Chidambaram Temple is dedicated to
Lord Shiva located in the heart of the Chidambaram,Tamil Nadu.The temple is
located at 78 km south of Pondicherry and 235 Km from Chennai, the capital of
Tamil Nadu. The Sangam classics refer to Viduvelvidugu Perumtaccan, respected
clan of traditional Vishwakarmas, as being the chief architect of the temple
renovation. There have been several renovations in its history, particularly
during the days of Pallava/Chola emperors in ancient and pre-medieval periods.
Chidambaram is one of the five holiest
Shiva temples, each representing one of the five natural elements; Chidambaram
represents akasha (aether). The other four temples in this category are:
Thiruvanaikaval Jambukeswara,Trichy (water), Kanchi Ekambareswara
(earth)Kanchipuram, Thiruvannamalai Arunachaleswara (fire),Thiruvanna malai and
Kalahasti Nathar (wind),Kalahasti.
ARCHITECTURE
The Gopurams
The temple has 9 gateways and four of
these have towering pagodas or gopurams 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.
The Five Sabhais
There are 5 sabhas or diases or halls:
The Chit sabhai, which is the sanctum
sanctorum housing Lord Nataraja, his consort Goddess Shivagamasundari.
The Kanaka sabhai – in front of the Chitsabhai,
from which the daily rituals are conducted.
The Nrithya sabhai or Natya sabhai, to
the south of the temple's flag mast (or kodi maram or dwaja sthambam) where the
Lord is said to have danced with Goddess Kali – an embodiment energy and
established his supremacy.
The Raja sabhai or the 1000-pillared
hall which symbolizes the yogic chakra of thousand pillared lotus or Sahasraram
(which in yoga is a 'chakra' at the crown of the head and is a seat where the
soul unites with God. This chakra is represented as a 1000-petalled lotus.
Meditating by concentrating at the Sahasrara Chakra is said to lead to a state
of union with the Divine force and is the pinnacle of yogic practice).
The Deva sabhai, which houses the
Pancha moorthis (pancha - five, moorthis - deities, namely the deities of Lord
Ganesh - the remover of hurdles, Lord Somaskanda, a form where the Lord is in a
seated posture with his grace and consort, the Lord's consort Sivananda nayaki,
the Lord Muruga and the deity of Chandikeswarar - the principal and chief of
the devotees of the Lord).
Other shrines
Apart from the five sabhais are:
The shrines for the original
Shivalingam worshipped by Saints Patanjali and Vyagrapathar – called the
Thirumoolattaneswarar and his consort Umaiyammai (உமையம்à®®ை) or Umaiya Parvathi.
The shrines for the 63 prime devotees
of Lord Siva – or the Arubathu moovar.
The shrines for Sivagami – an
embodiment of knowledge or Gyanasakthi.
For Lord Ganesha – in his
manifestation of one who removes hurdles.
For Lord Muruga or Pandiya nayakan –
in his manifestation of one who holds the three forms of energy – Itchai or
"desire" represented by his consort Valli, Kriya or
"action" represented by his consort Deivayanai and Gnana or
"Knowledge" represented by the spear he carries to destroy ignorance.
There are also several smaller shrines in the temple complex.
Water bodies in and around the temple
Moorthi (Idol), Sthalam (Place) and
Theertham (Waterbodies) signify the holiness of a temple. The Chidambaram
temple is well endowed with several water bodies within and around it.
The temple complex on 40 acres
(160,000 m2) houses the temple tank – called the Sivaganga. This large tank is
in the third corridor of the temple opposite to the shrine for Goddess
Sivagami.
The Paramanandha koobham is the well
on the eastern side of the Chitsabhai from which water is drawn for performing
pooja in the temple.
The Kuyya theertham is situated to the
north-east of Chidambaram near Killai near the Bay of Bengal and has the shore
called Pasamaruthanthurai.
The Pulimadu is situated around a
kilometer and a half to the south of Chidambaram.
The Vyagrapatha theertham is situated
on to the west of the Chidambaram temple opposite to the temple of Lord Ilamai
akkinaar.
The Anantha theertham is to the west
of Chidambaram temple in front of the Anantheswarar temple.
The Nagaseri is the tank to the west
of the Anantha theertham.
The Brahma theertham is to the
north-west of the Chidambaram temple at Thirukalaanjeri.
The Siva piriyai is a tank to the
north of the Chidambaram temple and opposite to the Brahma chamundeswari temple
(aka the Thillai Kali temple).
Thiruparkadal is the tank to the
south-east of the Siva piriyai.
Govindaraja Shrine
The Chidambaram temple complex houses
a shrine for the Lord Govindaraja Perumal and his consort Pundareegavalli
Thaayar. This shrine is claimed to be the Thillai Thiruchitrakootam and is one
of the 108 divyadesas – or the key shrines of Vishnu, which have been
sanctified (mangala saasanam) by hymns (the Naalayira divya prabantham) sung by
the chief devotees of Lord Vishnu (called the Aalwars) . Tillai Chitrakootam
(but not the Givindaraja Temple in its current form) has been sung by
Kulasekara Alwar and Tirumangai Mannan Alwar. Both Alwars have recorded that
the Chidambaram Brahmins(Dikshitars)were ones who were doing vedic and proper
(in Tamil" muraiyaha")poojas for the Lord in Chitrakootam.There are
controversies however, since many feel that the chitrakootam originally
referenced to by alwars could have been the one at UP where Rama spent time in
ashrams of sages like viswamitra and atri. This is because the currently
available versions of works of alwars were copied and re-written centuries
after the time of alwars sometime during late medieval ages. Many hymns written
by alwars are missing and many changes incorporated in them. This apart some
sources hold the founding of thillai chitrakootam to 1400 or probably 1600.C.E
only.
Significance of the temple design
The layout and architecture of the
temple is replete with philosophical meanings. The 9 gateways signify the 9 orifices
in the human body.
The Chitsabai or Ponnambalam, the
sanctum sanctorum represents the heart which is reached by a flight of 5 stairs
called the Panchaatchara padi - pancha meaning 5, achhara – indestructible
syllables – "SI VA YA NA MA", from a raised anterior dias - the
Kanakasabai. The access to the Sabhai is through the sides of the stage (and
not from the front as in most temples).
The Ponnambalam or the Sanctum
sanctorum is held by 28 pillars – representing the 28 agamas or set
methodologies for the worship of Lord Shiva.
The roof is held by a set of 64 beams
representing the 64 forms of art and is held by several cross-beams
representing the innumerable blood vessels.
The roof has been laid by 21600 golden
tiles with the word SIVAYANAMA inscribed on them representing 21600 breaths.
The golden tiles are fixed using 72000
golden nails which represents the number of nadis exists in human body.
The roof is topped by a set of 9
sacred pots or kalasas, representing the 9 forms of energy. (refer Umapathy
Sivam’s Kunchitaangristhavam)
Temple car
The Chidambaram temple car is,
perhaps, the most beautiful example of a temple car in all of Tamil Nadu. This
car, on which Lord Nataraja descends twice a year, is drawn by several thousand
devotees during the festivals.
Source : Chidambaramnataraja.org
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