Chidambaram
Thillai Nataraja Temple also referred as
the Chidambaram Nataraja Temple is a
A Hindu temple dedicated to Nataraja, the
form of Shiva as the lord of the dance. This
the temple is located in Chidambaram, Tamil
Nadu, India. This temple has ancient roots
and a Shiva shrine existed at the site when
the town was known as Thillai.
Chidambaram, the name of the city literally
means "stage of consciousness". The
temple architecture symbolizes the
the connection between the arts and
spirituality, creative activity and the
divine. The temple wall carvings
display all the 108 katanas from the Natya
Shastra by Bharata Muni, and these
postures form a foundation of
Bharatanatyam is an Indian classical dance.
Chidambaram Nataraja Temple
A view of the north-side gopuram and pond of the
Temple
Religion
District
State
Country
Architecture
Type
Dravidian architecture
Creator
Tamil
The main gopuram of Chidambaram Natarajar temple
The present temple was built in the 10th
century when Chidambaram was the
capital of the Chola dynasty, making it one
of the oldest surviving active temple
complexes in South India. After its 10th-
century consecration by the Cholas who
considered Nataraja as their family deity,
the temple has been damaged, repaired,
renovated and expanded through the 2nd
millennium. Most of the temple's surviving
plan, architecture and structure are from the
late 12th and early 13th centuries, with
later additions in a similar style.While
Shiva as Nataraja is the primary deity of
the temple, it reverentially presents major
themes from Shaktism, Vaishnavism, and other traditions of Hinduism. The
Chidambaram temple complex, for
the example has the earliest known Amman
or Devi temple in South India, a pre-13th-century Surya shrine with a chariot, shrines
for Ganesha, Murugan and Vishnu, one of
the earliest known Shiva Ganga sacred
pool, large mandapas for the convenience
of pilgrims (choultry, am Balam or sabha) and other monuments. Shiva himself
is presented as the Nataraja performing
the Ananda Tandava ("Dance of Delight")
in the golden hall of the shrine Pon
Ambalam.
The temple is one of the five elemental
lingers in the Shaivism pilgrimage tradition, and is considered the subtlest of all Shiva
temples ( Kovil) in Hinduism. It is also a
site for performance arts, including the
annual Natyanjali dance festival on Maha
Chidambaram is one of the many temples
towns in the state which are named after
the groves, clusters or forests dominated
by a particular variety of tree or shrub
and the same variety of trees or shrubs
sheltering the presiding deity. The town
used to be called Thillai, following
Thillaivanam, derived from the mangrove
of Tillai trees ( Excoecaria agallocha) that grow here and in the nearby Pichavaram
wetlands.
The site became the capital of Cholas in
the 10th century and they renamed it to
Chidambaram and built the current temple
for their family deity of Nataraja Shiva. The word Chidambaram comes from the Tamil
word Chitrambalam (also spelt
Chithambalam) meaning "wisdom
atmosphere". The roots are cut or chit
means "consciousness or wisdom", while
and ampalam means "atmosphere".
This composite word comes from its
association with Shiva Nataraja, the
cosmic dancer and the cultural
the atmosphere for arts. The word
Chidambaram is translated by James
Lochtefeld as "clothed in thought".
The town and temple name appears in
medieval Hindu texts by various additional
names such as Kovil (lit. "the temple"),
Pundarikapuram, Vyagrapuram,
Sirrampuram, Puliyur and Chitrakuta.
Additional names for Chidambaram in
Pallava era and North Indian texts include
Kanagasabainathar, Ponnambalam,
Brahmastpuri and Brahmapuri.
Location
The Nataraja temple in Chidambaram is
located in the southeastern Indian state of
Tamil Nadu. It is about 5 kilometres
(3.1 mi) North of the Kollidam River
(Kaveri), 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west from
the coast of the Bay of Bengal, and 220
kilometres (140 mi) south of Chennai. The closest major airport is about 60
kilometres (37 mi) north in Pondicherry
(IATA: PNY). The National Highway 32 (old
numbering: NH-45A) passes through
Chidambaram. The Tamil Nadu State
Transport Corporation and private
companies operate services connecting it
to major cities in the state. The site is
linked to the Indian Railways with daily
express trains to South Indian cities. [23]
Chidambaram is a temple town, with the
Nataraja complex spread over 40 acres
(0.16 km2) within a nearly square
courtyard in the centre. Its side roads are
aligned to the east-west, north-south
axis. It has double walls around its
periphery with gardens. It has had
entrance gateways on all four sides.
History
Nataraja – Shiva as the cosmic dancer (centre - sculpture from the temple), inspired the 10th-century Chola kings to rebuild the Chidambaram temple with stone and gold. A silver Nataraja, not Shivalinga, is the principal icon in this temple.
The Nataraja temple has ancient roots,
likely following the temple architecture
a tradition that is found all over South India
from at least the 5th century. Textual
evidence, such as those of the Sangam
tradition, suggests a temple existed here
along with Madurai in ancient times,[5] but
the town is not named Chidambaram in
these pre-5th-century texts. The earliest
mention of the "dancing god of Chidambaram"
as Shiva is found in 6th- and early-7th-
century texts by Appar and Sambadar.
The Suta Samhita embedded inside Sri
Kanda Puranam and variously dated
between the 7th and 10th centuries mentions
the Chidambaram dance. The surviving
Nataraja temple has a structure that is
traceable to the early Chola dynasty.
Chidambaram was the early capital of this
dynasty and Shiva Nataraja was their
family deity. The Chidambaram temple
the town remained important to the Cholas,
albeit with increasing competition from
other temple towns when Rajaraja Chola I
moved the capital to Thanjavur, built a new
City and the massive Brihadeeswarar
Temple dedicated to Shiva in the early
11th century, which is now a world
Heritage site.
