There isn’t much information about the early history of the famous Nataraja temple in Chidambaram, which is the earthly abode of the cosmic dancer, Nataraja or Lord Shiva. It enjoyed the patronage of the Chola kings in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The total surface area of the temple is around 35 acres. So it is one of the largest temples in India. It has five concentric prakaras or circumambulatory temple courtyards, and they are associated with the Panchabhootas or five elements. The innermost prakara is not visible, as it is within the sanctum with the golden roof. Only the Deekshithars can enter it.
This beautiful and ancient temple was once a dense forest of Thillai trees, a kind of mangrove. The trees gave Chidambaram its first and oldest name, Tillai. There was a lotus pond here, and at its southern bank, there was a Suyambhu (self-manifested) Linga.
Legend of Nataraja Temple
Two saints came to this lotus pond long ago. They were Vyagrapaada and Patanjali. Both hailed from very different backgrounds, and they came from very different directions. But they had the same purpose for coming to this forest – see Shiva’s Cosmic Dance of bliss or Ananda Tandava. They had been told that they could witness it if they worshipped the Linga on the bank of the lotus pond here.
Nataraja performed his cosmic dance on a Thursday in Thai month, when the moon was in the asterism Pushan. This happened much before the Christian era. After witnessing the dance, the saints attained salvation. As per their request, Shiva agreed to perform the dance for all time at that place.
One can come across this story of the origin of Nataraja worship in Chidambaram in the Chidambara Mahatmyam, or The Sacred History of Chidambaram, which is a part of the Skanda Purana, one of the 18 Puranas in Hinduism. From Vyagrapaada, one of the saints, which means ‘Tiger Footed’, Chidambaram received its second name, Puliyur (meaning ‘City of the Tiger’) from Vyagrapaada’s name, which means ‘tiger-footed’.
The third name, Chidambaram, relates to the philosophy and doctrine of the temple. ‘Cit’ means ‘consciousness’ or ‘wisdom’. ‘Ambaram’ means ‘ether’ in Sanskrit, but ‘hall’ in Tamil. Thus, the name merges two aspects of the doctrine – Hall of Wisdom, as well as the place of the Ether of Consciousness.
Architecture
The edifice is the Mulasthana, and within its sanctum is the Suyambhu lingam, situated on the southern bank of the sacred pond. Mulasthana is a Sanskrit term that means ‘place of origin’ or ‘root place’. It lies in the third courtyard, within the proper Nataraja temple. It is a conventional temple that faces east and has a garbha-griha or sanctum which contains the Linga. There is an Ardha-mandapa, or hall, in front of the sanctum. Here, we can find the images of the two saints, Vyagrapaada and Patanjali. They stand, hands folded, in a worshipping posture. Shiva’s consort, Goddess Parvati, is in a sanctum placed at an angle to the linga shrine, that faces south. There is a relief sculpture of the Kalpa Vriksha, the Wishing Tree of Paradise, on the western wall of the shrine. This shrine probably attained its present form during the reign of the middle and later Cholas of the 11th and 12th centuries.
The 5 Sabhas or halls are the main edifices of the temple. They are – Chit Sabha, Kanaka Sabha, Deva Sabha, Nritta Sabha, and the Raja Sabha.
The Chit Sabha or Chit Ambalam is the sanctum sanctorum, and it is at the center of the temple. It means the ‘Hall of Wisdom’. In this main shrine, Nataraja, accompanied by Parvati, performs His Cosmic Dance of Bliss, the Ananda Tandava.
The world embodies the Virat Purusha, the colossal human form. Chidambaram, the center of this form, is his heart, where Shiva performs his Cosmic Dance.
The Chidambaram temple structure resembles a Purusha. Hence, devotees can approach the central shrine from two sides, as blood flows to and from the heart. The nine stupas that top the golden roof signify the nine orifices of the human body and also the nine Matrikas or goddesses. The roof has 21, 600 tiles that represent the inhalations and exhalations of breath. The links and side joints represent the connecting veins.
The five main steps covered in silver at the shrine entrance stand between the devotees and the image of Shiva. They represent the five seed words or syllables of the Mantra, ‘Namasivaya’.
The devotee who chants these syllables will be able to cross the ocean of bondage and attain union with the Lord. The shrine’s granite plinth is Parvatam, as it does duty for Mount Kailasa by providing support for Shiva. On special occasions, priests perform Pooja for this plinth.
The Chit Sabha
The wooden Chit Sabha has a rectangular form, and Shiva is worshipped here in his three aspects:
As Form – Nataraja, the Murti or image of Shiva
As Formless-Form – The Crystal Linga called Chandramaulishvara
As Formless – The Yantra or the Akasha Linga
From the platform opposite the Sabha, we can view the image of the Dancing Shiva, which is in the middle of the Sabha. Shiva faces south, unlike most Hindu deities. It signifies that he is the Conqueror of Death, who dispels the fear of death.
