Tōdaiji Temple Complex, Nara, Japan

The Buddhist temple Tōdaiji in Nara Prefecture is a priceless trove of history and culture. Founded some 1,300 years ago, the UNESCO World Heritage site is home to the Great Buddha of Nara and other national treasures. The Great Buddha of Nara stands 15 meters high, making it one of the largest such images in the world. It is a depiction of the Roshana Buddha, also known as Biroshana or Vairochana in Sanskrit, the so-called cosmic Buddha or “great illuminator” who shines mercy upon the earth. The statue is normally hidden from view from the outside, but at certain times of the year a special window overlooking the sandō and central gate is opened to reveal the face of the Buddha.

Tōdaiji’s roots are with the temple Kinshōsanji, which was built in 728 for the repose of the spirit of the son of Emperor Shōmu (701–56). In 743, following several years of natural calamities and political turmoil, Shōmu issued a proclamation for the erection of a great Buddha in the hope of returning peace to the land. The colossal image represented an unprecedented undertaking, but Kinshōsanji’s head priest Gyōki used his influence to solicit money, materials, and labor from around the country. The image was completed in 749, followed by the Daibutsuden Hall in 752. It was around this period that the temple also came to be known as Tōdaiji.

There are some guardians in the temple, as well as outside guarding the Buddha. The Great Buddha that stands today represents reconstruction work spanning four periods of Japanese history. The chest and base are part of the original image cast in the Nara period, while the waist dates from the Kamakura period (1185–1333), the upper body from the Warring States period (1467–1568), and head from the Edo period. A careful observer will notice that the bronze making up the face of the Buddha is in better condition than the chest, which is several centuries older.

Brihadeshwara Temple Thanjavur India

This is a top five temple, in a trip replete with spectacular ancient temples. I would recommend a slower pace than we accomplished, but the content of the trip, the places we went, were all recommended, not a clunker amongst them. One of the largest temples in India, the Brihadeeswara Temple, also known as Peruvudaiyar Kovil, is located in Thanjavur. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, represented as a huge ‘Lingam’, the temple was built around 1010 AD by the Chola king Rajaraja Chola I. The temple continued the Hindu temple traditions of South India by adopting architectural and decorative elements, but its scale significantly exceeded the temples constructed before the 11th century. The Chola era architects and artisans innovated the expertise to scale up and build, particularly with heavy stone and to accomplish the 63.4 metres (208 ft) high towering vimana.

This is a telling of the building of this temple in ancient Tamil. The text wraps around the building, with no punctuation (we are told), as a chronicle of how they moved the massive granite blocks and built this temple.

Gangaikonda Chozhapuram Temple, Thiruvarur, India ·

This place is astounding, And these two pictures are a minuscule representation of what is here—the carvings tell stories, as do the sculptures and the columns, and it is all spectacularly beautifully done. The structure is granite, the statues as well, and the carvings atop the gopuram are stucco (made of limestone powder, jaggery, egg white, and gum tree resin). Located in Ariyalur this temple, Gangaikondacholapuram, is the biggest temple constructed during the reign of Rajendra–I in Ariyalur region. Following the conquest of the Gangetic plains in A.D. 1023 the Chola king Rajendra–I built this in commemoration of his victory. It is a Shiva temple in the Dravidian style.

He also shifted his capital from Thanjavur to this newly built town. From his period to the end of the Chola family rule in A.D.1279 this city was the capital for the Chola Empire for a period of 256 years. The gigantic stone temple which he built in this place is rich repository of beautiful sculptures of middle Chola period. As in the case of most Shiva temples, the principal deity is represented as a Shiva Lingam which is 13 ft tall. The main part of the structure is 341 ft high and 100 ft wide.

Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Chennai, India

This was the firt of many temples we visited in Tamil Nadu, and the detail of the sculpture is spectacular--both breath taking and overwhelming--I spent hours looking at my photos in close up to appreciate what I could not see quite as well from the ground level. They are exquisitely detailed and life-like. Zoom in! The temple is of typical Dravidian architectural style, with the gopuram overpowering the street on which the temple sits. The original dates back to 700 but this location is believed to have been built in 1566 after Portuguese destruction of the original (the French and the Portuguese were in Chennai before the English took hold in the mid-18th century).

The temple's name is derived from the words kapala (head) and Ishvara, an epithet of Shiva. According to the Puranas, during the meeting of the deities Brahma and Shiva at top of Mount Kailash, Brahma failed to show the due respect to Shiva. Due to this, Shiva plucked off one of the five heads (kapala) of Brahma. In an act of penance, Brahma came down to the site of Mylapore and installed a lingam to please Shiva.