The statue has a height of 95 feet (29 m) and stands upon a 38 foot (11.5 m) pedestal that represents the 38 chapters of "virtue" in theThirukkural. The statue standing on the pedestal represents "wealth" and "pleasure", signifying that wealth and love be earned and enjoyed on the foundation of solid virtue. The combined height of the statue and pedestal is 133 feet (40.5 m), denoting the 133 chapters in the Thirukkural. It has a total weight of 7000 tons Construction began on September 6, 1990, on the tiny island adjacent to Vivekananda Rock Memorial. Initially, the project stalled but then recommenced in 1997 and was completed on January 1, 2000. At the cost of more than $1 million (U.S.), it employed about 150 workers,sculptors, assistants and supervisors. The slight bend around the waist made the design challenging. Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati solved the problem by creating a full-length wooden prototype before construction. Study of this prototype led to the identification of an energy line (known in Vastu science as kayamadhyasutra), currently an empty cavity in the center of the statue from top to bottom. Sthapati designed the statue to survive earthquakes of unexpected magnitude. The stone work was divided amongst three workshops, in Kanyakumari, Ambasamudram and Shankarapuram. Ambasamudram contributed 5,000 tons of stones, while Shankarapuram was quarried for 2,000 tons of high quality granite stones for the outer portion of the statue. While the largest of the 3,681 stones weighed over 15 tons, the majority weighed three to eight tons. An interesting detail is the 19-foot-high face, with the ears, nose, eyes, mouth, forehead all made of individual stones carved by hand. Stumps of palmyra tree and poles of casuarina(ironwood) were used for scaffolding. It took 18,000 casuarina poles tied together with two truckloads of ropes to reach the top of the statue.jpg)
Statistical details of the statueHeight of the statue 95 feet Height of the pedestial 38 feet Statue along with the pedestial 133 feet Height of the face 10 feet Height of the body part 30 feet Height of the thigh part 30 feet Height of the leg part 20 feet Fore arm 10 feet Length of the manuscript 10 feet Width of the shoulder 30 feet Length of the hairdo 5 feet Peripheral wall including the statue & mandap 60 * 50 feet 10 Elephants, each as tall as 5' 6 inches Weight of the pedestial, statue and the wall 7000 tones Sculptures and other worksmen 500 Cheif Scultptor : Thiru V.Ganapathi sthapathi
