15.Thillai Nataraja Perumal Kovil or Chidambaram Natarajar Koil

Address	Chidambaram Natarajar Temple at Chidambaram,Cuddalore District
City	Thanjavur
State	Tamilnadu
Location	South India
Year of Construction	(Chola Period with additions in Vijayanagar Period) the Chola emperor Kulottunga II, 1213 AD the Sangam period (very early on in the Christian era), The later Chola Kings (Aditya I and Parantaka I) adorned the roof of the shrine with gold, and the other Chola Kings treated Nataraja as their guardian deity and made several endowments to the temple as temple inscriptions testify. The Pandya Kings who followed them, and the later Vijayanagar rulers made several endowments to the temple. There is a stone image of Krishnadevaraya in the North Gopura which he is said to have erected.
Type of Construction	Ancient and historic temple 1.The temple is supposed to be located at the Lotus heart of the Universe": virat hridaya padma sthalam. 2.On the spot where the Lord displayed his dance of bliss, 3.The Änanda Thaandavam - a spot exactly south of the "Thirumoolataaneswar temple", today is the Ponnambalam/ Porsabai (Pon meaning gold, Ambalam/Sabai meaning stage) housing the Lord Shiva in his dancing form. 4. The Lord is also hence referred to as the Sabhanayakar, meaning the Lord of the Stage. This gold-roofed stage is the sanctum sanctorum of the Chidambaram temple and houses the Lord in three forms: the "form" - the anthromorphological form as an idol of Lord Nataraja, called the Sakala thirumeni. the "semi-form" – the semi-anthropomorphological form as the Crystal linga of Chandramouleswarar, the Sakala nishkala thirumeni. the "formless" – as the Space in Chidambara Rahasyam, an empty space within the sanctum sanctorum, the Nishkala thirumeni.
Type of Building	Dravidian architectural and sculptural styles
Managed By	The Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department
Histroy	(Naga in tamil/sanskrit means Snake and Natha means God) temple for Shaivaites.
Dedicated To
Saint	Thirugnana Sambanthar , Thirunavukkarasar Sundaramoorthy Nayanar , and Manikkavasagar The collected works of the first three are called the Devarams. Thirugnana Sambanthar has composed 2 devarams in praise of the Lord at Chidambaram , Thirunavukkarasar aka Appar 8 devarams in praise of Nataraja, and Sundarar 1 devaram in praise of Lord Nataraja. Manikkavasagar has written two works, the first called Tiruvasakam (The sacred utterances) which largely has been sung in Chidambaram and the Thiruchitrambalakkovaiyar (aka Thirukovaiyar), which has been sung entirely in Chidambaram. Manikkavasagar is said to have attained spiritual bliss at Chidambaram. The works of these saints were stored as palm leaf manuscripts in the temple and were recovered by the Chola King Arunmozhivarman, more famously called Rajaraja Chola under the guidance of Nambiandarnambi. Muthuswamy Deekshitar, one of the foremost composers in the Karnatic Music tradition sings the glory of this temple in his kriti 'Ananda Natana Prakasam'. The Alwar Poems of the Naalayira Divya Prabandam sing the glory of Vishnu, whose image is also housed in this temple, and his shrine is referred to as 'Tiruchitrakootam'. Adi Sankara is said to have presented a Spatika Lingam which is still under worship in this temple. Sekkizhaar's Periya Puranam, describing poetically the life of the Saivite Saints (63 in number) was composed in the 1000 pillared hall,
Main diety	Natarajar, Akasha Lingam, Sivakami Amman (Shiva, Parvati)
Other Deities	Vinayagar , Periyanayagi Amman.,Arthanareeswara Shrine ,GiriGujambika Shrine (Sambandar - South, Appar - West, Sundarar - North and Manikkavacakar - East).
Nataraja:	The dance of bliss, or the Ananda Tandavam of Shiva is said to symbolize the five divine acts (pancha krityas) of creation, sustenance, dissolution, concealment and bestowment of grace. The dance of Shiva has been frozen in metal and held in worships in Nataraja Sabhas, in virtually all of the Saivite temples in Tamilnadu. one of the Five of the foremost Sabhas (Pancha Sabhai) are at Chidmbaram (Kanaka Sabhai the hall of gold), .
Religion	Hinduism
Famous For	Chidambaram is thus one of the panchabootha sthalas .In other words Chidambaram is one of five holiest Shiva temples representing one of the five natural elements - space The image of Nataraja, depicts the Lord Shiva as the Lord of the dance Bharatanatyam and is one of the few temples where Shiva is represented by an idol rather than a Lingam. The Cosmic Dance of Lord Nataraja symbolises the motion of the universe is sustained by Lord Shiva. The temple has five courts. Aragalur udaya Iraratevan Ponparappinan alias Vanakovaraiyan rebuilt the Siva temple at Chidambaram around 1213 AD. The same Bana Chief also built Tiruvannamalai temple. To the right of Shiva, is the revered Chidambara rahasyam - or a representation of emptiness garlanded with golden vilva leaves. The curtain in front of the Chidambara Rahasyam, representing Shiva (and Parvati) in the formless form (Aroopam) is lifted ceremoniously during worship services, with offerings of lamps.
