High Middle Ages · South Asia · Culture
1010
Brihadeshwara Temple completed at Thanjavur
1010
Rajaraja Chola's colossal stone temple was consecrated after years of construction. Its vimana tower rises over two hundred feet, topped by a single carved granite capstone weighing eighty tons. The temple remains the largest purely granite temple ever built and a showcase of Chola engineering and ambition. Its walls bear inscriptions detailing the administration of a vast empire, from tax records to dance troupes maintained by the temple.