Chidambaram Temple And The Podu Dikshitars
By T R Ramesh
The Koyil
The Lord resides at Chitrambalam
The Lord resides at Chidambaram
The Lord resides at Tiruvambalam
The Lord resides at the Splendorous Podu
- Tirumantiram – the Tenth Tirumurai; Song 869 - Saint Tirumoolar, 3rd century CE
The Lord resides at Chitrambalam
The Lord resides at Chidambaram
The Lord resides at Tiruvambalam
The Lord resides at the Splendorous Podu
- Tirumantiram – the Tenth Tirumurai; Song 869 - Saint Tirumoolar, 3rd century CE
For Tamil Saivites across the world, Chidambaram Sri Sabhanayagar
Temple is known as “the Koyil” or “the
Temple”.
For them, no Siva Temple is or could be more important or sacred than
this Temple
of Sri Nataraja at
Chidambaram where the Lord performs his Cosmic Dance in the Hall of
Wisdom.
Indeed it is the belief of Saivites and other Hindus
that after the last pooja of the day (Artajama Pooja), the Siva Jyoti
present in the Sivalinga of every other Siva temple converge in Nataraja,
the presiding deity of this Supreme
Siva Temple.
The words Chitrambalam, Chidambaram, Tiruvambalam and Podu all denote
that this place of worship was only the Dancing Hall of Siva in the
beginning.
Origin of Sri
Sabhanayagar Temple
“Sri Sabhanayagar Temple or Sri Nataraja Temple in Chidambaram is an ancient temple of great importance to Saivites all over India.” - Statement of Case by Government of Madras in Civil Appeal 39/1953 in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.
“Sri Sabhanayagar Temple or Sri Nataraja Temple in Chidambaram is an ancient temple of great importance to Saivites all over India.” - Statement of Case by Government of Madras in Civil Appeal 39/1953 in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.
This Temple
is very ancient one and apart from Epical history no historical evidence
could be traceable in respect of the details of its founding and age. -
Document no. 30 at page 101 of the Government’s submissions before the
Hon’ble Division Bench of the Madras High Court in W.A.181 of 2009.
Admittedly, the Chidambaram
Nataraja Temple
is one of the most ancient temples in India whose origin is lost in
antiquity. Chidambaram temple is a hoary temple that goes back to the period
of Sages Patanjali and Vyagrapadha. Sage Vyagrapadha is the father of the
great Siva Devotee Upamanyu. Shri Upamanyu is the ‘Deeksha Guru’ of Sri
Krishna.
“The Koyil” rose on an ancient site, some of the
inner portions being of the remotest antiquity, was preserved with care
by the Podu Dikshitars and enriched by Kings of yore through the efforts
of the Podu Dikshitars. The first true building on this worship site would
seem to be the sacred central shrine, which is still the heart of the
temple. What started as a small Dancing Hall (‘Citrambalam’, meaning
‘small hall’) of Siva later became a huge temple complex. As the Temple grew in size,
importance and fame, the town too grew big and became a ‘Taniyur’, an
independent self-governing town.
Epigraphical and other records show that Chidambaram
occupied in former centuries much larger limits than now. A 12th century
inscription mentions it as Perrumpatrapuliyur-Taniyur, a large
self-governing local unit comprising 23 hamlets with a radius of eight miles.
By that time (and now) the Temple
Complex comprised an area
of almost 40 acres. The Raja Gopuras present now in the temple were built
at various periods, spanning many centuries. It is marvellous to note
that all four Gopuras are uniform in size, structure and form. All
Gopurams are 7-storeyed and 135 feet tall. All have 13 Copper Kalashas on
them. They are uniformly 90 feet long and 60 feet wide at the bottom
and the entrances are 40 feet high. All Gopurams have beautiful statues
depicting various postures of Natya or Dance Karanas. This uniformity has
been possible only due to the continuous presence and administration of
the Podu Dikshitars from the inception of the temple.
The innermost part of the temple where the Dancing
Hall of the Lord is present is a very ancient structure that is very
early in tradition. It is a wooden structure in rectangular shape with a
thatched roof covered with gold leaves. Such a style is unknown or cannot
be seen in other temples in Tamil Nadu. The closest resemblance to this
structure is found in a relief panel from Nagarjunakonda, north of Tamil
Nadu and dates from about the 3rd century.
Citrambalam
The gold-roofed stage or dancing hall is the sanctum sanctorum of the Chidambaram temple and houses the Lord in three forms:
•the ‘form’ or anthropomorphic form of Lord Nataraja, called the Sakala thirumeni
•the ‘semi-form’ or semi-anthropomorphic form as Crystal linga Chandramouleswarar, the Sakala nishkala thirumeni
•the ‘formless’ as the Space in Chidambara Rahasyam, an empty space within the sanctum sanctorum, the Nishkala thirumeni
The gold-roofed stage or dancing hall is the sanctum sanctorum of the Chidambaram temple and houses the Lord in three forms:
•the ‘form’ or anthropomorphic form of Lord Nataraja, called the Sakala thirumeni
•the ‘semi-form’ or semi-anthropomorphic form as Crystal linga Chandramouleswarar, the Sakala nishkala thirumeni
•the ‘formless’ as the Space in Chidambara Rahasyam, an empty space within the sanctum sanctorum, the Nishkala thirumeni
The Dancing Lord
“Every part of the Nataraja image is directly expressive not of any superstition or dogma, but of evident facts. No artist of today however great, could more exactly or more wisely create an image of that energy which science must postulate behind all phenomena. It is poetry; but nevertheless science”
- Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
“Every part of the Nataraja image is directly expressive not of any superstition or dogma, but of evident facts. No artist of today however great, could more exactly or more wisely create an image of that energy which science must postulate behind all phenomena. It is poetry; but nevertheless science”
- Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
The Chidambaram
Temple is unique
since the presiding deity worshipped is a metal icon of Lord Nataraja in
contrast to statues of deities made of stone found in other temples. But in
the same sanctum, the ethereal or Akasa linga is present and is
worshipped along with the Nataraja. There is also a Spatika Linga for
which the six daily kala poojas are done.
This Sanctum is the Kanakasabha or the Golden Hall
where Nataraja, as Kanakasabhapati, Lord of the Golden Hall, performs his
Dance of Bliss, the Anandatandava. It is important to note that in this
Sanctum there is a screen of golden Bilva leaves which hangs to the right
of Nataraja and the screen when moved aside reveals empty space that
represents Akasa or Space. The removal of the screen is the removal of
ignorance and behind the veil is the real truth – Sat, Chit and Ananda –
which is the subtle ethereal form of Nataraja. This is known as the
Chidambara Rahasya.
The Dancing
Lord Nataraja while dancing enacts the five activities known as
Panchakritya – Srishti (creation), Sthiti (preservation, continued
maintenance), Samhara (destruction, involution), Tirobhava (veiling,
incarnation), and Anugraha (release, salvation).
“Sub: CHIT-AMBARA RAHASYAM The secret behind -Dynamic
Universe -has significance to present day -God-particle physics
groups-searching at the wrong end in the name of Big-bang. I really wonder why
Indian Space-Cosmology Community do not apply their minds-Searching
Minds-Guiding Spirit-lead India
to real Knowledge Base.Chidambaram holds the keys in Cosmic Fields-See
Cosmology Vedas Interlinks -15 Books and Projections by me.Wisdom helps to
preserve heritage with Pride”. - A
Comment by Vidyardhi Nanduri
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My
humble salutations to Sri T R Ramesh ji
and hindu samskrit dot com for the
collection)
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