Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram - Cosmic Dancer
An abode of Lord Shiva in dancing for (Nataraja), this temple welcomes lakhs of devotees throughout the year. In a unique way, the temple is the main sacred destination for both Shaivites and Vaishnavites. The legend begins when lord Shiva was once strolling into the Thillai Vanam (Vanam meaning forest in Tamil) in the present day Pichavaram mangrove forest. It was the forest where a lot of saints resided. The lord strolls in the forest with his consort. The sages on seeing that glorified couple were astonished. They wanted to prove the couple that they are the powerful people invoking scores of serpents by performing magical rituals. The lord grinned at them making those serpents as his ornaments. Frustrated with their loss, the sages gather all their spiritual strength and invoke a powerful demon ‘Muyalakan’. It was the time when Lord Shiva took over his ferocious structure and did dance over this demon, resulting in the ‘Nataraja’ form of this temple.
The sage understood the real form of the couple and surrendered themselves to the lord. Hence, this temple has become the place highlighting one of the five elements of nature ‘sky’ and lord Shiva is deemed in that form. There is a story associated with Lord Vishnu to reside here. Aadisesha, the serpent bed of lord Vishnu, wanted to witness the dance form of Lord Shiva. Lord Vishnu placed this plea to lord Shiva and the latter did this cosmic dance on one auspicious day. That is how the temple complex for the lord Govindaraja Perumal and his consort Pundareegavalli Thaayar came into existence. This shrine is one of the 108 holy shrines for Lord Vishnu. The temple underwent a lot of renovations under different dynasties from time to time. The present structure of around 40 acres dates back to the 12th and 13th centuries. The architectural features of the temple includes Gopurams, the five sabhas, the shrines of the 63 chief devotees of lord Shiva, water bodies and Govindaraja shrine. There are nine gateways of the temple signifying the 9 orifices of the human body.