Temples of Chidambaram
History of Chidambaram
Chidambaram is hallowed by the aura of the famous shrine dedicated to Lord Siva as Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer. Here the Lord danced while blessing saints Patanjali and Vyagrapada, who were doing penance in the Thillai forests, This Cosmic Dance is a symbolic representation of the five-fold activites of God-Creation, Preservation, Destruction, Veiling (Maya) and Blessing. Sri Nataraja,s Thandavams includes Ananda Thandavam. Urdhwa Thandavam, Bhujangatrasa Thandavam and Ajabha Thandavam. The sanctum is adorned by a gold-plated roof. This is also known as Ponnambalam or Kanaga Sabha. Devi Sivakama Sundari is enshrined by the side of the sanctum.To the left is the Chidambara Rahasyam or the abode of Akasha Lingam. Only a Prabha or circular arch and a Vel (spear) with a golden Bilva mala are woshipped. This is one of the Pancha Bhutha Lingams representing Akasha or Ether. This shrine remains curtained. The five silver-plated steps leading to the shrine represent the mystic five letters of Namasivaya. The shrine of Govindaraja Perumal is close to the Chit Sabha. Lord Subramanya is in another shrine.
The temple has all five Sabhas of Lord Siva-Chit Sabha, Kanaga Sabha, Nirtta Sabha, Deva Sabha and Raja Sabha. The famous Raja Sabha is in the Thousand-pillared Hall. Saivite poet sekkizhar first recited his Periya Puranam in this hall. The Nritta Sabha shows the urdhwa Thandavam of the Lord. It is a porch of 56 pillars, delicatelycarved with dancing figures. This court represents a heavenly chariot carved out of stone. The Deva Sabha was used by the then admininstractors to hold meetings and festivals. The Raja Sabha was used by Chola and Pandya kings to hold victory celebrations. Two of the temple.s four gopurams are covered with sculptures illustrating the 108 postures of Natya shastra. Sivaganga is the sacred tank. The holy water, believed to have healing powers, had cured a king,s major disease.
Temples of Chidambaram
The famous Nataraja temple is situated at Chidambaram which is on the main railway line from Madras to Tanjore at a distance of 132 miles from Madras. This temple is also known as Ponnambalam and Tillai. It is also called Puliyur, Vyaghrapuram, Perumbarapuliyur, Chitrambalam, Pundaree Kapuram and Hridayakamalam. Another name is simply Koil, the House of God.In this temple, Siva is seen in the dancing posture of Ananda Tandavam. The story goes that once in Darukavanam, Siva wished to teach a lesson to the rishis who were pround of their learning. Siva took the form of a mendicant with a begging bowl in hand, accompanited by Vishnu disguised as Mohini. The rishipatnis (wives of the rishis) were attracted by the sight of the beautiful pair. The rishis grew angry and tried to destroy the pair. They raised a sacrificial fire and raised a tiger from the fire, which sprang at Siva pealed off the skin of the tiger and wrapped it round his waist. Then again the rishis sent a poisonous serpent and Siva tied it round his neck. Then the rishis sent against Siva an Apasmara Purusha, Muyalaka, whom Lord Siva crushed by pressing him to the ground with His foot. At this, the rishis confessed defeat and Siva started to dance before all the gods and rishis. Lord Adisesha heard the description of Siva’s dance at Darukavanam from Vishnu and requested Vishnu to allow him to witness the dance himself. Vishnu agreed to this. Adisesha performed penance and prayed to Siva to allow him to see the dance. Being pleased with his penance, Siva appeared and promised him the dance at Tillai. Accordingly, Adhisesha was born as a human being, as Patanjali, and went to the forest of Tillai. In this forest, Vyaghrapada also jointed him. Each constructed his own hermitage, patanjali at Ananteeswaram and Vyaghrapada at Tirupapulesswaram in Chidambaram. They started worshipping Siva in the form of the Swayam phulinga in Tillai forest.