Nataraja Shiva and his "dance of bliss" is
an ancient Hindu art concept. It is found in
various texts such as Tatva Nidhi which
describes seven types of dance and their
spiritual symbolism, Kashyapa Silpa which
describes 18 dance forms with
iconographic details and design
instructions, as well as Bharata's ancient
treatise on performance arts Natya Shastra
which describes 108 dance postures
among other things. Reliefs and
sculptures of Nataraja have been found
across the Indian subcontinent, some
dating to the 6th century and earlier such
The Chidambaram temple was built on this
heritage yet creatively evolved the idea
into forms not found elsewhere. The
earliest historically verifiable Shiva temple
at Chidambaram is traceable in
inscriptions that date to the rule of Aditya
Chola I in the early 10th century, and far
more during the rule of the 10th century
Chola king Parantaka I. [note 2] For them, the dancing Shiva was the kula-Vinayaka
(family guide or deity) and Chidambaram
was the capital they built.These
inscriptions and texts from this period
suggest that the significance of the Agama
texts and Shaiva Bhakti movement was
strengthening within the Chola leadership
and thought.
The copper plate inscriptions of Parantaka
I (c. 907–955 CE) describe him as the "bee
at the lotus feet of Shiva" who built the
golden house for Shiva, with Chit-sabha,
Hema-sabha, Hiranya-sabha and Kanaka-
sabha (all mandapam, pillared pilgrim rest
places). He is referred to as "Pon veranda
Perumal", which means "one who covered
with gold" the Chit-sabha of
Chidambaram.Both Aditya I and his
Chola successor Parantaka I were active
supporters of arts and temple building.
They converted much older brick and
wooden temples into more lasting temples
from cut stone as the building blocks in
dozens of places across South India.
Raja Raja Chola I (985–1013 CE)
embarked on a mission to recover the
hymns of the 63 Nayanmars after hearing
short excerpts of the Tevaram in his
court. He sought the help of
Nambiyandar Nambi, who was a priest in a
Temple. It is believed that divine
intervention Nambi found the presence of
scripts, in the form of cadi jam, leave half
eaten by white ants in a chamber inside
the second precinct in the temple.
The Brahmanas (Dikshitars) in the temple are supposed to have disagreed with the
king by saying that the works were too
divine, and that only by the arrival of the
"Naalvar" (the four saints)—Appar,
Sundarar, Tirugnanasambandar and
Manickavasagar would allow for the chambers to be opened? Rajaraja, however,
created idols of them and prepared for
them to be brought to the temple through
a procession. but Rajaraja is said to have
prevailed. Rajaraja thus became
known as Tirumurai Kanda Cholan meaning
one who saved Tirumurai.
In another version of the story, Rajaraja is said to have experienced a dream from
lord Shiva telling Rajaraja that the hymns
in Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram
are in a state of destruction and to recover
the remaining hymns from the chambers.
The Brahmanas (Dikshitars) in the temple, however, are supposed to have disagreed
with the king by saying that the works
were too divine to be accessed, and that
only by the arrival of the 63 Nayanmars
would they allow for the chambers to be
opened. Rajaraja, devising a plan,
consecrated idols of each of them and
prepared for them to be brought into the
temple through a procession. It is said that
the 63 idols are still present in the Thillai
Nataraja Temple. When the vault was
opened, Rajaraja is said to have found the room infested with white ants, and that the
hymns were salvaged as much as
possible.
The temple, according to inscriptions
found in South India and Southeast Asia,
was also the historic recipient of a precious
jewel from the king of Angkor who built the
Angkor Wat through Chola king
Kulothunga, who submitted it to the
temple in 1114 CE. Kulothunga I and his
son expanded the Chidambaram Nataraja
Chidambaram temple thrived during the
Chola dynasty rule through mid-13th
century, along with the later Shiva-based
Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram
capitals, as well as Vishnu-based
Srirangam temple towns. Its facilities
Naralokaviran, the general of the king
Kulothunga Chola I was responsible for building the steps that lead to Sivaganga
water pool, a goddess shrine, a shrine for
child saint Thirugnana Sambanthar, temple
gardens and a pilgrim road network in and
around Chidambaram. He constructed a
hall for the recitation of Tevaram hymns and
engraved the hymns in copper plates.
The thousand pillar choultry, with friezes narrating Hindu texts, was built in the late
12th century. Between the second half
of the 12th century and the early 13th
century, the Chola kings added colourfully
and high gopura stone gateways as easily
identifiable landmarks, starting with the
western gopura. Thereafter, about mid
In the 13th century, the Pandya dynasty ended
the Chola dynasty. The Hindu Pandyas
were liberal supporters of Chidambaram
Temple, along with other Shiva and Vishnu
temples, just like the Chola. Sundara
Pandya added the huge eastern gopura at
Chidambaram, beginning the colossal
gateway tradition. Most of the structure
and plans currently seen in the
Chidambaram complex, including the
mandapas with their pillar carvings, the
various shrines with polished granite
sculptures, the sacred water pool and the early gopurams are from the 12th and 13th centuries, attributed to the late Chola and
early Pandya kings.
Invasions
Subrahmanya shrine in ruins,
A Mandapam in 1869
One of the temple's pillared
early 19th century
halls before demolition in the
late 19th century.
In the north, the Indian subcontinent had
been conquered by the Delhi Sultanate.
Muslim armies had begun raiding central
India for plunder by the late 13th century.
