Ananda
Tandavam - Dance of Lord Shiva
The dance of bliss, or the Ananda
Tandavam of Shiva is said to symbolize the five divine
acts ("Pancha Krityas") - creation, sustenance,
dissolution, concealment and bestowment of grace. The
dance of Shiva has been frozen in metal and held in
worship in Nataraja Sabhas, in virtually all of the
Saivite temples in Tamil Nadu.
Five of the foremost Sabhas
(Pancha Sabhas) are at Chidmbaram (Kanaka Sabha-the
hall of gold), Madurai (Rajata Sabha-the hall of Silver),
Tiruvalangadu near Chennai (Ratnasabha - the hall of
rubies), Tirunelveli (Tamrasabha - the hall of copper)
and Kutralam near Tirunelveli (Chitrasabha-the hall
of pictures). Other dance halls of significance are
"Adri Sabha" (the Himalayas), "Aadi Chitsabha"
(Tiruvenkaadu near Chidambaram) and "Perur Kanakasabha"
(Patteeswarar temple at Perur near Coimbatore).
Architecture Of
The Temple
The original temple was built during
the 6th-8th centuries. There are four tall Gopurams
and on the eastern tower, rising to 40.8 meters, are
carved the 108 dance poses of Bharatanatyam. The whole
temple spreads to around 40 acres. The temple is built
based on the strict "Kundalini Chakra" orientation
and according to the "Shiva Siddhanta" philosophy.
The Chidambaram Nataraja
temple is a specimen of the assimilation of several
architectural styles. The Nataraja Temple has five halls
- the Nritta Sabha, Deva Sabha, Kanaka Sabha, Chit Sabha
and Raja Sabha.
The Innermost
Prakaram
The innermost sanctum of the temple,
houses the grand images of Shiva (Nataraja) and Parvati
(Shivakami) in the Chit Sabha or the hall of consciousness,
adjoining which is the KanakaSabha or the Golden Hall,
both these structures resting on a raised platform.
The innermost Prakaram surrounds the Chit Sabha, and
to the South West of Nataraja, is the shrine of Govindaraja
Perumal facing east.
Chit Sabha- The
Holiest Place Of The Temple
The Chit Sabha, the holiest shrine
in the temple, is a wooden structure supported with
wooden pillars, with a hut shaped roof. It is in this
hall, that the images of Nataraja and Shivakami are
housed, in front of a set of two curtains, the inner
(invisible) one being red in color, the outer one being
black in color.
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
Lord Shiva (and Goddess Parvati) in the formless form
("Aroopam") is lifted ceremoniously during
worship services, with offerings of lamps.
Worshipping the five eternal
elements, the temple at Tiruvannamalai has a fire lingam,
Kanchipuram has the earth lingam, Kalahasthi, the wind
lingam, Jambhukeshvar (also spelt as Jambhukeshva) is
water and Chidambaram, the sky lingam. So when the priest
draws back the curtain from the inner shrine of the
presiding deity in the Chit Sabha, there is no lingam
or dancing Nataraja to be seen. Only space. This is
the charming mystery of Chidambaram - 'Rahasyam'. The
other meanings of this Rahasyam (secret) are passed
on from disciple-Guru (teacher) basis, but can be found
in books like 'Chidambaram mahatmyam' written in Sanskrit.
Also in the Chitsabha
are images of Ratnasabhapati (Nataraja of Ruby), the
'Spatika Lingam' of Chandramauleeswara, Swarnakarshana
Bhairavar, Mukhalingam, etc.
Kanaka Sabha Or
The Golden Hall
The Golden Hall, or Kanaka Sabha
is immediately in front of the Chit Sabha, both being
on an elevated platform as mentioned before, with silver
panelled doors in front. The Chit Sabha itself is a
meter or so higher than the Kanaka Sabha and is reached
by a flight of 5 silver plated steps, marking the five
'Aksharas' (syllables) of the "Panchakshara Mantram"
(the five syllabled NamaShivaya).
