Famous Temples in India

Religious Significance

LEGEND 1- Goddess Kali who was the protector of the Thillai Vanam [Forest] refused Shiva to perform his dance. Shiva challenged Kali to dance along with him and put forward a condition that the loser shall be banished from the place. Kali accepted and both the supreme powers started dancing to the rhythm of life matching each other’s every step until at a certain point Lord Shiva performed the Urdhva Tandava raising his leg over his head. Seeing the breathtaking posture of Lord Nataraja, Kali Devi [Goddess] accepted defeat and moved to the Northern end of the temple and stayed there. A shrine dedicated to Kali Devi is present at the same Northern end of the Thillai Nataraja Temple. Vyaghrapadar and Patanjali requested Shiva to stay at Chidambaram as the Lord Nataraja so that all the earthly beings could have the opportunity to witness the cosmic dance of life that is the basis of the whole world and seek blessing from the Supreme god of gods.

LEGEND 2 - The legend behind this temple proves that Lord Shiva is beyond space and time, as he controls the creation, destruction and recreation by means of his cosmic dance. The story starts with a group of sages who lived in the Thillai Forests of Chidambaram. They believed that magic can overpower god and mantras and rituals can control god. Shiva in order to teach them a lesson wandered along the forests in the form of a beggar seeking alms with Vishnu taking the form of Mohini following Shiva as his wife. The wives of rishis were captivated by the elegance and charm of the handsome mendicant and the young rishis fell for the immense beauty of Mohini. The older rishis who got annoyed by this started a homam [sacrificial fire] to raise fearsome and powerful creatures from the fire. At first they sent a tiger towards Shiva, he holds it with his hand and nails it and made it lifeless. He wore the tiger skin as his vastra [cloth]. Not moved by this act, the rishis sent a poisonous serpent which Shiva got hold and ornamented his neck with it, and then a demon “Mulayakan” was sent. Shiva placed his feet on Mulayakan’s head and broke his spine which made him motionless under the lord’s feet. Shiva started dancing on the demon when the rishis sent the sacrificial fire itself on Shiva which he placed on his left hand. Having lost the fire, the rishis sent the vedic mantras as their last astra [weapon]. Shiva wore it on his ankles. The rishis then accepted their defeat and Shiva revealed his true identity and started the divine cosmic dance Urdhva Tandava before them and the world vibrated and all the beings were immersed in deep trance emerging from the feet of Shiva. Vishnu who witnessed this dance of life explained it to Adishesha, the serpent on which Lord Vishnu reclines. After seeking permission from Lord Vishnu Adishesha visited Lord Shiva and presented his desire to witness the divine dance. Lord Shiva asked him to visit Vyagrapuram where he promised to dance one day. Adishesha was then born on Earth as Pathanjali. He approached Vyaghrapadar and told him of his life purpose. Vyaghrapadar who was delighted to hear this as he was so devoted to Shiva and himself desired to watch the cosmic dance accompanied Pathanjali and visited the temple and started seeking the honor of witnessing the performance by praying to the lord himself. Thus the waiting ended on a special day of the Poosam star during the Tamil month of Thai when all the celestial musicians, devas, sages, all gathered at the temple when Lord Shiva appeared beating drums and showering blessings.

LEGEND 3 - Sage Vasishta, revered as leader of Rishis had a relative Madyandinar by name. He had a son named Maadyandinar (the first name is short in sound, the next longer – spelling differs). Sage Vasishta advised that the boy should worship the Swayambulinga in Thillai Vanam forests for gaining complete spiritual wisdom. Son Maadyandinar reached this place. He was sad that he lost his puja time in picking up flowers after sunrise and these flowers were not pure as the honey in the same are taken away by the bees. He appealed to Lord Shiva saying that he was unable to pick the flowers in darkness due to lack of light and the flowers become unfit if picked after sunrise. Lord granted him hands and legs as that of a tiger to climb the tree and a bright vision to the eyes functioning well even in utter darkness. Lord also said that he would be known hence forth as Vyakrapada as had the legs as a tiger. Vyakrapada was too happy with the boon and name and continued his worship in Thillai.

LEGEND 4 - There is another recent legend associated with this temple. The sacred Tamil works of the Nayanmaars had been missing for several years, and it was during the period of Raja Raja Chola (the builder of the Grand temple at Tanjavur) that formal research was initiated to trace these fine works of devotional literature. These works of the Saivite Saints - rich in musical content were recovered in a dilapidated state in one of the chambers in this vast temple, after the monarch brought images of the Saint trinity in procession to the temple.

The first historical references can be found in the Skanda Purana, especially in the Suta Samhita part. Here Shanmukha, the six-faced son of Shiva and Parvati, is described as worshipping his parents in Chidambaram, before going to do battle with a demon called Surapadma. This text can be dated to the second century B.C.