In 1311, when Sultan Alauddin Khilji
ordered his general Malik Kafur and his
forces to invade southern Hindu
kingdoms, he went deeper into the Indian
peninsula for loot and to establish annual
tribute agreement between the kingdom
and the Sultanate. The records left by
the court historians of the Delhi Sultanate
state that Malik Kafur raided
Chidambaram, Srirangam, Madurai and
other Tamil towns destroyed the temples,
and the Nataraja temple was one of the
sources of gold and jewels booty he
brought back to Delhi.
The temple towns of Tamil Nadu were
again targeted for loot in the 1320s.
However, when the news of another
invasion spread in Tamil lands, the
community removed them into the
Western Ghats or buried numerous
sculptures and treasures in the land and
concealed chambers underneath temples
sites before the Muslim armies reached
them. A large number of these were
rediscovered in archaeological
excavations at the site in and after 1979,
including those in Chidambaram.
According to Nagaswamy, those who
buried the temple artworks followed the
Hindu Agama texts such as Marici Samhita
and Vimanarcanakalpa recommend
ritually burying precious metal murtis as a
means of protection when war and
robbery is imminent. Over 200 such items
have been recovered, including relevant
hordes of copper plate inscriptions.
The Islamic invasion in the 14th century,
states George Michell – a professor and
art historian of Indian architecture brought
an abrupt end to the patronage of
Chidambaram and other temple towns.
The Delhi Sultan appointed a Muslim
governor, who seceded within a few
years from the Delhi Sultanate and began
the Madurai Sultanate. This Sultanate sought tribute from the temple towns,
instead of supporting them. The Muslim
Madurai Sultanate was relatively short
lived, with Hindu Vijayanagara Empire
removing it in the late 14th century. The
Vijayanagara rulers restored, repaired and
expanded the temple through the 16th
century, along with many other regional
temples. These kings themselves went on
pilgrimage to Chidambaram, and gifted
resources to strengthen its walls and
infrastructure.
An 1847 sketch of gopuram with ruined pillars, published by James Fergusson The destruction of Vijayanagara Empire in
the late 16th century by an alliance of
Sultanates, followed within a few decades
by the entrance of Portuguese, French and
British colonial interests brought
geopolitical uncertainties to Chidambaram
and other temple towns. The Portuguese
were already a major Coromandel Coast
trading group by the early 17th century, a
region to which Chidambaram
belonged. The Portuguese began
building forts, garrison and churches in
Coromandel Coast region after the demise
of Vijayanagara, triggering the intervention
of the French and the British. By the mid-
In the 17th century, the temple complex was
within the patronage of Nayakas, who
repaired the temple and repainted the
frescoes on mandapa ceilings. According
to Michell, these restorations likely
occurred about 1643 CE during the reign
of Shrirangadeva Raya III.
According to British reports, Chidambaram
temple town had to bear the "brunt of
several severe onslaughts" between the
French and the British colonial forces
several times particularly in the 18th
century.
The Chidambaram temple legend is
contained in the 12th-century text
Chidambaram-mahatma. The central
episode states that Shiva visits sages in
the mythical Pine Forest in the form of a
dancer mendicant (Bhikshatana)
accompanied by Mohini, Vishnu in his avatar as a beautiful woman. Mohini
triggers the lustful interest of the sages, while
Shiva performs the Tandava dance that
triggers the carnal interest of the wives of
these sages. The sages ultimately realise
how superficial their austerities have been.
The episode becomes widely known. Two
sages named Patanjali (also called Sesha-bodied in the south for his connection to
Vishnu) and Vyaghrapada (also called
Tiger-footed sage) want to see the repeat
performance of this "dance of bliss" in the
Thaillai forest, Chidambaram. They set up
a Shivalinga, pray, meditate and wait. Their
asceticism impresses Shiva who appeared
before them in Chidambaram and
performed "the dance" against "the wall, in
the blessed hall of consciousness". This is
how this temple started, according to the
mahatma embedded in the Tamil
Sthalapurana. According to Kulke, the
late medieval text Chidambaramahatmya
may reflect a process of Sanskritisation,
where these North Indian-named sages
with Vedic links became incorporated into
regional temple mythology.
According to another Hindu legend,
Mahalingaswamy at Thiruvidaimarudur is the centre of all Shiva temples in the
region and the Saptha Vigraha smoothies
(seven prime deities in all Shiva temples) are located at seven cardinal points
around the temple, located in various parts
of the state. The seven deities are
Nataraja in Chidambaram Nataraja Temple
at Chidambaram, Chandikeswarar temple
at Tirucheingalur, Vinayagar in Vellai
Vinayagar Temple at Thiruvalanchuzhi,
Muruga in Swamimalai Murugan Temple
at Swamimalai, Bhairava in Sattainathar
Temple at Sirkali, Navagraha in Sooriyanar
Dakshinamoorthy in Apatsahayesvarar
The temple also called Perumpatrapuliyur
in this context, is one of the Nava Puliyur
Temples worshipped by Patanjali and
Vyaghrapada. The other temples are
Thirupathiripuliyur, Erukathampuliyur,
Omampuliyur, Sirupuliyur, Atthippuliyur,
Thaplampuliyur, Perumpuliyur and
Golden Roof, Nataraja Temple in Chidambaram
Nataraja temple plan. 1: East gopura; 2: South gopura; 3: West gopura; 4: North gopura; 5: 1000 pillar hall (choultry); 6: Shivaganga pool; 7: Devi temple; 8: Shiva Sanctum + Chit Sabha + Kanaka Sabha; 9: Vishnu shrine.
The temple as it stands had a pre-Chola
existence and architecture are Dravidian
with the Sanctum Sanctorum closely
resembling Kerala or Malabar style
structures. Indeed, the royal charters
mention the rebuilding of the Sanctum
using architects from Kerala. However,
the golden roof is a striking example of
Vesara architecture with its apsidal shape.
