This temple is the second famous temple on the northern banks of the cauvery.
Chidambaram is a very sacred town which houses many temples. The Natarajar temple is world famous and it is the first among the temples sung about by the nayanmars on the northern bank of the cauvery. There are 3 more padal petra sthalams in Chidambaram which are equally ancient but rarely visited as the Nataraja temple dwarfs the other temples by its uniqueness.
HOW TO REACH:
Head towards the bus stand and ask for the Annamalai university . A crowded small one way leads to the bridge The road crosses the Coleroon river and here you take a right turn and in a kilometer you will see the Annamalai university .
Take a left to enter the campus and proceed straight you will land by the temple. on sundays a shanty is held around the temple
View of the temple from inside the Rajagopuram
LEGENDS AND STORIES OF THE TEMPLE:
Arjuna was instructed by Krishna to do penance and obtain the divine bow Pasupatham from Shiva.
He sat in meditation , Shiva and Parvathi appeared dressed as hunters. A wild boar ran across and both Arjuna and Shiva shot arrows and each claimed the kill. A fight ensued between these two as to who killed the boar and Arjuna landed a blow on Shiva , and the Shiva Lingam bears the evidence of the same! Parvati took a step forward to intervene but Shiva placated her .
Shiva thrashed Arjuna with his bow string and Arjuna realised it was no ordinary soul and he prayed for mercy and Shiva blessed him and handed over the divine Pasupata astra to Arjuna
View of the Nandi
The main prahara houses the sannidhi of Shiva facing east.
The ambal is called Satgunambal or Nalla nayaki and faces south in the sanctum inside
The Koshta vigrahas are as follows
Vinayaka
Dakshinamurthy
Lingodhbhavar
Brahma
Durga
Sthala vriksham Bamboo
View of the Dwaja sthamba
Suryan and Chandra both in one enclosure
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