Thanjavur
Thanjavur (தஞ்சாவூர் in
Tamil), also known by its
anglicised name
Tanjore, is a city in
Tamil Nadu, in southeastern
India. The city lies on the south bank of the
Kaveri River, 200 miles south of
Chennai. Thanjavur is also the capital of the
Thanjavur District. Tanjore is also the name of
Air India One [
1], the special aircraft of the
President of India and the
Prime Minister of India.
Thanjavur derives its name from Tanjan-an asura (demon) who according to local legend caused devastation and was killed by
Sri Anandavalli Amman and
Sri Neelamegapperumal. Tanjan's last request that the city might be named after him was granted.
Thanjavur is famous for the
Brihadeeswara Temple built by
Rajaraja Chola, the first sailor king of India. The Brihadeeswara Temple also known as the Big Temple is one of the
UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The temple is enclosed in two courts, surmounted by a lofty tower and including the exquisitely decorated shrine of
Subrahmanya. Among the other historic buildings is the
Vijayanagara fort, which contains a palace that was expanded by the Maratha king
Serfoji II with an armoury, a Bell Tower and the
Saraswathi Mahal Library, which contains over 30,000 Indian and European manuscripts written on palm leaf and paper.
 |
Bell Tower |
Thanjavur is one of the chief political, literary and religious centres of southern India, known for its contribution to
Carnatic music, it has produced many classical musicians and
Bharathanatyam dancers. Tiruvaiyaru, which is close to Thanjavur, is the place where the great musician Saint Thyagaraja lived. It is also well known for its unique painting style called
Tanjore Painting, a percussion instrument called the
Thavil, a divine classical string instrument
Veenai and the
Thanjavur Dolls.
The city was once the stronghold of the historic
Chola dynasty and was later ruled by the
nayaks of
Vijayanagara and
Maratha rajas.
Under the Cholas
Thanjavur, or
Tanjapuri as it was called in the ancient times was chosen by
Vijayalaya Chola as the seat of his new kingdom in
848 CE. He built a temple for his favourite goddess Nisumbhasudani in the city. Although during subsequent emperors,
Kanchipuram also became a subsidiary capital, Thanjavur maintained its position as the chief city. The great
Brihadisvara Temple, built by
Rajaraja Chola I was completed around
1010 CE. It remained the centre of the Chola administration for many years channelling the state revenue into a number of civic projects. It also acted as a repository of the empire's records as the great Rajaraja had its walls covered with numerous inscriptions recording his conquests and his endowments to various charities. The impression we get from the inscription is of a wealthy progressive city although totally dominated by the temple
The inscriptions tell us about a number of royal palaces in the city and of the districts where palace servants lived. We also learn of the names of a number of streets: the big street of Virasola and the big market of Tribhuvanamadeviyar. During the reign of Rajaraja we learn that the city was divided into two parts:
Ullalai (inner) and
Purambadi (outer) city. Purambadi could have been an extension to the city built during Rajaraja's reign. Among the new streets built by Rajaraja were two running east to west in front of the
Brihadisvara Temple and called Northern and Southern
Talichcheries. People who worked in the temple occupied these streets. There were other temples in existence such as the Jayabhima temple and Tanjai Mamani found in the inscriptions, which do not exist anymore. There was also a public hospital attached to a Vishnu temple named after
Sundara Chola called
Sundarachola Vinnagara Salai which was endowed by
Kundavai, the sister of Rajaraja Chola.
The influence of Thanjavur began to diminish when
Rajendra Chola I built a new city named
Gangaikonda Cholapuram and moved his capital there.
After the Cholas
|
A Mighty Cannon of forge-welded Iron. This cannon was built during the reign of Raghunatha Nayak (1600 - 1645 CE), and it was located at the defense barricade at the Eastern entrance to the city. |
After the Cholas the
Pandyas conquered the Chola country.
Madurai was the Pandya capital and Thanjavur remained in the background,as a province of
Vijaynagar empire.
Later in 1535,the
Vijaynagar king installed a
nayak king hence the era of
Tanjore Nayaks which lasted till mid-17th century,until attacked by the
Madurai Nayaks.Later slipped into the hands of
Marathas.
