Officially known as the ‘Rajaraja Chola Art Gallery’, the art gallery at the Maratha palace boasts of an impressive array of bronze sculptures and coins ranging from the 9th to the19th century.

It is said that back in the day, an archaeologist found an idol on the riverside in the city. He wanted to take it to the Calcutta Museum. However, locals argued that the idol should remain within the city. The idol was thus put in an empty corridor in this Maratha palace. The Collector then declared that any more of such sculptures should also be housed in this palace and the Art Gallery was born. Many of the sculptures in this gallery were discovered by locals while digging for agriculture or construction.

Other than its temples and art forms, Thanjavur has also been a popular centre for metal work. This is evident from the massive cannon that is placed at the eastern gateway of the city. This 17th-century cannon that once protected the city is said to be built using Danish techniques. Installed during the reign of Raghunatha Nayak, this cannon is believed to have been made in the Manojipatti area of Thanjavur. 

Rajagopala Bheegari, as it is popularly known, is one of the largest forge-welded iron cannons in the world. 
An important part of the fortified city, it has been referred to as the Agniyantra (fire weapon) in Sarabharaja Vilasam, a literary work based on Thanjavur.

The Darbar Hall of the Maratha palace is a colourful site. Its walls are decorated with frescoes and paintings of the past rulers of Thanjavur as well as with the images of gods and goddesses like Shiva and Vishnu with their consorts. Used for audiences earlier, the royal throne of the Maratha kings is another majestic attraction of this part of the palace.

The city palace of Thanjavur, locally known as Aranmanai, has been the home of many royal families. In fact, the royal family of Thanjavur continues to live in this mansion even today.

Built by the Nayaka king, Vijay Raghava Nayaka in the 17th century, the palace was held by the Nayaka family until 1674 when Venkoji, the Maratha ruler, took the city and along with it, the palace. The palace was extended by these Maratha rulers. Even when they lost the city to the British in 1799, they continued to maintain their hold over this palace.

The palace complex houses the Royal Palace Museum, Serfoji Memorial Hall, the Darbar Hall, an Arsenal Tower, the Bell Tower, the Sangeet Mahal and the Rajaraja Chola Art Gallery. 

A huge skeleton of a Baleen whale that was washed ashore on the banks of Tharangambadi beach in 1995 can be found in the arsenal tower at this Maratha palace. 

The Sadar Mahal palace was the residential palace of Raja Serfoji II where arts like dance and drama were performed. It was converted into a museum in the memory of that great patron of arts and literature, Serfoji II by Prince Tulajendra Rajah P. Bhosle, the fourth descendant of Serfoji II in 1997.  

It now houses some rare artefacts from the collections of King Serfoji ll himself. A portrait of Kanchi Sankaracharya, made entirely of grains is a highlight of this museum. Other artefacts include Tanjore paintings, manuscripts, ivory objects, silver and crystal articles, armouries, furniture, household articles, costumes and earthenware.

Founded by the Lutheran missionary, Reverend Christian Friedrich Schwartz, this Church was built with the support of Raja Serfoji II in 1779 who regarded the Reverend as his mentor. Serfoji II himself was interested in theology. The Church houses a marble tablet commissioned by the ruler which shows Serfoji at the deathbed of the Reverend, with the Reverend holding his hand. John Flaxman, a British sculptor, was asked to make this white marble tablet.

Given the way the Brihadeswara Temple dominates the city of Thanjavur, it is no surprise that all the subsequent rulers of the city attempted to leave their mark here. Outside the Brihadeswara Temple enclosure are the remnants of the walls of the Shivaganga Fort, built by the Nayakas who occupied the city after the Cholas. The fort wall is supported by a moat as well as a tank which together protect and enclose the temple complex that is synonymous with the city itself. 

This magnificent temple complex built in 1010 by Rajaraja Chola, was five times the size of the shrines constructed by his ancestors. Made of granite, the building program of this temple was extensive. Elephants were used to carry the granite, from Tiruchirappalli, about 50 kms from Thanjavur.
At the height of its glory, this complex did not only house the temple but also the Chola Kings’ stone palace, which no longer exists. 

