Brihadeeswarar Temple at Thanjavur is known as the Thanjavur Periya Kovil or Big Temple or RajaRajeswara Temple.

Big temple is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and is known as the Great Living Chola Temples. Brihadeeswarar Temple is one of India's most prized architectural possessions and is an example of Tamil architecture during the Chola dynasty rule.

Thanjavur Periya Kovil is dedicated to Lord Shiva and has a giant Nandi (Sacred Bull) carved out of a single rock at the entrance to the temple. The temple is built by Raja Raja Chola I during 11th century AD, to be precise in 1010 AD. The temple became 1000 years old in 2010.

The specialty of this magnificent Peruvudaiyaar Temple is its tall vimana or the temple tower, which is 216 ft (66 m) high. This is one of the tallest among its types. The temple is completely built using granites and the nearest source of granite is Trichy which is about 60 km from Thanjavur. It is still a matter of amusement how this big stone structures were brought to the location in those ancient days when there was no facilities for transportation.

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