South India · Tamil Nadu
Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu
Sources: wikimedia
Before you go
The Nataraja temple is one of the Pancha Bhoota Sthalams; the Natyanjali dance festival (Mahashivratri) is its signature.
About Chidambaram
- Inland
Where it is
Chidambaram is a temple town in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, on the plains near the Coromandel coast about 15 km from the Bay of Bengal and some 220 km south of Chennai.
History
Shiva as Nataraja, the cosmic dancer, has been worshipped here since at least the 7th century, when the Tamil hymns of the Thevaram sang of the shrine. The Chola kings held Nataraja as their family deity and gilded the roof of his inner hall, and most of the present temple dates from the 12th and 13th centuries; Annamalai University was founded in the town in 1929.
People
Chidambaram speaks Tamil, and the Nataraja temple is looked after by the hereditary Dikshitar priests. Dancers of Bharatanatyam and other classical forms come each year to perform before Nataraja at the Natyanjali festival, and the town is a market centre for the surrounding rice country.
Known for
- The Thillai Nataraja Temple
- The golden-roofed Chit Sabha
- The Natyanjali dance festival
- The Pichavaram mangroves nearby
- Annamalai University
Did you know?
The temple's eastern gateway tower is carved with all 108 karanas, the dance poses described in the ancient Natya Shastra.
Shrines and sites
- Thillai Nataraja Temple
- Thillai Kali Temple
- Pichavaram mangroves
Traditions
- Hindu
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