|
| Lord Shiva Associated with Nataraja Swami |
| In the heart of the temple town of Chidambaram, Chidambaram
Temple is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and one of the most ancient and most
celebrated of shrines. The temple has great religious as well as historic and
cultural significance. Chidambaram is associated with Nataraja. |
|
The bejeweled image of Nataraja is one of the
special features of this temple. The temple has five courts. And only qualified
persons are permitted to recite the Vedas and mantras in Sanskrit in side the
temple premises.
Signifying the 5 elements of wind water, fire, earth and space
Chidambaram is one of the Panchabhoota. Sambandar, Appar, Sundarar as well as
Manikkavacakar are the famous Tamil poets have sung praising Chidambaram temple.
Many other literary works that praise the glory of Chidambaram are present
besides the above-mentioned poets. |
 |
|
|
| The Ananda Tandava posture of Lord Shiva is one of the famous
postures recognized around the world by many (even people belonging to other
religions having a liking towards Hinduism). This celestial dancing posture
tells us how a Bharathanatium Dancer should dance. The demon under Nataraja's
feet and Ganga devi (power to create life) on his head signifies that if a
dancer dances on a man with a vessel of water on her head even then her balance
should not be lost. The Fire in this hand (power of destruction) signifies the
intensity with which the dancer should express angry expressions. The raised
hand signifies that he is the savior of all life. The Ring at the back signifies
that all the moves of the dancer should be in control within an imaginary circle
around the dancer. |
|
 |
|
| The temple is also know for its four gopurams on four gateways
out of 9 gateways each with 7 levels in the East, South, West and North. The
eastern pagoda has all the 108 postures (karnams) of the Indian dance form �
Bharathanatyam sculpted on it. |
 |
 |
More interesting feature aspect of the temple and
brilliance are the five sabhais the Chit sabhai, the Kanaka sabhai, the Nrithya
sabhai or Natya sabhai, the Raja sabhai or the 1000-pillared hall. |
|
|
| Other shrines small shrines are present in the temple permises,
Thirumoolattaneswarar , the shrines for Sivagami � an embodiment of knowledge or
Gyanasakthi , Lord Ganesha, Lord Muruga or Pandiya nayakan and also the 63 prime
devotees of Lord Siva. There are also several smaller shrines in the temple
complex. |
|
| Theertham (Waterbodies) signify the holiness of a temple well
endowed with several water bodies within and around some of them are Sivaganga
,the Paramanandha koobham, the Kuyya theertham, the Pulimadu , the Vyagrapatha
theertham , the Anantha theertham , Nagaseri , Brahma theertham , Siva piriyai
and Thiruparkadal are some of them. |
|
| The Chidambaram temple complex houses a shrine for the God
Govindaraja Perumal and his consort Pundareegavalli Thaayar. During the
festivals, on temple car Lord Nataraja descends twice a year, is drawn by
several thousands of devotees. |
|
| located 78 km south of Pondicherry in Cuddalore District, the
east-central part of the Tamil Nadu state |
|
| To get there |
Rail
Chidambaram is well connected by rail to important towns and cities of
Tamilnadu. Chidambaram can be reached from Chennai (235 Km) in approximately six
hours, from Kumbakonam in two hours and from Tanjore in four hours.
Road
Chidambaram is reachable by bus from almost anywhere in Tamil Nadu and other
adjoining states.
Air
The nearest airport is Trichy at a distance of about 160 Km. |
|