Two small structures called the Chit Sabha
and Kanak Sabha forms the crux of the vast
architectural complex. The temple is
spread over a 40-acre (16-ha) area, within
layers of concentric courtyards. The inner
sanctum, its connecting mandapams and
pillared halls near it are all either square
or stacked squares or both. The complex
has nine gopurams, several water storage
structures of which the Shivaganga sacred
the pool is the largest with a rectangular plan.
The temple complex is dedicated to
Nataraja Shiva and theological ideas
associated with Shaivism concepts in
Hinduism. However, the temple also
includes shrines for Devi, Vishnu,
Subrahmanyar, Ganesha, Nandi and others
including an Amman shrine, a Surya shrine
complete with Chariot wheels. The plan
has numerous gathering halls called
sabha, two major choultries called the 100
pillared and 1,000 pillared halls,
inscriptions and frescoes narrating Hindu
legends about gods, goddesses, saints
Courtyards
The Nataraja Temple complex is
embedded inside four programs
(parikrama, courtyards). Each of the
the courtyard has walls that were defensively
fortified after the 14th-century plunder and
destruction.
Courtyard, Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram
The outermost wall around the fourth
the courtyard has four simple, insignificant
gateways. The walls and gateways of the
the fourth courtyard was added in the 16th
century by Vijayanagara rulers after they
had defeated the Madurai Sultanate, and
this outermost layer was heavily fortified
by the Nayakas in the 17th century.
These face the four large gopurams that
are gateways into the third courtyard.
These gopurams are also landmarks from
afar. Inside the third courtyard, near the
northern gopuram is the Shivaganga tank,
the thousand pillar mandapam, the
Subrahmanyar (Murugan, Kartikeya) shrine
and the shrine for Parvati (Shivakama
Sundari). The other three gateways are
closer to the sanctum. The four gopurams
pilgrims and visitors to enter the temple
from all four cardinal directions. The
the complex is interconnected through a maze
of pathways.
The courtyard walls and gateways are
made from cut stones with some brick
structure added in. The gardens and palm
groves are in the fourth courtyard, outside
the walls of the third courtyard walls with
the four large gopurams. These were
restored or added in by the Vijayanagara
rulers in the 16th century.
Towers: gopurams
Two distinct styled gopurams of the Chidambaram temple. The artwork narrates religious and secular stories from Hindu texts.
The temple has nine major gopuram
gateways connecting the various
courtyards. Four of these are huge and
colourful, visible from afar, a symbolic and
convenient landmark for pilgrims. These
gateway towers or gopurams each have 7
storeys facing the East, South, West and
North.The first edition of the four
gopuram superstructures were likely built
between 1150 and 1300 CE. The earliest
was likely the western gopuram, which is
also the smaller of the four. This is
generally dated to about 1150 CE. The
eastern gopura was likely completed by
about 1200 CE, southern gopura by the
mid-13th century, while the northern was
added in the late 13th century. The four
high gopurams were destroyed, rebuilt,
repaired, enlarged and redecorated several
times after the 13th century. This has
made the gopurams difficult to place
chronologically, yet useful in scholarly
studies of the history of the Nataraja
Temple.
All gopuras are built of precisely cut large
stone blocks to the main
cornice. Upon this is a stone, brick and
plaster structure with layers of pavilions.
Above these talas (storeys) is a Dravidian
style barrel-vaulted roof, crowned with
thirteen kalasa finials. All four are
approximately similar in size and 14:10:3
ratio, about 42.7 metres (140 ft) high, 30.5
metres (100 ft) wide and 9.1 metres (30 ft)
Artwork on the gopuram
Nataraja Temple gopuram artwork in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu
Each gopuram is colourful and unique in its
own ways. They narrate stories from
various Hindu texts, showing religious and
secular scenes from the various Hindu
traditions. This art is presented in each
gopuram with anthropomorphic figure
panels and about fifty niches with stone
sculptures in every gopuram.The
scenes include multiple panels about the
legend of Shiva-Parvati wedding with
Brahma, Vishnu, Saraswati and Lakshmi
attending, dancing Ganesha, Shiva in his
various aspects, Durga in the middle of her
war with a demon, Skanda ready for war,
seated Nandi, musicians, dancers,
farmers, merchants, a sadhu in namaste
posture, dancing dvarapalas near the
vertical centre line and others. The artists
and architects who built this gopura may
have had a rationale for the relative
sequence and position of the artwork with
respect to each other and on various
levels, but this is unclear and a subject of
disagreement among scholars.
The artwork on the gopuram shows Pathe Parvati-Shiva Kalyanasundara wedding legend. Near the newlyweds are Saraswati, Lakshmi, Vishnu and others.
The earliest built western gopuram is the
only one with inscriptions below each
artwork that identifies what it is. The
artwork on it includes Durga fighting the
evil, shape-shifting buffalo demon and
Skanda sitting on a peacock and dressed up
for war.Other artwork found on the
eastern gopuram includes Surya, Ganapati,
Vishnu, Sridevi (Lakshmi), Tripura Sundari,
Brahma, Saraswati, Varuna, Durga, Agni,
several rishis, Yamuna goddesses, Kama and Rati, Budha, the Vedic sages such as
Narada and Agastya, Patanjali,
Somaskanda legend, Ardhanarishvara
(half Shiva, half Parvati), Harihara (half
Vishnu, half Shiva), several forms of
dancing Shiva and others.
