Dwarapalaka on the left side of the entrance to maha-mandapa, Brihadeeswara Temple, Tanjore, Tamil Nadu, India.......
Dwarapala and deities in niches, southern entrance, Brihadisvara Temple, Tanjore, Tamil Nadu, India
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