Devara Paadal Petra
Sthalam | 55th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Chola Naadu - North |
Chola Naadu - North | 1st Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar, Saint
Thirunavukarasar (Appar) and Saint Sundaramurthy (Sundarar) |
HISTORY:
Nataraja Temple, also
referred to as the Chidambaram Nataraja temple or Thillai
Nataraja temple, is a Hindu
temple dedicated to Nataraja – Shiva as
the lord of dance – in Chidambaram, Tamil
Nadu, India. The
temple has mythical roots and a Shiva shrine existed at the site when the town
was known as Thillai. Chidambaram, the name of the city and the temple
literally means "atmosphere of wisdom" or "clothed in
thought", the temple architecture symbolizes the connection between the
arts and spirituality, creative activity and the divine. The temple wall
carvings display all the 108 karanas from the Natya
Shastra by Bharata Muni, and these postures form a
foundation of Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian
dance. The temple is located at the Center point of world's Magnetic
Equator.
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 is from the late 12th and early 13th
centuries, with later additions in 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 example,
has the earliest known Amman or Devi temple
in South India, a pre-13th-century Surya shrine
with chariot, shrines for Ganesha, Murugan and Vishnu,
one of the earliest known Shiva Ganga sacred pool, large mandapas for the
convenience of pilgrims (choultry, ambalam 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 lingas in the Shaivism pilgrimage
tradition, and 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
Shivaratri.
Chidambaram:
Chidambaram is one of
the many temple towns in the state which is named after the grooves, clusters
or forests dominated by a particular variety of a tree or shrub and the same
variety of tree or shrub sheltering the presiding deity. The town used to
be called Thillai, following Thillaivanam, derived from the mangrove
of Tillai trees (Exocoeria agallocha) that grow here and 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 spelled Chithambalam)
meaning "wisdom atmosphere". The roots
are citt or chitthu 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 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.
Nataraja
temple:
The Nataraja temple has
ancient roots, likely following the temple architecture tradition that is found
all over South India from at least the 5th century. Textual evidence, such as
those of the Sangam tradition, suggest a temple existed here along with Madurai
in ancient times, but the town is not named Chidambaram in these
pre-5th-century texts. The earliest mention of "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 7th and 10th century 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 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 early 11th century, which is now a world heritage site.
The Chidambaram temple
built on this heritage,[citation needed] 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. For them, the dancing Shiva was the kula-nayaka (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.
Nataraja
Shiva:
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 6th century and earlier such as in Aihole and Badami cave temples.
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 veinda 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 many 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:
Version
1:
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 by divine intervention Nambi found the presence of scripts, in the form of
cadijam leaves half eaten by white ants in a chamber inside the second precinct
in Thillai Nataraja
Temple, Chidambaram. 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
they 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 to be known
as Tirumurai Kanda Cholan meaning one who saved the Tirumurai.
Version
2:
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.
Chola
King Kulothunga:
The temple, according
to inscriptions found in South India and Southeast Asia, was also 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 temple expanse
sixfold.
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 infrastructure was expanded. Naralokaviran, the general of
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
recitation of Tevaram hymns and engraved the hymns in copper
plates. The thousand pillar choultry,
with friezes narrating Hindu texts, was built in late 12th
century. Between the second half of the 12th century and the early 13th
century, the Chola kings added colorful and high gopura stone gateways as
easily identifiable landmarks, starting with the western gopura. Thereafter,
about mid-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 century, attributed to the late Chola
and early Pandya kings.
Delhi Sultanate:
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, the Ala ud Din Khilji's Muslim
general Malik Kafur and his Delhi
Sultanate forces went deeper into the Indian peninsula
for loot and to establish annual tribute paying Muslim governors. The
records left by the court historians of the Delhi Sultanate state that Malik
Kafur raided Chidambaram, Srirangam and other Tamil towms, destroyed the
temples, and the Chidambaram Shiva 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 that 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 the 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.
Vijayanagara
Empire:
The destruction
of Vijayanagara Empire in
the late 16th century by an alliance of Sultanates, followed within a few
decades by 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-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.
Brunt
of several severe onslaughts:
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.
Patanjali and Vyaghrapada:
The Chidambaram temple
legend is contained in the 12th-century text Chidambara-mahatmya. The
central episode states that Shiva visits sages in the mythical Pine Forest in
the form of a beggar accompanied by Mohini, none other than Vishnu in the
avatar of a beautiful woman. Mohini triggers lustful interest of the sages,
while Shiva performs 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 mahatmya embedded in the
Tamil Sthalapurana. According to Kulke, the late medieval
text Chidambaramahatmya may reflect a process of Sanskritisation,
where this North Indian named sages with Vedic links became incorporated into
regional temple mythology.