The surviving south gopuram called the
Sokkaseeyan Thirunilai Ezhugopuram was
constructed by a Pandya king identified from the presence of the dynasty's fish
emblem sculpted on the ceiling. The
Pandyas sculpted two fishes facing each
other when they completed gopurams (and
left it with one fish, in case it was
incomplete). Other artwork found on
southern gopuram includes Chandesha,
Ganapati, Vishnu, Sridevi (Lakshmi),
several Devis, Brahma, Saraswati, Surya,
Chandra, Durga, Indra, Agni, several rishis, Ganga and Yamuna goddesses, Kama and
Rati, Budha, the Vedic sages such as
Narada, Patanjali, Somaskanda legend,
Ardhanarishvara (half Shiva, half Parvati),
Harihara (half Vishnu, half Shiva), several
forms of dancing and standing Shiva such
as Pashupata, Kiratarjuna and Lingobhava,
The eastern gopura wall shows all 108 dance postures from the Natya Shastra. The other gopuras also have dance images.
The eastern gopuram features the 108
reliefs of Natya Shastra dance postures
(22 cm each in a separate niche) and
faces the sanctum. The Eastern
gopuram is credited to the king
Koperunsingan II (1243-1279 CE) as per
epigraphical records and was repaired
with support from a woman named
Subbammal in the late 18th century.
The northern gopuram was repaired and
finished by the Vijayanagara king
Krishnadevaraya (1509-1530 CE) in the
16th century. The eastern and northern
gopura also depicts the wide range of
narratives as the southern and western
gopuram.
The idols of Pachaiappa Mudaliar and his
wife Iyalammal have been sculpted on the
eastern gopuram. The Pachaiappa Trust to
the date has been responsible for various
functions in the temple and also maintain
the temple car. The eastern gopuram is
renowned for its complete enumeration of
108 poses of Indian classical dance –
Bharathanatyam, detailed in small rectangular panels along the passage that
leads to the gateway.
Shrines
The Chidambaram temple complex includes gopura, vimana and the sacred pool
The temple complex has many shrines,
most related to Shaivism but elements of
Vaishnavism and Shaktism are included.
The innermost structures such as the
sanctum and the shrines all have square
plans, but the gateways do not align
except the innermost two
courtyards.
Shaivism
The sanctum of the temple is set inside
the innermost 1st prakara which is a
square with about 44 metres (144 ft) side.
This prakara is offset towards the west
inside the 2nd prakara, which is also a
square with about 105 metres (344 ft)
side. The Shiva sanctum is unusual as it
does not have a Shivalinga, rather it has
the Chit Sabha (consciousness gathering,
also called chit am Balam) with an image of
Shiva Nataraja. This introspective empty
space has a curtained space that is 3.5
meter long and 1.5 meters wide. It is called
the rahasya (secret) in Hindu texts. It
consists of two layers, one red, the other
black. According to George Michell, this is
symbolism in Hinduism of
"enlightenment inside, illusion outside". It
is replaced on the tenth day of the main
festivals. The Chidambaram Rahasya is
the "formless" representation of Shiva as
the metaphysical Brahman in Hinduism,
sometimes explained as akasha linga and
divine being same as Self (Atman) that is
eternally.
Facing the Chit Sabha is the Kanaka Sabha
(also called pon am Balam), or the
gathering of dancers. This two sanctum
spaces are connected by five silver gilded
steps called the panchakarma. The ceiling
of the Chit Sabha is made of wooden
pillars coated with gold, while copper
coats the Kanaka Sabha is copper
coloured.
Durga in the Shivakama Sundari shrine, in her Mahishasuramardini form, kills the buffalo demon below her foot.
Shaktism
The main Devi shrine in the Nataraja
the temple complex is offset towards the
north of the sanctum inside the third
prakara, and found to the west of the
Shivaganga pool. It is called the
Shivakama Sundari shrine, dedicated to
Parvati. The temple faces east and has an
embedded square plan, although the
stacked squares created a long
rectangular space. The shrine has its own
walls and an entrance gateway (gopura).
Inside are the dedicated mandapas and
brightly coloured frescoes likely from the
17th-century Vijayanagara period.
These narrate the story of Shiva and
Vishnu together challenges the "learned
sages, ascetics and their wives" in the
forest, by appearing in the form of a
beautiful beggar that dances
(bhikshatanamurti) and a beautiful girl that
seduces (Mohini) respectively. Another set
of frescoes are secular depicting temple
festivities and daily life of people, while a
stretch narrates the story of Hindu saints
named Manikkavachakar and
Mukunda.
The shrine had artwork narrating the Devi
Mahatmya, a classic Sanskrit text of
Shaktism tradition. However, in 1972,
these were removed given their dilapidated
state. These were replaced with a different
story. Other parts of the paintings and
the shrine also shows great damage.
The sanctum of the Shivakama Sundari
the shrine is dedicated to Devi, and she is
Shiva's knowledge ( jnana shakti), desire
( iccha sakti), action ( kriya sakti) and
compassion ( karuna sakti). The oldest
Shivakama Sundari sculpture at the site
representing these aspects of the goddess
has been dated to king Parantaka I
period, about 950 CE.
The Nataraja temple complex incorporates
Vaishnava themes and images like many
Hindu temples in South India. A Vishnu
the shrine, for example, is found inside the
sanctum of the temple in its southwest
corner. According to George Michell and
others, Chola kings revered Shiva with
Tyagaraja and Nataraja their family deity,
yet their urban Shaiva centres "echo a very
the strong substratum of Vaishnava
traditions". This historic inclusiveness is
reflected in Chidambaram with Vishnu
Govindaraja in the same sanctum home by
the side of Nataraja. After the turmoil of
the 14th century when the temple was
attacked and looted, there was a period
when some priests sought to restore only
Shaiva iconography according to extant
Portuguese Jesuit records. However, the
Vijayanagara rulers insisted on the re-
consecration of all historic traditions.
The temple inscriptions confirm that
Vishnu was included along with Shiva in
the temple's earliest version, and was
reinstalled when the temple was reopened
by the Vijayanagara kings.
