Thanjavur Palace is a wonderful example of the architectural style and cultural interests of the Marathas and Nayaks. Both these dynasties were great patrons of art and culture and did a great deal to promote and develop music, architecture and the fine arts.
Thanjavur Palace has the famous Saraswathi Mahal library, an art gallery and the Royal Museum with an interesting collection of artifacts, paintings, books and other memorabilia.
The paintings in the Darbar Hall retell the stories from the epic Ramayana. The walls and ceilings are covered with detailed stucco figures of gods and goddesses.
The State Department of Archaeology is in charge of taking care of the important monuments in the palace complex like the Arsenal Tower, Bell Tower, Darbar Hall of the Marathas and Sadar Madi (Sarjah Madi).
History :
Thanjavur Palace is situated in the Big Fort Complex that was originally built by Vijayaraghava Nayakkar (1633-74 CE), who was the last king of the Thanjai Nayak dynasty.
Attractions :
Darbar Hall and Sangita Mahal
The Maratha Durbar Hall has stripes on the octagonal columns and ornate designs on the arches. Portraits of several Maratha rulers including Serfoji can be seen in this hall. The walls are adorned with images of gods and goddesses like Shiva and Vishnu with their consort and Indra and other familiar figures. The Sangita Mahal, where music and dance flourished under the patronage of the kings, is a miniature of the surviving court of Thirumalai Nayaks.
Arsenal Tower
Madamaligai, the Arsenal Tower, is 190 feet height with eight storeys. It was constructed during the period of the Marathas in 1855 CE. It was used as a watchtower and an armory to store weapons and ammunition imported from European countries. After the English captured the palace in 1855 CE, all the contents were transferred to Tiruchirappalli, in 1863.
The Palace
The Thanjavur Palace is a huge complex that has many architectural features. The massive complex consists of huge halls, wide corridors, multi-storied observation towers and a shady courtyard. As you walk across, you can see that some parts of the complex are in ruins while other parts show that restoration work has been taken up to revive and protect the monument.
The royal objects that are on display in the museum include royal clothing, headgear and hunting weapons. On the upper floor is a skeleton of a 92-feet whale that washed ashore near Tranquebar in 1955.
Bell Tower
To the northwest of the Arsenal Tower is Goodagopuram, the Bell Tower also known as ‘the wide holed ear pavilion’ and designed in the style of the Gingee Nayaks.
The seven-story bell tower has superb views of the Big Temple and a bird’s eye view of the city of Thanjavur. It is also believed that Vijayaraghava Nayakkar climbed it every day at noon to worship the towers of the Srirangam Ranganatha temple, visible from the top of this tower. Today this tower has only seven storeys though it is said to have been higher with more levels that were damaged by thunder and lightning. A research note says that there was a huge and unusual clock on the tower in which the figure of a monkey used to strike the gong every hour.
Saraswathi Mahal Library
Originally called the Saraswathi Bhandar, the Raja Serfoji Saraswathi Mahal Library is one of the greatest libraries in India. The books, manuscripts, palm leaf and ancient texts have been collected over three hundred years by the Nayak and Maratha kings. Next to the art gallery, the Saraswathi Mahal Library contains over 44,000 palm leaf and paper manuscripts in Indian and European languages inside this library. Over eighty percent of the manuscripts are in Sanskrit. The Tamil literature and material in the library is on varied subjects like medicine and commentaries on works of the Sangam period.
King Serfoji II (1798-1832) was an eminent scholar. When he was young he studied under Rev Schwartz and learned English, French, Italian, Latin etc. he became greatly interested in Arts, Science and he spent a great deal of time, money and effort to add to the Saraswathi Library. When he was on a visit to Benares, he employed many Pandits (learned scholars) to collect, buy and copy many works from renowned centers of Sanskrit. As a tribute to this great collector, the library is named after him.
Photos
Thanjavur Palace has the famous Saraswathi Mahal library, an art gallery and the Royal Museum with an interesting collection of artifacts, paintings, books and other memorabilia.
The paintings in the Darbar Hall retell the stories from the epic Ramayana. The walls and ceilings are covered with detailed stucco figures of gods and goddesses.
The State Department of Archaeology is in charge of taking care of the important monuments in the palace complex like the Arsenal Tower, Bell Tower, Darbar Hall of the Marathas and Sadar Madi (Sarjah Madi).
History :
Thanjavur Palace is situated in the Big Fort Complex that was originally built by Vijayaraghava Nayakkar (1633-74 CE), who was the last king of the Thanjai Nayak dynasty.
Attractions :
Darbar Hall and Sangita Mahal
The Maratha Durbar Hall has stripes on the octagonal columns and ornate designs on the arches. Portraits of several Maratha rulers including Serfoji can be seen in this hall. The walls are adorned with images of gods and goddesses like Shiva and Vishnu with their consort and Indra and other familiar figures. The Sangita Mahal, where music and dance flourished under the patronage of the kings, is a miniature of the surviving court of Thirumalai Nayaks.
Arsenal Tower
Madamaligai, the Arsenal Tower, is 190 feet height with eight storeys. It was constructed during the period of the Marathas in 1855 CE. It was used as a watchtower and an armory to store weapons and ammunition imported from European countries. After the English captured the palace in 1855 CE, all the contents were transferred to Tiruchirappalli, in 1863.
The Palace
The Thanjavur Palace is a huge complex that has many architectural features. The massive complex consists of huge halls, wide corridors, multi-storied observation towers and a shady courtyard. As you walk across, you can see that some parts of the complex are in ruins while other parts show that restoration work has been taken up to revive and protect the monument.
The royal objects that are on display in the museum include royal clothing, headgear and hunting weapons. On the upper floor is a skeleton of a 92-feet whale that washed ashore near Tranquebar in 1955.
Bell Tower
To the northwest of the Arsenal Tower is Goodagopuram, the Bell Tower also known as ‘the wide holed ear pavilion’ and designed in the style of the Gingee Nayaks.
The seven-story bell tower has superb views of the Big Temple and a bird’s eye view of the city of Thanjavur. It is also believed that Vijayaraghava Nayakkar climbed it every day at noon to worship the towers of the Srirangam Ranganatha temple, visible from the top of this tower. Today this tower has only seven storeys though it is said to have been higher with more levels that were damaged by thunder and lightning. A research note says that there was a huge and unusual clock on the tower in which the figure of a monkey used to strike the gong every hour.
Saraswathi Mahal Library
Originally called the Saraswathi Bhandar, the Raja Serfoji Saraswathi Mahal Library is one of the greatest libraries in India. The books, manuscripts, palm leaf and ancient texts have been collected over three hundred years by the Nayak and Maratha kings. Next to the art gallery, the Saraswathi Mahal Library contains over 44,000 palm leaf and paper manuscripts in Indian and European languages inside this library. Over eighty percent of the manuscripts are in Sanskrit. The Tamil literature and material in the library is on varied subjects like medicine and commentaries on works of the Sangam period.
King Serfoji II (1798-1832) was an eminent scholar. When he was young he studied under Rev Schwartz and learned English, French, Italian, Latin etc. he became greatly interested in Arts, Science and he spent a great deal of time, money and effort to add to the Saraswathi Library. When he was on a visit to Benares, he employed many Pandits (learned scholars) to collect, buy and copy many works from renowned centers of Sanskrit. As a tribute to this great collector, the library is named after him.
Photos
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| Library |
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| Tanjavur Palace |
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