The magnificence of the temple was so widespread that a play entitled ‘Rajarajeshvaranatakam’ was written on it. An inscription from the Chola period tells us about the wages paid to the actors of the play and provisions made for the performance of the play.

Dravidian style temples like the Brihadeswara temple usually had tall vimanas (the superstructure over the garbhagriha) from the top of which one can see the different horizontal levels of the temple. The vimana of this temple is topped by a stupi or crowning element which is finished with a kalasha. The block of stone for the stupi was conveyed to the top of the vimana by the means of an inclined plane commencing from Sarapallam, four miles northeast of the city. 

Recently discovered inscriptions indicate that gold plating may have been applied to parts of the vimana, making it shine in the sun.

One enters the temple complex from the Keralanatakan gopuram, five-storey high and awe-inspiring. As the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, the patron deity of the Cholas, the carvings on the gopuram illustrate many Shaivite stories. These include, for instance, a depiction of Shiva’s marriage to Parvati. 

Interestingly, the court between the first and second gopuram was used as an arsenal by the French in 1772 and then again by the British in 1802.

The two-storied Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) has a massive Shivalinga which is surrounded by circumambulatory paths on each storey. Painted murals decorate the lower path where each of the fifteen bays have a visual rendering of a single mythological theme. The upper path is embellished with vivid relief carvings of the 108 karanas or dance poses of Lord Shiva.

The first storey of the circumambulatory path houses some exceptional fresco paintings. Among these, the painting of Shiva as Tripurantaka and of Nataraja being worshipped by Rajaraja and his queens is particularly exceptional. 

The temple also houses two stylised portraits, one in stone and one in paint, of its patron Rajaraja Chola. This particular painting showing him with his spiritual guru, Karuvar Devar, carries an interesting symbolism. Rajaraja is painted here with matted locks which pile on top of his head like Shiva. By depicting himself as Shiva, Rajaraja was thus making a claim to the greatness of Lord Shiva for himself.

However, the Chola murals were not always visible. Later rulers of Thanjavur had a new layer of paintings added on these murals. It was only when water partly destroyed these later paintings that the Chola murals came to light. 

The outer walls of the Brihadeswara Temple are divided horizontally into two levels. In the lower levels are sculptures of the various manifestations of Shiva. These include the Nataraja, Bhikshatana, Ardhanari and Lingodbhava. In the upper walls are thirty identical sculptures of Shiva in the form of Tripurantaka, an avatar that he adopts after the destruction of forts of three demons with a single arrow. The importance given to this form at Brihadeswara becomes clear when we see that like the God, Rajaraja had also vanquished his three enemies, the Chalukyas, the Pandyas and the Cheras.

Legend says that a young cowherd named Chandesa built a Shivlinga of mud that he bathed every day with milk. Chandesa’s father, however, got complaints of his son’s misuse of milk and being fed up of this, he kicked the Shivlinga in rage. In response, Chandesa attacked his father’s foot with his staff which miraculously converted into Shiva’s axe. His father fell to the ground with its blow. Lord Shiva then promised Chandesa that he would play the role of his father from that moment on. 

Chandesa was blessed and became a part of the 63 nayanar saints of Shiva. This shrine is dedicated to him.

 The Cholas were so impressed with his devotion that they also appointed him the guardian of the Brihadeswara temple.

The Chandesa shrine is the only shrine which was a part of the original plan envisioned by Rajaraja and continues to exist in its original form.

The Nandi Mandapa with its pillared hall is a later addition to the Brihadeswara Temple as it was built during the rule of the Nayakas. It has a massive monolithic Nandi sculpture which is almost 12 feet high and 8 feet wide. Its stone is said to have come from the foot of Panchamalai, near the town of Perambalur. Another version of the tale says that the stone was brought over from the bed of the Narmada in the north. The ceiling of the mandapa is decorated with paintings from the Nayaka period.