Some texts from the time of the king
Kulottunga II give conflicting reports,
wherein the Shaiva texts state that the
the king removed the Vishnu image while
Vaishnava texts state that they took it
away and installed it in Tirupati, sometimes
about 1135 CE. The scholar Vedanta
Desika re-established the co-consecration in 1370 CE, about the time Vijayanagara
Empire conquered Chidambaram and
northern Tamil lands from the Madurai
Sultanate. The current shrine, states
Michell is from 1539 financed by the king
Achyutaraya features a reclining
the figure of Vishnu.
The Govindaraja shrine is one of the 108
holy temples of Vishnu called divyadesam, revered by the 7th-to-9th-century saint
poets of Vaishnava tradition, Alwars.
Kulashekhara Alwar mentions this temple
as Tillai Chitrakutam and equates
Chitrakuta of Ramayana fame with this
shrine. The shrine has close
connections with the Govindaraja temple
in Tirupati dating back to saint Ramanuja
of the 11th and 12th centuries.
The circumambulation paths in shrines, the mandapa's moulded plinth and the pilgrim hall pillars of the Nataraja temple are carved with reliefs showing dancers and musicians.
Others
The Nataraja temple has a pre-13th-
century Surya shrine. The image is unusual as it depicts a three-headed Surya same
as Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu, with eight
hands holding iconographic items of these
deities, along with two lotuses in a pair of
hands in front, accompanied by two small
female figures possibly Usha and
Pratyusha, standing on a chariot drawn by
seven horses and Aruna as
charioteer. The temple also has a
significant shrine for Ganesha in the
Southwest corner and a Subrahmanyar
shrine in the northwest corner of the third
courtyard.
Halls: sabha
The temple has many halls called sabha
(lit. "community gathering", also called
amba lams or sabha) inside the complex.
Two of these are the Chit Sabha and the
Kanaka Sabha inside the sanctum area of
the Nataraja shrine described earlier.
The other halls are:
Nrithya sabha (also called Nritta Sabha,
Natya sabha, or "Hall of Dance") is a "so-
called 56-pillared" hall. It is in the south
section of the second courtyard that
circumambulates the Nataraja sanctum of
the complex. This second courtyard is
near the temple's flag mast ( kodi maram or
Khwaja Rambam). The 13th-century Nritta
Sabha is traditionally considered as the
a place where Shiva and Kali originally
entered into a dance competition.[99] Shiva
won with the urdhva-tandava pose that
raised his right leg straight up, a posture
that Kali refused because she was a
woman. The hall is rectangular consisting
of three stacked squares, a 15-meter-sided
square that is the main hall, which is
connected to 4 meters by 8 meters
rectangular mukha-mandapa to its north.
The hall now has 50 pillars, but evidence
suggests that it may have had 56 or more
pillars earlier. These pillars are
intricately carved from top to bottom. The
lower levels have dancers in Natya Shastra
mudras accompanied by expressive
musicians as if both are enjoying creating
the music and the dance. The pillars also
have embedded narratives of legends from
Hindu texts, such as of Durga fighting the
buffalo demon, as well as humorous
dwarfs frolicking. Below the kapota, the
structures show reliefs of seated people,
many in namaste posture, some with a
beard and yogi-like appearance
representing saints and rishis. Nearly 200
of these are still visible, the rest appear to
have been damaged or eroded over
The Nritta Sabha platform's base is carved
as a chariot, with horses and wheels, as if
it is rising out of the ground. Historic texts
state that the wheels were exquisitely
carved and visible in the past, each about
1.25-meter diameter with 28 spokes and
33 medallions, the chariot had a 1.55-meter-
high (5.1 ft) ornamented horses, on the
the wheel was a seated rishi as if he was
guiding the movement. Only remnants of
this structure remains now. The
the northern niche of the hall is carved with 14
figures in addition to Shiva as
Kanakamurti. The Shiva image had been
damaged and is now restored. The 14
figures include Surya (sun god), Chandra
(moon god) and 12 rishis of which Narada
and Tumburu with Vina can be identified,
the others have been too damaged to
identify but are likely Vedic rishis. Near
they are women in seductive postures,
some nudes, likely the wives of the
rishis. Next to the northern niche with
Shiva are two smaller niches, one for
Patanjali is seated on the coiled serpent and
another for bald Vyaghrapada, the
two mythical Chidambaram saints. The
The western wall also has a niche with a large
Shiva's image in his Vrisabhantika form.
Once again rishis are with him, this time in
namaste posture. A few figures are
dressed royally like warriors and these
maybe a representation of the Chola
The hall's centre is an open square, with an
ornate inverted lotus ceiling
decoration. Around this lotus are 108
coffers, each with two human figures in
namaste posture, all oriented to be along
the north-south axis likely to suggest the
direction to performance artists who
would perform live and align
themselves to the chit sabha in the
sanctum.
Carved pillars in a temple
The damaged 1,000-pillar hall.
hall.
Raja sabha: 1,000 pillar hall
Raja sabha or the 1000-pillared hall is to
the east of the Shivaganga pool, in the
the northeast part of the third courtyard. A
the pillared pathway from the eastern
gopuram leads to it. It was a choultry for
pilgrims with convenient access to the
pool. The hall's lower mouldings have
dance mudras and medieval-era musical
instruments being played by musicians.
The pillars have reliefs. It is now kept
closed, except for festivals.
Shatasila sabha: 100 pillar hall
This is northwest of the sanctum, south of
the Devi shrine. It is badly damaged and
closed to the public.
Deva Sabhai is on the eastern side of the
second courtyard. It is called Perampalam,
literally "Great Hall" in the inscriptions,
which suggests that it is an early structure
and was historically important.
