A TO Z INDIA ● MARCH 2022 ● PAGE 9
Cultural India :
Nandi at Brihadeswara Temple , Thanjavur
Santha
Nandi also known as Nandikeshwara or Nandideva is the bull vahana of the Hindu god Shiva . He is also the guardian deity of Kailash , the abode of Shiva . Almost all Shiva temples display stone-images of a seated Nandi , generally facing the main shrine .
The Nandi at Brihadeswara Temple , Thanjavur , Tamil Nadu ( 11th Century CE ), is one of the largest in India . This massive Nandi , weighing 25 tons and measuring 19 ft long , 12 ft wide and 8 1 / 2 ft in height is made of single block of hard rock granite . But there is no granite quary within 100 kms of Brihadeswara Temple !!
Today a truck of 25 ton capacity would probably have 15 tyres . Just imagine 1000 years back when there was no such technology , how this massive granite block was transported to the temple site !