Immediately to the right of Nataraja is the Chidambara Rahasyam, meaning ‘the mystery of Chidambaram’. We can see the Akasha Linga here, in the form of a Yantra, behind a silk curtain which is black outside and red inside. Before the Yantra and behind the curtain, a few strands of golden Vilva leaves are seen hanging. It signifies the act of creation. Priests remove the curtain at regular timings to enable the devotees to worship the Akasha Linga.
The Chit Sabha has another unique form of Shiva called Ratna Sabha Pati, or the Ruby Lord of the Sabha – a replica of the Nataraja idol in ruby form. This murti supposedly emerged from the fire of the sacrifice due to the devotion of the Deekshithars.
It is not clear when Nataraja worship arose here or when the Chit Sabha was constructed. The original wooden structure is, no doubt, the most ancient structure in the temple complex, as the shrine of the Mulasthana Linga was built later by the Chola Kings. The Sabha lacks features that could help in dating it. No other structure like it exists in Indian architecture. But it is fairly certain that the Nataraja temple in Chidambaram goes back to prehistoric times.
As per mythology, a king called Shveta Varman built the temple first. The story goes that his leprosy vanished when he bathed in the sacred pond in the Thillai forest and saw Shiva’s Cosmic Dance. The first gilding of the Cit Sabha’s roof, the founding of the temple, and the formal Nataraja worship are all attributed to him.
The Suta Samhita part of the Skanda Purana contains the first historical references about this temple. In it, Muruga, the six-faced son of Shiva and Parvati, is described as worshipping the duo in Chidambaram before leaving to wage war against the demon, Surapadman. This text goes back to the second century BCE.
The Tirumantiram of Tirumular mentions the Chit Sabha, Shiva’s dance, and Chidambaram. This is a major religious and philosophical text in ancient Tamil, which dates from the beginning of the Christian era. Some centuries later, the poets of the Tevaram, especially Appar and Sambandar of the 7th century and Manikavasakar of the 8th century often mention the temple and its deity.
Chola Aditya I (871-907) and his son Parantaka I (907-955) are the first historical kings to make claims of gilding the roof of the Cit Sabha. By then, the temple had become well-known. It became a place for crowning kings and where they came to worship and seek counsel. The gilding of the roof was one of the great technical achievements of the ancient era.
The Other Sabhas
The Kanaka Sabha or Golden Hall is immediately in front of the Cit Sabha. Its roof is of copper, but Kanaka actually means gold. Most of the daily rituals of Nataraja worship take place here.
The Nritta Sabha is in the form of a chariot pulled by two stone horses. It stands opposite the Cit Sabha, in the third courtyard. It is where the dance contest between Nataraja and Goddess Kali took place. The Nritta Sabha is supposedly the second oldest building in the complex. Inscriptions mention that the Chola King Kulottunga I renovated it in the 11th century.
The Deva Sabha is in the third prakara or courtyard. The festival deities remain here during the year. They are worshipped inside the Sabha daily, but the public cannot see it. The age and history of this Sabha are unknown. Existing evidence says that this Sabha was an audience hall for visiting rulers from the different dynasties like the Cholas, Pandyas, and others.
The Raja Sabha is a Thousand Pillar Hall in the second courtyard. It represents the Sahasradara, or Crown Chakra, the 7th spiritual energy point in the astral body. Nataraja and Sivakamasundari dance here on the 9th and 10th day of the Chariot Festival.
There is scanty historical information about this Sabha, too. It is the place where the medieval poet Sekkilar presented his great work, Periya Purana, on the lives of the 63 Saiva saints or Nayanmars or Saiva saints, before Kulottunga II or III, a Chola king, in the 12th century.
The Gopurams and Goddess Shrine
The most imposing features of this temple are the four temple gateways or gopurams, which are visible from miles away. They are among the earliest examples of such structures and date back to the 12th and 13th centuries. Some scholars claim that the west gopuram is the oldest, and some say it is the east gopuram.
The shrine of Goddess Shivakamasundari, consort of Shiva, is on the west side of the Shivaganga tank. This shrine was probably built in the 11th century during the reign of the Chola king Kulottunga I.
Muruga temple
The presiding deity of the Pandya Nayaka temple is Lord Muruga, the second son of Shiva and Parvati. A Pandya king from Madurai built this temple. He was Sundarar Pandya, and the temple gets its name from him.
Towards the middle of the 18th century, Dutch merchants who had a trading post in Porto Nuovo, helped renovate the temple. An inscription on copper plates says that they donated part of their profit for this purpose.