Vyaghrapada was the son of Madhyandina Rishi living on the banks of the Ganga. He came to the South under the directions of the father and started praying to the Swayambhulinga under a banyan tree near a tank in the Tillai forest. He used to collect flowers for puja and, to help him to do so, he prayed for the boon of tiger’s feet and claws so that he could easily climb up the trees and pluck plenty of flowers. He also prayed for the eyes of bees, so that he could collect the flowers before any bee could taste the honey in them. His prayer for these two blessings was granted and since he had the feet of a tiger, he was called Vyaghrapada.
Days passed and when the time came for Siva for giving them darsan, the guardian goddess of the place, Kalika Devi, would not allow it. Shortly afterwards, Siva and Devi agreed that they should participate in a dance contest and that the winner should have undisputed possession of Tillai. So the dance started.
At one stage of the dance, the Lord’s earrings fell down, but the Lord took them up from the floor in such a way that nobody could notice the loss and the recovery. This dance is called the Urdhwas Tamdavam in which Siva defeated Kalika Devi. Now Nataraja performed the Ananda Tandavam, i.e., the Dance of Bliss, in the presence of Sivakamasundari and all the gods and rishis, and the two devotees, Patanjali and Vyaghrapada, who were allowed to witness it, were satisfied.
The rishis requested Siva to continue this cosmic dance at Ponnambalam for ever for the benefit of all devotees. This famous dance is figured in the bronze idol at chidambaram, known as Nataraja. Nataraja means King of Dance. Chit Sabha is the innermost portion of the temple, the sanctum sanctorum. This is the place where Lord Siva performed his cosmic dance. The Lord is represented here with his left leg raised up in a dance pose.
By the side of the Lord at Chidambaram, to the left, is the sanctum of Goddess Sivakama Sundari. To the right is the Chidambar Rahasyam wherein there is no image or Lingam. A Tiruvasi, the circular arch or Prabha with a vel, is in front. The Prabha is marked by a string of golden Vilva leaves hung over it. Here Lord Siva is worshipped as Akasa which pervades the whole world.
The stone steps leading to the Chit Sabha at Chidambaram are five in number and are plated with silver. They are said to represent the five mystic letters of the Panchakshara Mantra, NA, MA, SI, VA, YA. The door- posts are all silver plated and bear an embossed representation of Vyaghrapada and Patanjali figuring as Dwarapalakas.
The roof of the temple is gold- placed. Hence it is called ponnambalam (Pon= gold, Ambalam= temple). The conception of the idol of Nataraja, which has been claimed in the civilised world as the greatest work of Oriental art, is not merely a stroke of the imagination of an artist, but is a monument of the inner vision of the artist devotee, who could conceive the image of Lord Siva as He revealed Himself to him. Modern scientists accept that each atom is nothing but a microscopic indivisible particle of God in perpetual motion in a circle. If there is such a motion there must be a Mover. If the Mover is immanent He must be in motion too. With this conception in mind the artist must have prayed for ages for getting the Divine revelation to put it into a concrete shape. In the figure of Nataraja both Mover and the moved are depicted in life- like shape. This is the climax of revelation and that is Nataraja at Chidambaram. Science is personified in Act.
The Indian mind is idealistic to the core and every form has lent itself to symbolic interpretation embodying a great truth. The form of Nataraja, the great dancer, has been a symbol of interpretation of the great truth of the Lord’s five fold activities, Creation, Preservation, Destruction. Velling and Blessing. This particular cosmic dance has been known as Nadanta Dance, Urdhwatandava Dance, Bhujangatrasa Dance and Anandatandeva Dance.
The drum in the right hand symbolises the fact that God holds the cause of all the world, i.e., Sound (Sabda Nishtam Jagat), in his hand, to be folded or unfolded at His will. The very first sound OM has its origin from this drum.
The Primordial sounds of the alphabet (Maheshwarani Sabdani), came out of Siva’s drum as He beat it with his right hand, and formed the basis of the Science of Grammar, Vyakarana, originated by Patanjali. The dear on one side symbolises the mind. As the deer leaps all round and runs fast, so also the mind of man runs fast jumping from one thing to another. The skin of the tiger which Nataraja wears is the skin of Egoism or Ahankara which He has killed. The Ganga he wears on the head is the Chit Sakti or Wisdom which is cool and refreshing. The Moon represents the Ethereal light and blissfulness of the Atman.
