JOIN USA 10-day exhibition showcasing the glory of 1000-year-old Brihadeeswara temple in Thanjavur, began at Venkatappa Art Gallery in the City on Friday.
The glory of the Unesco World Heritage Site is being presented through photographs and documentation - collected by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, Bangalore, over two decades.
The temple built by Rajaraja Chola in 1010 AD, which is a living monument, is an example of artistic excellence constructed with such calculation and precision that bring together the scientific, religious, cultural, social, economic aspects depicted in one place.
On display at the exhibition are the visuals of inscriptions on the walls of the temple besides 200 exhibits portraying different components of the temple such as Nandi Mandapam, Ganesha Shrine and Amman Shrine.
The project, started by Dr Kapila Vatsyayan and coordinated by Dr R Nagaswamy, eminent historian and epigraphist, aims to broaden scope of the previous studies on the temple.
“The idea of the exhibition, which was first held in Delhi and later in Chennai, is to capture the beauty and essence of the temple's archaeology, architecture, epigraphy, rituals etc,” said Veena Joshi, Joint Secretary, Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Nagaswamy, said, “The study we have done on the temple is multi-dimensional and multi-directional which captures each and every aspect of the construction, the mathematics, the astronomy and the Vaastu Shastra of the temple”.
He said without the modern instruments of today, the temple has well calculated elevation, measurements which is commendable of the architects of those times. Governor H R Bhardwaj launched a multimedia DVD on the temple.