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Chidambaram
Chidambaram
greets us with a beautiful temple, dedicated to Lord Nataraja - God Siva, in the
form of a cosmic Dancer. This is one of the few temples where Siva and Vishnu
are enshrined under one roof. Dedicated to Lord Nataraja, this ancient temple of
the Cholas is unique not only it is devoted solely to the art of Bharatanatyam,
but also it is one of the rare temples where Shiva is represented by an idol
rather than the customary Lingam. Spread over an area of 40 acres with a gopuram
on each side, the temple is distinguished by five sabhas or courts.
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Places of
Interest
The Nataraja
Temple
The temple located in the centre of the town covers an area of 40 acres. It is
one of the ancient temples of Tamil Nadu. The roof of the sanctum sanctorum is
covered with gold plates. The presiding deity of the temple is represented by
air, one of the five elements of the universe and is known as Akasa Lingam.
The Eastern tower
rises to a height of 40.8 metres. 108 Bharatha Natyam dance gestures can be seen
on the Eatern towers as well as Western tower. The Northern tower rises to a
height of 42.4 metres.
The Sivakamiamman
temple, the Sivaganga tank, the thousand pillar hall are other important
features of the temple.
Kali Temple
The Thillaikaliamman temple is on the northern end of the town. It was built by
Kopperunjingan, who ruled between 1229 AD and 1278 AD.
Annamalai
University
It is a residential University founded by the Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar. It is
a great centre of Tamil learning and carnatic music; now offers educational
facilities in various disciplines including Medicine, Agriculture, Engineering
etc.
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