According to Nanda and Michell, this may
be the hall where Shaiva bhakti saints
Nayanars came and sang hymns. It may also have hosted royal visits during the
Chola era times.
The Deva sabha (divine gathering hall)
houses the temple's revered collection of
historic bronze sculptures and modern era
frescoes. One of the paintings show
Parvati seated in a chair, watching the
Temple tanks
The sacred pool sketched in the is locally called the
The 1870s.
Sivaganga ( ச வக ைக ).
The Chidambaram temple is well endowed
with several water bodies within and
around the temple complex.
The Sivaganga tank is in the third corridor of the temple opposite to the
shrine of Shivagami. It is accessed by
flights of stone steps leading from the
Paramanandha Cobham is on
the eastern side of the Chitsabha hall
from which water is drawn for sacred
purposes.
Temple Tank in Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram
Kuyya theertham is situated to the
north-east of Chidambaram in Killai near
the Bay of Bengal and has a shore called Pasamaruthanthurai.
Pulimedu is situated around a kilometre
and a half to the south of
Chidambaram.
Vyagrapatha Theertham is situated on
to the west of the temple opposite to the
temple of Ilamai Akkinaar.
Anantha Theertham is situated to the
west of the temple in front of the
Anantheswarar temple.
Nagaseri tank is situated to the west of
the Anantha thiram.
Brahma Theertham is situated to the
north-west of the temple at
Thirukalaanjeri.
Underground channels at the shrine
drain excess water in a northeasterly
direction to the Shivapriyai temple tank
of the Thillai Kali Temple, Chidambaram.
Due to poor maintenance, it has not
been in use.
Thiruparkadal is the tank to the south-
east of the Shivapriyai tank.
Inscriptions
Even though the history of the temple goes
back to the Prabhandas and Tevaram, that
is the Pallava period, the earliest known
inscriptions are only that of Rajendra
Chola and Kulothunga followed by
Vikrama Chola and other later rulers.
The Nataraja temple inscriptions are
notable for mentioning a library of
manuscripts in temple premises. Two
inscriptions dated to the early 13th century
mention re-organization of the old temple
library. According to Hartmut Scharfe, the
older library mentioned may date to the
early 12th century. The inscriptions,
states Scharfe, reciting that the temple
employed twenty librarians, of which eight
copied old manuscripts to create new
editions, two verified the copy matched the
original and four managed the proper
There are many Chola inscriptions in the
Temple, both in Tamil and Sanskrit.
These are attributed to Rajendra Chola I (1012-1044 CE), Kulothunga Chola I (1070-
1120 CE), Vikrama Chola (1118-1135 CE),
Rajadhiraja Chola II (1163 -1178 CE),
Kulothunga Chola III (1178-1218 CE) and
Rajaraja Chola III (1216-1256 CE). [109]
Pandya inscriptions date from
Thribhuvana Chakravarthi Veerapandiyan,
Jataavarman Thribhuvana Chakravarthi
Sundarapaandiyan (1251-1268 CE) and
Maaravarman Thribhuvana Chakravarthi
Veerakeralanaagiya Kulashekara Pandiyan
(1268-1308 CE). Pallava inscriptions are
available for king Avani Aala Pirandhaan
Ko-pperum-Singha (1216-1242 CE).
Vijayanagara Kings mentioned in
inscriptions are Veeraprathaapa Kiruttina
Theva Mahaaraayar (1509-1529 CE),
Veeraprathaapa Venkata Deva
Mahaaraayar, Sri Ranga Theva
Mahaaraayar, Atchyutha Deva
Mahaaraayar (1529-1542 CE) and Veera
Bhooopathiraayar. One of the inscriptions
from the descendant of Cheramaan
Perumal nayanar, Ramavarma Maharaja
has been found.
The temple car of Natraja used
An 1820 painting of
during festival processions.
Nataraja in a temple
chariot.
The Chidambaram temple car is used for
processions twice a year, where it is drawn
by several thousand devotees during the
festivals. There are five temple cars,
with the biggest one for Lord Nataraja. The
the main deity in the sanctum santorum will
be taken out on the procession, unlike the
other temples where Utsava idols are
generally taken out. The four feet idols of
Lord Nataraja and Goddess Shivakama
Sundari adorned with precious gems-
studded jewellery and flowers are taken
out of the main sanctum amidst a grand
number of devotees in a golden platform.
The fifties of men hold the huge wooden log
connected to the platform making a
circumambulation around the Chitsaba,
before being taken out to the temple car.
After the procession across four car
streets, the deities are taken in a similar
fashion to the Rajasabha at night, where
Laksharchana happens (chanting 1000
names of Lord Nataraja by 100 priests;
Laksha - 1 lakh). The next day, before dawn,
the deities are bathed with holy products.
Unlike other temples, the holy bathing
the ritual goes for 4–5 hours and consists
of several products like milk, holy ash,
turmeric, curd, honey, rose water
sugarcane juice, fruits, flowers, coconut
water. For every Mahabisheka during
Margazhi festival, Swarnabhisheka is done
(bath with golden coins). After abhisheka,
Lord Nataraja and Goddess Shivakama
Sundari offers ROYAL DARSHAN to
devotees in the Rajasabha (the royal hall).
Around late afternoon, the deities are
taken inside a temple in a grandeur manner,
which forms the prime Arudhra Darshan
(Margazhi festival) or Uttra Darshan (Aani
Thirumanjanam festival). These two
annual festivals coincidence with Winter
and Summer solstice (of Northern
Hemisphere), respectively.
Significance of the architecture
The temple sanctum contains a silver
sculpture of Shiva in his Ānanda-tāṇḍava
Nataraja aspect. It signifies:
The demon under Lord Nataraja's feet
signifies that ignorance is under His
feet.