Mahalingaswamy:
Mahalingaswamy at
Thiruvidaimarudur is the centre of all Shiva temples
in the region and the Saptha Vigraha moorthis (seven prime consorts
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 temple at Suryanar Kovil
- ·
Dakshinamoorthy in Apatsahayesvarar temple
- · Alangudi at Alangudi
Valaingaman taluk.
Four
cardinal directions:
The outermost wall
around the fourth courtyard has four simple, insignificant gateways. The walls
and gateways of the fourth courtyard were 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 (as 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 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.
Gopuras:
The temple has nine
major gopuram gateways connecting the various courtyards. Four of these are
huge and colorful, 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 all the way 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) deep.
Each gopuram is
colorful 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, sadhu in namaste posture,
dancing dvarapalas near the vertical center line and others. The artists and
architects who built these gopura may have had a rationale in 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 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 peacock and dressed up for
war. Other artwork found on the eastern gopuram include Surya, Ganapati,
Vishnu, Sridevi (Lakshmi), Tripurasundari, Brahma, Saraswati, Varuna, Durga,
Agni, several rishis,
Yamuna goddess, Kama and Rati, Budha, the Vedic sages such as Narada and
Agastya, Pantanjali, 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 the southern gopuram include 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,
Pantanjali, 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, as well as others.
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 king Koperunsingan II (1243-1279 A.D.) as per
epigraphical recordsand 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
A.D.) 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 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.
SALIENT FEATURE:
· The temple as it stands had a pre-Chola existence and the architecture is 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.
· The golden roof is a striking example of Vesara architecture with its apsidal shape. Two small structures called the Chit Sabha and Kanak Sabha form 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 squares or stacked squares or both.
· The complex has nine gopurams, several water storage structures of which the Shivaganga sacred 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.
· The plan has numerous gathering halls called sabha, two major choultry called the 100 pillared and 1,000 pillared halls, inscriptions and frescoes narrating Hindu legends about gods, goddesses, saints and scholars.
· The Nataraja Temple complex is embedded inside four prakarams (prakramas, courtyards). Each of the courtyard has walls that were defensively fortified after the 14th-century plunder and destruction.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri Thirumoolanathar, Sri Moolataneshwarar, Sri
Sabanayagar, Sri Kootha Perumal, Sri vidangu, Sri thtchinmeru vidangur, Sri
Ponanbala koothan |
|
Ambal |
Sri Umayambikai, Sri Sivakama Sundari |
|
Theertham |
Shivaganga, Paramananda koopam, Vyakrapada
Theertham, Anantha Theeratham, Nagacheri, Brahmma Theeratham, Shivapriyai, Pulimedu,
Kuyya Theertham, Thiruparkadal |
|
Sthala Vriksham |
Thillai |
BELIEF:
Devotees pray to lord
for the first benefit the gain is mantal peace.The prayers fress the devotees
from any and every health problem. Many pray deeply to gaoin excellence in arts
and a bright future in the field. They also pray for child boon and prosperity.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Vaikasi |
May-June |
Vaikasi
Visakam |
|
Aani |
June-July |
Aani Tirumanjanam |
|
Aadi |
July-Aug |
Aadi Pooram |
|
Avani |
Aug-Sept |
Vinayakar Chaturthi |
|
Purattasi |
Sep-Oct |
Navarathri |
|
Aippasi |
Oct–Nov |
Skanda Shashti and Annabishekam |
|
Karthikai |
Nov-Dec |
Thirukarthikai |
|
Markazhi |
Dec-Jan |
Thiruvadhirai |
|
Thai |
Jan-Feb |
Makara Sankranthi |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Maha
Shivrathri |
|
Panguni |
Mar-Apr |
Panguni
Uthiram |
HOW
TO REACH:
Chennai to Puducherry ( Pondycherry ) vila ECR or
Chengalpattu Dindivanam, then Cuddalore, Chidambaram. Road : Road transport is
very good in Cuddalore District. National highways NH45 , NH45A are running
through Cuddalore. State Highways 32 & 36 are also running through
Cuddalore District. On road Cuddalore is located 200Km From Chennai.
Chennai
to Villupuram , Cuddalore, Chidambaram. Rail : 1. Chennai – Villupuram –
Cuddalore – Thanjavoor – Trichy Raliways route is available running via
Cuddalore Town the District head quarters. 2. Another major rail route is also
available in this District is Chennai -Villupuram – Vridhachalam – Trichy . It
is also operational, In which Vridhachalam is loacted 50KM from Cuddalore Town.
There is connecting rail route is also available between Cuddalore and
Vridhachalam.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Natarajar Temple,
Chidambaram,
Cuddalore,
Tamil Nadu – 608001.
LOCATION:
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