Tanjore was conquered by the
Marathas in
1674 under
Venkaji, the half-brother of
Shivaji the Great; his successors ruled as rajas of Tanjore. The British first came into contact with Tanjore by their expedition in
1749 with a view to the restoration of a deposed raja of Tanjore Nayak lineage. In this they failed, and a subsequent expedition was bought off. The Maratha rajas held Tanjore until
1799. A
Protestant mission at Tanjore was founded in
1778 by the Reverend
Christian Friedrich Schwarz. His church dates from 1779.
In October of that year the district was ceded to the
British East India Company in absolute sovereignty by Raja
Serfoji II, a pupil of the missionary Schwartz. The raja retained only the capital and a small tract of country round. He died in
1833 and was succeeded by his son Sivaji, on whose death in
1855 without an heir the house became extinct.
The city is the 8th largest in the state of Tamil Nadu with census population of around 225,000 [est. 2005]. It has an area of 36 km².Ethnically most of the people are Tamils. There is also a large Telugu population along with Saurashtrians and Marathi speaking people.
Most of the people in Thanjavur District are farmers. In the City of Thanjavur there are a large number of doctors due to the presence of a 50 year old Medical College. The first M.B.B.S. doctor of this city was Late Dr.N.Ramanathan, who served as a general practitioner of medicine from 1938 to 1988. Even today, there is a bus stop on his name, near his hospital. Also there are a large number of Professors working in the various professional and arts colleges around the city.
The city is primarily divided into two parts separated by a flyover. The Downtown [known as Old Town or simply Town] is the Business district. The other side of the flyover is the residential area which is a relatively new neighborhood. The various neighborhoods are Palliagraharam, Karanthai, Old Town, Vilar, Nanjikottai Road, Manabuchavadi, Pookkara Street, New Town, Medical College, Old Housing Unit, New Housing Unit and Srinivasapuram.
The extension areas include Mariamman Koil, Kattuthottam, Nanjikottai, Madhakottai, Pillaiyarpatti and Nilagirivattam. The total population of the composite city touches 500,000 [unofficial] For all purposes the city extends from Vallam to Mariamman Koil [west - east] and Vayalur to Nanjikottai [north-south] for an area of 100 km².
Thanjavur is renowned for its culture of education. It is home to the famous Saraswati Mahal library which dates back to the end of the 16th century and contains over 30,000 rare manuscripts. It has now been fully computerized. St. Peter's, founded in the 18th century by Schwartz, is a renowned School. Currently, Thanjavur has two universities viz. the Tamil University and the SASTRA Deemed University, and several colleges including the renowned Thanjavur Medical College. This city also has many research centres like the Paddy Processing Research Centre, Soil and Water Research Centre, etc.
List of Universities:# Tamil University.# SASTRA Deemed University (Formerly Shanmugha Engineering College)
List of Colleges:
Medical and Paramedical# Thanjavur Medical College.# Mannai Narayanasamy College.# Arasu Paramedical College.# Konagarnadu College of Nursing.
Engineering # Periyar Maniyammai College of Technology for Women.# Anjalaiammal Mahalingam Engineering College.# P R Engineering College.# King's College of Engineering.
Arts, Science and Management# Abi & Abi College of Arts and Science.# Nalli Kuppusamy College# Na. Mu. Venkatasamy Nattar College.# Tamilvel Umamaheshwaranar Karanthai Arts College.# Kundhavai Nachiar Government Arts College.# Rajah Serfoji Government Arts College.# Bharath College of Science and Management.# Marudhupandiar College.# Madha Sami Arul College.# Adaikala Matha College.# Bon Secours College.# Ponnaiah Ramajayam College.# AVVM Pushpam College.# Adikalamatha Institute of Management.# P. R. Institute of Managemnet.
Polytechnics# Periyar Centenary Polytechnic.# Vandayar Polytechnic.# CCMR Polytechnic.# P R Polytechnic.
*
Thanjavur*
Online poojas to Thanjavur and surrounding Temples*
Sri Vishnu Temples in India*
Thanjavur Weather*
Thanjavur District*
Thanjavur.com*
Thanjavur - Brihadeeshwara Temple*
SASTRA UNIVERSITY