The fire in His hand (power of
destruction) means He is the destroyer
of evil.
The raised hand ( Abhaya or Pataka
mudra) signifies that He is the saviour of all life forms.
The arc of fire called Thiruvashi or
Prabhavati signifies the cosmos and the
the perpetual motion of the earth.
The drum in His hand signifies the origin
of life forms.
The lotus pedestal signifies Om, the
sound of the universe.
His right eye left eye and third eye
signify the sun, moon and
fire/knowledge, respectively.
His right earring ( Makara kundalam) and
left earring ( that kundalam) signifies the
union of man and woman (right is man,
left is a woman).
The crescent moon in His hair signifies
benevolence and beauty.
The flowing of the river Ganges through His matted hair signifies the eternity of life.
The dreading of His hair and drape
signify the force of His dance.
Bhakti movement
There is no reference to the temple in
Sangam literature of the 1st to 5th centuries and the earliest mention is found
in 6th-century Tamil literature. The temple and the deity were immortalized in
Tamil poetry in the works of Thevaram by three poet-saints belonging to the 7th
century - Thirugnana Sambanthar,
Thirunavukkarasar and Sundaramoorthy
Nayanar. Thirugnana Sambanthar has
composed 2 songs in praise of the temple,
Thirunavukkarasar aka Appar 8 Tevarams
in praise of Nataraja and Sundarar 1 song
in praise of Nataraja. Sundarar
commences his Thiruthondar that (the
sacred list of Lord Shiva's 63 devotees)
paying his respects to the priests of the
Thillai temple - "To the devotees of the
priests at Thillai, I am a devotee". The
works of the first three saints, Thirumurai
were stored in palm leaf manuscripts in
the temple and were recovered by the
Chola King Rajaraja Chola under the guidance of Nambiandarnambi.
Manikkavasagar, the 10th-century saivite poet has written two works, the first called
Tiruvasakam (The sacred utterances) which largely has been sung in
Chidambaram and the
Thiruchitrambalakkovaiyar (aka
Thirukovaiyar), which has been sung
entirely in the temple. Manikkavasagar is
said to have attained spiritual bliss at
Chidambaram. The Chidambaram
Mahatmiyam was composed during the 12th
century explain the subsequent evolution
and de-Sanskritization.
Rituals
A unique feature of this temple is the
bejewelled image of Lord Nataraja as the
main deity. It depicts Lord Shiva as the
master of Koothu-Bharata Natyam and is one of the few temples where Lord Shiva
is represented by an anthropomorphic
Murthy rather than the classic, aniconic
At Chidambaram, the dancer dominates,
not the linga as in other Shiva shrines. The
Chitsabha houses a small spark (crystal) linga (Chandramoulisvara), believed to be
a piece that fell from the crescent
adorning Lord Shiva's head and installed
by Adi Shankara. Daily puja is offered to the spark linga (six times) and also to a
the small emerald figure of Nataraja called
Ratnasabhapati (once, at 10-30 am). The
the main sanctum also encloses Chidambara
Rahasya - the divine chakra adorned with
golden vilva leaves. This remains hidden
and only during the pooja times (six times
in a day), Rahasya Darshan will be offered
to the devotees. Rahasya emanates the
vastness and formlessness of Akash, the
divinity is the highest form of
Supremacy (ether form of five elements).
Festivals
Natyanjali Festival in the temple
A whole year for men is said to be a single
day for the gods. Just as six poojas are
performed in a day at the sanctum
sanctorum, six anointing ceremonies are
performed for the principal deity –
Nataraja in a year. They are the Marghazhi Thiruvaadhirai (in December–January)
indicating the first puja, the fourteenth day
after the new moon (Chaturdashi) of the
the month of Masi (February–March)
indicating the second pooja, the Chittirai
Thiruvonam (in April–May), indicates the
third pooja or uchikalam, the Uthiram of
Aani (June–July) also called the Aani
Thirumanjanam indicates the evening or
the fourth puja, the chaturdasi of Aavani
(August–September) indicating the fifth
puja and the chaturdasi of the month of
Puratasi (October–November) indicating
the sixth pooja or Arthajama. Of these the
Marghazhi Thiruvaadhirai (in December–
January) and the Aani Thirumanjanam (in
June–July) is the most important. These
are conducted as key festivals with the
the main deity being brought outside the
sanctum sanctorum in a procession that
included a temple car procession followed
by a long anointing ceremony. Several
hundreds of thousands of people flock the
temple to see the anointing ceremony and
the ritualistic dance of Shiva when he is
taken back to the sanctum sanctorum.
Lord Shiva, in his incarnation of Nataraja,
is believed to have been born on a full moon day
in the constellation of Ardra, the sixth lunar
mansion. Lord Shiva is bathed only 6 times
a year, and on the previous night of Ardra,
the bath rituals are performed on a grand
scale. Pots full of milk, pomegranate
juices, coconut water, ghee, oil, sandal
paste, curds, holy ashes, and other liquids
and solids, consider sacred offering
to the deity are used for the sacred
ablution.
Administration
The temple was originally administered by
an exclusive group of Brahmins who were
called the Thillai Muvayiravar or the Three
Thousand of Thillai. Kulottunga Chola I,
during his rule, introduced priests from
Vengi, his original homeland to perpetuate the myth of the Tillai three thousand in
order to legitimize his royal and priestly
power. Currently, the temple is
managed by a community known as
Dikshitars. They live in Chidambaram and also serve as the hereditary trustees of the
Temple. Every Dikshitar once he is
married becomes as of right a trustee and
archaea of the temple. A practice unique to
the community is that the priests wear the
a tuft of hair in front of the head similar to
the Nambuthiri Brahmans of Kerala.
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