Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu India

Nataraja Temple worships Lord Shiva in the form of the Cosmic dancing god, Nataraja. The whole temple area is a huge one and spreads for more than 40 acres. This historic and ancient temple is also dedicated to the Lord Govindaraja Perumal. It is a very rare case, where Shaivite together with Vaishnavite deities are worshipped at the same place. 

Temple of Lord Nataraja is located in Chidambaram-a beautiful town in the northern part of Tamil Nadu, India.  This temple-a symbol of Dravidian Architecture stands tall for its elegant beauty by holding a very long history. It’s one of the Panchabootha Sthalams where Lord Shiva is worshiped in the form of Sky or Space (Aakaya/Aakasa) and hence it’s also described as Aakaya Sthalam.

Pallava king Simhavarman, also known as Hiranyavarman is a famous renovator of the temple. The Nataraja Temple - Chidambaram shows typical Dravidian architectural form. The ornamented Lord Nataraja sits within the shrine, who is shown as the lord of the dance form Bharatanatyam. The architectural features of the temple includes Gopurams, the five sabhais, the shrines of the 63 chief devotees of lord Shiva, water bodies and Govindraja shrine. There are nine gateways of the temple, each of which signifies the 9 orifices of the human body.

There is a huge temple car of the Nataraja Temple - Chidambaram, which is equally impressive. People believe that Lord Nataraja descends twice a year on this car. During the time of festivals, this sacred car is drawn by thousands of devotees. Several rituals are associated with this temple, which are observed with great purity and devotion.

Recitation and the mantras are chanted from the Vedas in Sanskrit within the temple. Only the qualified people are allowed to do these sanctified acts. Dikshitar are the priests of the temple.