The Department of Archaeology recently renovated a granary of the Nayak period and erected a fence around it. It stands as the Nayak kings’ contribution to the Chola-era Palaivananathar temple at Thirupalaithurai on the Kumbakonam-Thanjavur road.
The circular granary was constructed by Govinda Dikshitar, who was the teacher and chief minister of Ragunatha Naik and his father Achuthappa Naik.
Ragunatha Naik ruled Thanjavur between 1600 and 1634. The granary near the entrance of the temple was used to store paddy harvested from the fields.
“We plastered and removed broken bricks and replaced them with new bricks,” said K. Olimalik, Assistant Executive Engineer of the Archaeology Department.
The circular brick structure is 36 feet tall and 80 feet wide. It is conical at the top and has three openings — one at the lower end, another at the centre and yet another one at the top. Approximately 3,000 ‘kalams’ can be stored in the granary. One ‘kalam’ is equal to 96 ‘padi’. Mr. Olimalik said there was a staircase leading to the granary. “It is made of metal and we have decided to convert it into a wooden staircase,” he said.
