Description:
Built by the great Chola king, Raja Raja I in the 10th century AD, this temple is an outstanding example of the Chola architecture. Dedicated to Nandi, the bull and the mount of Lord Shiva, it has a gigantic stuatue of the diety made of granite rock. The unique feature of this temple is that although it is 216 feet high, its shadow never falls on the ground! Guarding the inner shrine of the temple is the gigantic statue of Nandi, the Bull, while the walls of the sanctum are covered, with the wall paintings of Chola and Nayak periods, comparable to the famous Ajanta cave frescoes.
There is a beautiful palace right next to the temple built by the Marathas and the Nayaks in the 16th century which is worth visiting for its magnificent masonry. The palace houses the Mannar Saroboji Saraswathi Mahal Library, Art Gallery and Sangeetha Mahal. The library has one of the most important oriental manuscripts collections, in India. Established around 1700 AD, the library contains a collection of over 44,000 palm leaf, and paper manuscripts in Indian and European languages. Over eighty per cent of its manuscripts are in Sanskrit, many on palm leaves, some very rare or even unique. The Tamil works includes treatises on medicine, and commentaries on works from the Sangam period.
