Brihadisvara Temple and Frio County, Texas: Difference between pages

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{{Infobox U.S. County|

The '''Brihadisvara temple''' is an ancient [[Hindu]] temple located at [[Thanjavur]] in the state of [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]. This [[10th century]] [[CE]] temple, one of [[UNESCO]]'s [[World Heritage Sites]], is a brilliant example of the [[Dravidian]] style of temple architecture. The central temple known as the ''Periya Koil'' (Big Temple) stands within a fort, whose walls are later additions built during the [[16th century]]. The main tower of the temple is about 70 [[m]] high. One very interesting feature of this tall structure is that the shadow of the hemispherical crown on top never falls on the ground. [[Image:MainGopuram-BrihadisvaraTemple-Thanjavur,India.jpg|thumb|''Rajagopuram'' (main tower) of the temple]]

county = Frio County|

state = Texas |

seal = |

map = Map of Texas highlighting Frio County.svg |

map size = 250|

founded = 1871|

seat = [[Pearsall, Texas|Pearsall]] |

area = 2,938 [[square kilometre|km²]] (1,134 [[square mile|mi²]]) |

area land = 2,935 km² (1,133 mi²) |

area water = 3 km² (1 mi²) |

area percentage = 0.11% |

census yr = 2000|

pop = 16,252|

density = 6|

web = |

|}}

'''Frio County''' is a [[county]] located in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Texas]]. As of [[2000]], the population is 16,252. Its [[county seat]] is [[Pearsall, Texas|Pearsall]][[Geographic references|⁶]]. Frio County is named for the [[Frio River]].

The crown itself is very large and heavy (nearly a ton) and till a few years back was thought to be carved out of a single stone. However during one of the cleaning efforts it was found to be in two pieces. The task of carrying this huge crown to a height of 70 m is another feat worth mentioning. In order to do this a [[inclined plane]] of [[sand]] was built from a distance of nearly 11 [[km]]. The place where this scaffold began is called the ''Sarap pallam'' ("Scaffold Pit").

==Geography==

The Brihadisvara temple was built by an important Tamil ruler, [[RajaRaja Chola]] of the [[Chola]] dynasty. In the twenty-fifth year of Rajaraja Chola (1009-10 CE), on the 257th day of the year the king handed over the copper pot for the final decoration atop the ''Vimana''. It weighed about 107 [[kg]], and was overlaid with [[gold]] plate of the weight of 292.5 ''Kalanju'' (nearly 13 kg). The main deity worshipped the temple is [[Shiva]], in the usual form of a ''[[linga]]''.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of 2,938 [[km²]] (1,134 [[square mile|mi²]]). 2,935 km² (1,133 mi²) of it is land and 3 km² (1 mi²) of it (0.11%) is water.

[[Image:OrnamentedPillar-BrihadisvaraTemple-Thanjavur,India.jpg|thumb|An ornamented pillar in the temple courtyard]]

===Major Highways===

The Sivalinga of Sri Brihadisvara is probably the grandest in existence. This image was originally called ''Adavallan'' (Expert Dancer). Another name was ''Dakshina Meru Vitanken''. Both the names occur in ''Thiruvisaipa'' as the names of the deity at [[Chidambaram]]. This possibly indicates that the ''Shaiva'' creed derived its support at the time mainly from Chidambaram. Rajaraja Chola calls the image ''Rajarajeswaramudaiyar'' (The Lord of Rajarajeswaram). The tower over the shrine is named ''Dakshina Meru'' after the abode of Lord Shiva at ''[[Kailasa]]''.

*[[Image:I-35.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 35]]

*[[Image:US 57.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Highway 57]]

*[[Image:Texas 85.svg|20px]] [[State Highway 85 (Texas)]]

*[[State Highway 173 (Texas)]]

===Adjacent counties===

A remarkable feature of the temple is the great '' '''Nandi''' '' (stone bull). The ''Nandi'' that figures at the entrance is immense in size (a popular belief is that it is growing by the day), and the ceiling of its enclosure is decorated with [[fresco]]es in the typical painting style of Thanjavur.

*[[Medina County, Texas|Medina County]] (north)

*[[Atascosa County, Texas|Atascosa County]] (east)

*[[La Salle County, Texas|La Salle County]] (south)

*[[Dimmit County, Texas|Dimmit County]] (southwest)

*[[Zavala County, Texas|Zavala County]] (west)

==Demographics==

[[Image:Nandi-MainGopuram-BrihadisvaraTemple-Thanjavur,India.jpg|thumb|The ''Nandi'', with the main ''Gopuram'' in the background'']]

As of the [[census]][[Geographic references#2|²]] of 2000, there were 16,252 people, 4,743 households, and 3,642 families residing in the county. The [[population density]] was 6/km² (14/mi²). There were 5,660 housing units at an average density of 2/km² (5/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 71.86% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 4.87% [[Race (United States Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.58% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.41% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 0.02% [[Race (United States Census)|Pacific Islander]], 19.76% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 2.50% from two or more races. 73.76% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.

[[Image:Nandi-CeilingFresco-BrihadisvaraTemple-Thanjavur,India.jpg|thumb|Frecoes on the enclosure roof]]

There were 4,743 households out of which 40.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.20% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 16.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.20% were non-families. 20.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.44.

The tall ''Rajagopuram'' of the temple also found use as a survey platform during the measurement of the [[Great Arc]], by the [[Survey of India]] under [[William Lambton]]. The [[Great Theodolite]] used during the Survey of India was damaged in a fall from the roof, and its carefully calibrated plates were bent. This instrument was later repaired at [[Trichy]].

In the county, the population was spread out with 28.70% under the age of 18, 11.20% from 18 to 24, 30.80% from 25 to 44, 18.70% from 45 to 64, and 10.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 121.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 130.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $24,504, and the median income for a family was $26,578. Males had a median income of $23,810 versus $16,498 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the county was $16,069. About 24.50% of families and 29.00% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 36.20% of those under age 18 and 30.40% of those age 65 or over.

==Cities and towns==

*[[Bigfoot, Texas|Bigfoot]]

*[[Dilley, Texas|Dilley]]

*[[Hilltop, Texas|Hilltop]]

*[[Moore, Texas|Moore]]

*[[North Pearsall, Texas|North Pearsall]]

*[[Pearsall, Texas|Pearsall]]

*[[West Pearsall, Texas|West Pearsall]]

==See also==

*[[Winter Garden Region]]

==External links==

* {{Handbook of Texas|id=FF/hcf10|name=Frio County}}

* [http://texashistory.unt.edu/search/?q=%22United+States+-+Texas+-+Frio+County%22&t=dc.coverage Historic Frio County materials], hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History.]

{{Texas}}

{{coord|28.86|-99.11|display=title|type:adm2_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990}}

*[[Thanjavur]]

*[[Hindu temple architecture]]

*[[Shiva]]

[[Category:TamilTexas Naducounties]]

[[Category:Frio County, Texas| ]]

[[Category:United States counties with Hispanic majority populations]]

[[frde:Temple deFrio BrihadesvaraCounty]]

[[bpy:ফ্রিও কাউন্টি, টেক্সাস]]

[[Category:World Heritage Sites in India]]

[[Categorylmo:TemplesFrio ofCounty, IndiaTexas]]

[[no:Frio County]]

[[nds:Frio County]]

[[pt:Condado de Frio]]

[[zh:弗里奧縣 (德克薩斯州)]]