Thanjavur Royal Palace Or Thanjavur Aranmanai

Thanjavur Palace is Just 1km away from Brihadeeswarar Temple, is the magnificent palace.  This palace is surrounded with huge fort walls.  It dates 14th century Ad and was partly built by the Naicks and partly by Marathas.  It measures 110 acres in size.  It is a grand pile of fascinating building with huge corridors, specious halls decorated rooms, tall observation towers, beautiful stucco works, wonderful fresco painted walls and ceilings underground tunnels, intricate intricate carvings, royal family’s sacred Chandra Mauleeshwarar temple are all worth seeing.

Art Gallery

The Art Gallery has a fabulous collection of bronze icons.  The stone sculptures are unique in their priceless quality.  One can see and enjoy the finest pieces of stone sculptures and bronze icons of the gods of Hindu Mythology in different forms which helps the viewer get enlightened regarding the greatness of Chola art especially with special reference to their legendary background.


Saraswathi Mahal Library

The Thanjavur Maharaja Serofoji’s Saraswathi Mahal Library is one among the few medieval libraries that exist in the world.  It contains a very rare and valuable collection of manuscripts, books, maps and paintings on all aspects of Art, culture and Literature.  The Encyclopaedia Britannica in its survey of the Libraries of the world mentions.  That it is as “the most remarkable Library in India.  It was conceived and christened as the Royal Palace Library in the 16th century by the Nayak Kings and later developed by the Maratha Kings of Thanjavur.  Only after 1918 this Library was made a Public Library.  Now both the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Government of India maintain the Library.

Tanjore Palace, Tanjore