One foot is planted over the giant Muyalaka, i.e., Maha Maya (the endless illusion) which has been crushed, while the right foot raised up means renunciation or the fourth state of mind (Tureeya), which is beyond and above the 3 states of waking, dream and dreamless sleep, and leaves the mind, Maya and the world behind, The second right hand represents the idea of peace and bliss. On one of the left hands is held Agni, fire, symbolising the Jyoti of the Atman. The place of the dance, the theatre, is Tillai Vanam, the body odf the individual self. The platform in that theatre is the cremation ground, the place where all passions, names and forms that constitute the visible world, are burnt away. The dancing pose teaches in a nutshell that Maya or illusion should be crushed down. The deer- like fitting mind should be controlled and Egoism (Ahankara) must be destroyed so that man can be a master of his inner self and enjoy the calmness, bliss and light of Truth.
Siva stands in a halo or a circle of flame. The circle issues from the mouth of a pair of dolphins (Makara). The halo symbolises Pranava, the mystic word (Om), the generalizes symbol of all possible sounds, therefore the fittest symbol of the Logos (the Word of God incarnate).
Dr. A.K, Coomaraswamy says: "The essential significance of Siva’s dance is three- fold: first it is a symbol of his rhythmic play as the source of all movements within the cosmos, which is represented by the Arch or Tiruvasi; the second purpose of the dance is to release the countless souls of men from the snare of illusion; thirdly the place of the dance- Chidambaram the centre of the Universe- is within the heart." The hair of the head is braided, the upper part tied to form a crown, the lower falling loose and whirling in the dance. At the base of the crown is a human skull, symbol of Siva’s destroying energy. On the lower braid is a mermaid on the right, representing the river Ganga, symbol of fertility and of God’s grace. According to tradition the Ganga, the celestial river, was permitted by Siva to descend on earth in answer to the prayers of King Bhagiratha, and the force of for a time, to save the earth from being crushed by the weight of the falling stream. On the loose braids on the left are the crescent Moon, symbol of Siva’s grace and glory, symbol also of time, and a cobra which by its deadly venom may be taken as a symbol of destruction and obscuration, but here it is a sumbol of the cosmic force- Kundalini.
Siva is represented with three eyes, symbols of Sun, Moon and Fire and of time, past, present and future. The third eye is located between the eye- brows and is known as the Eye of Wisdom. He wears in his right ear a man’s earring (Makarakundala) and on his left a woman’s (Tatunka or Todu) to indicate the combination of both male and female. He wears a necklace of skulls symbolising that he is Lord of destruction, Samharamurti. He wears ashes on his body. Hence the use of ashes by his devotees as a sacrament, the symbol of purification by the fire of His grace, for each soul must lost the world to find God.
He also wears a necklace of rudrakshas, berries of the Elaeocarpurs Ganitrus. Saivite devotees wear such beads. He also wears the Upavita, the sacred thread, over the left shoulder and under the right arm. The Upavita generally consists of 96 strands, representing the 96 Tattwas, categories or constituents of the Universe. No ritual can be celebrated without wearing the Upavita.
The serpent represents the cosmic force in Siva, the Supreme Yogi. According to Raja Yoga there runs through the spinal chord of man. a canal, caked Sushumna, at the base of which is a plexus called Mooladhara and at the crown in the brain another called Sahasrara, thousand- petalled lotus. In the Mooladhara is stored the cosmic energy, one infinitesimal fraction of which is distributed through the body by the sensory and motor nerves through the Ida and the Pingala Nadis on either side of Sushumna. The canal, though existing in all animals, is closed except in the Yogi. He dispenses with the aid of the sensory and motor nerves and opens the canal and sends through it all mental currents, makes the body a signatic battery of the Will and raises the vast coiled- up power from the basic plexus to the thousand petalled lotus in the brain, i.e., from Mooladhara to Sahashrara. As this power travels up the canal, higher and more wonderful powers of vision and knowledge are gained till the goal is reached of union with God.
