Tanjore
Tanjore is the shortcut for Thanjavur. The name is derived from Tanjan asura who devastated the neighborhood. Sri Ananandavalli Amman and Vishnu killed him. He requested that the city be named after him and his last request was granted.
Cholas, Cheras and Pandya kings ruled Tanjore. It flourished during the rule of Rajaraja Cholan and started declining after that. The Cholas built a very great temple of Sri Bragatheeswara in Tanjore. The temple is in the fort called as Sivaganga fort. This temple is also well known as the big temple in Tanjore. The Kalasha of the temple was put there by the Raja himself and the Vimana weighed nearly 235 lbs in gold. The main shrine here is of Sri Brihadisvsra, which in Sanskrit means Peruvudaiyar. There are five divisions in the temple: the sanctorum, Aradhana Mandapam, Maha Mandapam, Narthana Mandapam and Vaadya Mandapam. There are three portals in the main shrine guarded by Dwarpals. These guardians of the gate are huge and are of exquisite workmanship. Some of the guardians are very huge and have dimensions of 18 feet by 8 feet. There are many such guardians in the temple. These are of great artistic merit and are made of monolith.
There is also a big fort that encircles the city and there is a palace built by Vijayaraghava. There are many tourist places in Tanjore and around Tanjore. The Tanjore palace is a very vast building of masonry built partly by the Nayaks in 15th century. The Maratha rulers built the other part. The art gallery in the palace is worth a visit. There are many granite and bronze statues of the Chola period in the gallery. There is a library in the palace called as the Saraswati Mahal library. There are some very old manuscripts in the library and there are over 30, 000 palm leaves and paper manuscripts in there. There are books in Indian and European languages in this library. There is a hall of music in the palace that is acoustically perfect. There is another museum in the palace worth a visit. This museum is called as the Royal museum of Tanjore. This museum has a mixed collection of manuscripts, weapons, dresses, utensils, musical instruments and other very interesting things. All these things once belonged to the royal families of Tanjore.
Schwarta Church is a legacy of Tanjore's colonial past. This church belongs to the 18th century and stands near Shivganga tank.
Nearest tourist places to Tanjore are many. Darasuram has a temple of Lord Shiva situated just 34 kms from Tanjore. Kumbakonam has the famous Mahamaham festival and boasts of five temples with erotic sculptures. Mannargudi has a 12th century temple of Lord Krishna. Mayiladuthurai situated on the banks of the River Cauveri has a beautiful Mayurnatha Swami temple. Poompuhar was the capital and port city of the Cholas. The River Cauveri drains in Bay of Bengal here. This place is very famous for the Epic Silappathikaram.
Other tourist places in Tanjore include the Shivganga garden with its beautiful plants, flowers and birds. Rajarajan Manimandapam and the Tamil university, Punnai Nallur Mariamman Kovil are popular tourist spots around Tanjore.