Etymology	CHIDAMBARAM - MEANS >># chit means-"consciousness", and ambaram, means "sky" (from aakasam or aakayam); thus it refers to the chidaakasam, the sky of consciousness, which is the ultimate aim one should attain as mentioned by all the Vedas and scriptures >> # chit + ambalam. Ambalam means "stage" (for performing arts). The chidakasam is the state of supreme bliss or aananda and Lord Natarajar is the symbolic representation of the supreme bliss or aananda natanam. Saivaites believe that a visit to Chidambaram leads to liberation. >># chithu means "play or dance of God" and ambalam meaning "stage".
Significance:	Chidambaram is associated with Nataraja, or Shiva in his Ananda Tandava pose (the Cosmic Dance of bliss) in the cosmic golden hall and the hall of consciousness (Chit Sabha). Shiva is also worshipped in the "formless form" of the Chidambara Rahasyam, while the temple is known for its Akasa Lingam, an embodiment of Shiva as the formless Space. The word "Koyil" or temple in the Tamil Saivite tradition refers to none other than the Chidambaram Nataraja temple.
Temple (Holy) Tree &threetham	Temple (Holy) Tree (Sthalavirutsha):- Tillai tree Sacred Tank (Theertham):- Sivaganga thirtham
Festival	PIRATHOSAM, *** Two annual Bhrammotsavams at Chidambaram are of great significance, as they involve colorful processions of festival deities in the car streets. The grandest of these occurs in the month of Margazhi (Dec 15 - Jan 15), concluding on the full moon day corresponding to the Arudra Darisanam festival (Arudra Darisanam is celebrated in Saivite temples all over Tamilnadu). *** ten day festival # the hoisting of the temple flag on the first day, # followed by colorful procesions of the five deities (Pancha Murthys) on the first eight days on various mounts. # The fifth day features Mount Kailasam, # the sixth day features the elephant mount. # the ninth day that Nataraja leaves his sanctum, and is taken in a procession through the car streets, in the grand temple car. This is a special occasion and crowds throng to see it. Local fishermen communities traditionally offer gifts to Nataraja during this procession. Nataraja then returns to the Raja Sabha of the temple, where in the pre-dawn hours of the next day, while the moon is full, special abhishekams are performed to Nataraja, in the presence of thousands of devotees, and this ritual is followed by the royal audience of Nataraja in the Raja Sabha. In the afternoon, Nataraja returns to the shrine ceremoniously from the Raja Sabha, amidst an enactment of the Ananda Tandavam or the Dance of Bliss. *** The second of the Bhrammotsavams The second of the Bhrammotsavams happens in the month of Aani, and it concludes with Aani Tirumanjanam on the tenth day, in a manner similar to Arudra Darisanam in Margazhi. It is interesting that these annual Bhrammotsavams or festivals happen in the months immediately preceding the summer and winter solstices (ie. Gemini and Sagittarius). Live dance performances have been introduced to the temple recently, in the form of annual dance festivals.
Best Time	All seasons
Opening Schedule	5.30 a. m to 1. p.m., 3.p.m. to 10.p.m.
Visit Timings	5.30a. m to 1. p.m., 4.p.m. to 10.p.m.
Pooja Schedule	7 a. m to 1. p.m., 4.p.m. to 10.p.m.
special pooja	Six worship services are offered in this temple each day the ArdhaJaama Puja (the most special one), where the padukas (footwear) of Nataraja are ceremoniously taken to the Palliarai (night chamber) of Shiva and Parvati after elaborate rituals.
pooja details	Karthigai(3rd Friday) Brahmotsava Margazhi Thiruvathirai-Nartaraja’s Procession Thai(1st day) Punuguchattam-Adornement Masi Sivarathri-Nagaraja Worship-2nd kala Chitirai Singaravelar’s Procession Vaikasi(Visaka) Somaskanthar’s Procession Purattasi Navarathri Festival Aippasi Kandasasti the most special is the ArdhaJamma Puja
Entry Formalities	Free
Accomodation	Many hotels and restaurant are there in Thanjavur , kumbakonam and cuddalore
Accesibility	THE WAYS OF APPROCH TO THIS TEMPLE Pilgrims coming form Madurai, Tiruchi, Coimbatore Salem etc., have to alight at Thanjavur Bus Stand and form there, they can come to Kumbakonam . Pilgrims form Madras, Neyveli, Mayiladuthurai, Thiruvarur etc., have to alight at Kumbakonam bus stand and form there. The temple town of Chidambaram is home to the Annamalai University, and it has several modern lodging facilities. Chidambaram is on the Chennai Tiruchirappalli Main line, between Villuppuram and Thanjavur. It is well connected with Chennai by a host of train and bus services. By road it is only 235 kilometers South of Chennai. Thanjavur is only about 100 kilometers away from Chidambaram. Rail Chidambaram is well connected by rail to important towns and cities of Tamilnadu. Chidambaram can be reached from Chennai (235 Km) in approximately six hours, from Kumbakonam in two hours and from Tanjore in four hours. Road Chidambaram is reachable by bus from almost anywhere in Tamil Nadu and other adjoining states. Air The nearest airport is Trichy at a distance of about 160 Km.