The whole figure stands on a lotus referred to in connection with Kundalini Sakti. Thus the dance represents all the five- fold acts of God. The great interpreter of Oriental art, Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamy, therefore describes the from of Nataraja as the Synthesis of Religion, Science and Art.
Other Shirnes of Temple
Thillai Kali Amman temple
This shrine on the outskirts is dedicated to Thillai Kali, who was defeated by Lord Siva in a dance competition. The Chidambaram temple has played major roles in the lives of saints and poets. The story of Nandanar is related in this temple.Festivals
Aarudra Darsanam (Dec-Jan), Ani Thirumanjanam (June-July), Panguni Uthiram (March-April) and Natyanjali during Maha Sivaratri (Feb-March). Srimushnam Sri Bhuvarahaswami temple here is one of the eight Swayambu kshetras.Vadalur
Satyagnana Sabha constructed by Sri Ramalinga Swamigai is situated here. Devotees woship an etenal flame or Jyothi.Pondicherry
This former French colony has a few temples. These include the shrines of Manakkula Vinayaka and Varadarajaswami.Sri Aurobindo Ashram
An international spiritual center, was founded in 1920 by Sri Aurobindo, a patriot, philosopher and saint. The Ashram symbolizes the ideals of Sri Aurobindo and the Divine Mother.Aurovile
This small township, a new concept in education and urban living, is conceived as a tribute to Sri Aurobindo.Thruvannamalai
The Siva temple situated at the foot of a hill here is one of the largest and most important Siva shrines in the South. Sri Arunchaleswar temple is dedicated to Tejo Lingam (the fire incarnation of God). Hence much significance is attached to tiruvannamalai as one of the Pancha Bhutha Sthalas. The nine imposing gopurams of the temple are a magnificent sight. There is a thousnd-pillared hall with intricate carvings. Plathala Lingeswara is enshrined here. There is another shrine for Lord Muruga, known as Kambathu ilayanar. The holy tank is known as Sivaganga Theertham.One has to cross the Vallaala Maharaja gopuram and Kili gopuram to reach the sanctum. Thers towers are associated with the life of saint arunagirinathar, who turned a devotee of Muruga. The Lord is said to have saved the saint when he jumped from a gopuram.Devi Parvati performed penance here to obtain the Vamabhaga or the left pf Siva. Once a contest arose between Vishnu and Brahma as to their relative superiority. A heated controversy ensued, and Siva appeared as a huge column of fire to prove that there was yet one power superior to them. Brahma assumed the form of a swan and flew up to discover the top of the flame and Vishnu became a Varaha (boar0 and tore the earth with His tusk to discover the base of the flame. Both of them failed. This flame (Jyothi) turned into a Sthavara Lingam, which is believed to be the Arunachala Hill. In commemoration of the Jyothi, a huge beacon is lighted atop the hill every year on Karthigai Deepam day (Nov-Dec). Thousnd of devotees visit the temple on this occasion and offer worship to Pancha Murthis.
It is customany to go round the hills (a stretch of 14km) prior to the worship of Sri Arunachaleswara. On Full Moon days, thousands of devotees participate in this form of worship, known as Girl Pradakshina, when one can have darshan of eight Lingams, Sri Ramana Ashram, Sri Seshadri Swamigai.s Samadhi and Yogi Suratkumar.
Sri Ramana Maharshi Ashram
The hill is considerd as the symbol of spiritual knowledge and enlightenment. The hermitage where the silent saint Sri Ramana Maharshi lived is half way up the hill. He exerted great spiritual power on those who came in search of him. Thousands of followes visit the world-famous Sri Ramana Ashram round the year to purse profound theses of meditation.Access
Tiruvannamalai is 107 km from Kumbakonam and 185 km from Chennai.Vellore
Here is a Siva shrine dedicated to Jalakanteswara inside a 13th century fort.Thiruvennainallur
Lord Siva is said to have stopped the marriage of sundarar here and made him one of the three Saivite saints.Thiruvathigai
This Siva shrine is one of the Ashta Veerattanams. The Lord is said to have burned Thripurams. With His blessings, Appar was cured of his stomach ailment and he became a Saivite saint.