Nritta Sabha Or
The Hall Of Dance
Across from the Nataraja shrine in
the second Prakaram is the Nritta Sabha or the hall
of dance with some fine pillars, housing an image of
Shiva in the 'Urdhva Tandava' posture, winning over
Kali in a dance duel, and an image of Sarabheswara,
another form of Shiva. The Nritta Sabha with fine pillars
is in the form of a chariot drawn by horses.
Deva Sabha Or
The House Of Gods
The Deva Sabha or the house of Gods
is also in the second Prakaram, housing festival images
of the Pancha Murtis (Somaskandar, Parvati, Vinayaka,
Subramanya and Chandikeshwara) and other deities. Mulanathar,
or the representation of Shiva as a Lingam is housed
in the second Prakaram.
The Outermost
Prakaram
The outermost Prakaram is home to
the grand Shivakami Amman temple, the Shivaganga tank
and the 1000-pillared hall or the Raja Sabha, where
Nataraja is brought during two annual festivals.
Raja Sabha
The 1,000-pillared hall (ayiram-kal-
mandapam) of Raja Sabha, measuring 103m long and 58m
wide witnessed the victory celebrations of the Chola
and Pandya kings. It is a great place for meditation.
Shivaganga Tank
The sacred water of the Shivaganga
Tank, thronged by bathing pilgrims, has healing powers
and has cured a king's leprosy.
Shivakami Ammam
Shrine
The vast Shivakami Amman shrine is
a temple in its own right. Ceilings on the Mukhamandapam
of this temple have paintings from the Nayaka period.
There are friezes of dancers, drummers and musicians
all along the enclosing walls of this temple. The thousand-pillared
hall has witnessed several grand events in history.
This hall is also designed in the form of a chariot.
Its entrance features two elephants, and on the basement
there is a frieze of dancing figures.
The 1000 pillared hall, also in the outermost Prakaram
is also of artistic value, as is the shrine of Subramanya,
which dates back to the Pandya period. The Subramanya
shrine is also in the form of a chariot, and is referred
to as the 'Pandya Nayakam'.
The Towers In
The Temple
Perhaps the most magnificent structures
in the temple are the four lofty Gopurams or towers
in the four cardinal directions, piercing the walls
of the outermost Prakaram. Each is a gigantic masterpiece
in itself - about 250 feet in height, with seven tiers.
The Western tower is the oldest one. In the towers,
on either side of the gateways there are representations
of the 108 poses of the classical Bharatanatyam Tradition
as enunciated in the Classic Natya Shastra.
The towers are embellished
with images from Hindu mythology. From the second tier
onward, on each of the Gopuram, are seen images of various
manifestations of Shiva such as "Bhikshatana",
"Kankala" (both being ascetic forms), "Kalyanasundara",
"Somaskanda", etc. (bestowers of prosperity).
There are no representations of Nataraja on the temple
towers, as this image is reserved for the innermost
shrine alone.
Services Offered
To The Lord
Six worship services are offered
in this temple each day at the shrine of Nataraja -
the last of which is 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. It is believed that the entire pantheon of
divine figures in the Hindu system of beliefs is present
during this occasion.
The first puja in the
morning involves the waking up of Shiva, and a transport
of the padukas back to the main shrine, followed by
fire rituals and ablutions to the crystal Shivalingam.
The worship services that follow at about 9:30 am, and
then at noon, and at 5.00 pm in the evening and at 7.00
pm involve a combination of rituals involving ablutions
to the Crystal Lingam and the ceremonial show of lamps
to Nataraja and Shivakami amidst the chanting of Vedic
and Tamil hymns.
The "Shiva Agama"
system of temple rituals followed in almost all of the
Shaivite temples in Tamil Nadu is not followed at Chidambaram.
It is a unique worship protocol said to have been prescribed
by Patanjali that is followed at this temple. |
