Brihadeeswara temple in Tanjore, Tamil Nadu, is the only temple in the world to be home to many inscriptions carved on its stone walls, pillars and podiums. This rare documentation, which consists of about one hundred inscriptions, provides one with a comprehensive knowledge of the times.

From these inscriptions, one may also have insights into the number of the metallic images set up in the temple. Eighty one of the one hundred and eight karanas or chapters of Sage Bharata’s Natya Sastra are also engraved on the wall.