Chidambaram Temple

Chidambaram is a municipal town and one of the taluk headquarters in Cuddalore district. It is situated in the Kollidam River valley about 11 km from the coast, 20 kms from the towns Kollidam and Sirkazhi, 60 kms from Karaikal and 240 kms from Chennai. It is a famous pilgrimage site for Saivites as well as Vaishnavites, where one of the holiest and most ancient temples of Hinduism is located.

To the followers of Shaivism or the shaivaite, the very word koil refers to Chidambaram. In the same way, to the followers of Vaishnavism it refers to Srirangam or Thiruvarangam.

Thilai Kali Amman Temple:

once upon a time, a debate took place between Shiva and Shakti and both danced. In this dance, when Shiva danced by lifting one leg, Shakti could not lift her legs because of modesty. Hence Shakti had to submit to Shiva. Shiva at once, declared that Shakti should not reside within the boundaries of Thillai and made her reside outside. The Devi Shrine located in Thillai is the Thillai Kali temple in the north. This temple is known as Thillai Amman Koil.
In this place people will get blessing of victory. For this we have to first visit Thilai Kali Amman temple and then Nataraja temple. People normally give long 2.5m saari to the Kali amma and do kukumarchana. Also we can do abhisheka of mustard oil. Also already done mustard oil abhishekam is available that we can use daily to remove the negative energy from our body.

Nataraja Shiva:

The form of Shiva as Nataraja also known as Natesha or Nrityeshvara is worshipped in many parts of India. This form of Shiva is venerated by the devotees, religious philosophic thinkers, writers, poets, artists, painters, and experts of Indian art history. The image of Nataraja is the favourite theme for any artist even today in stone, metal, wood, painting and paper. In South India, particularly in Tamil Nadu Nataraja is venerated and worshipped in each and every temple . He is portrayed high on the front portion of the main temple (prasada), placed on the south. The metal images of the Nataraja installed in sub-shrines inside the temple thus also face the south. The great temple of Chidambaram also faces the south. 

The Nataraja as a concept and worship goes back to pre-Gupta times (4th century CE) in India. This form of Shiva is very popular. The name Nataraja, shows that Shiva, the master of dance, ie., raja (master) nata (nrittya or dance). In the ancient society, this kind of form was not worshipped and adorned in the worldwide. The dance of Nataraja is a universal dance which trembles the whole cosmos on one side and makes it stable again on the other. It combines the rhythm of life, shelter and abhaya on one hand and destruction of all the evils on the other. In this form Shiva Nataraja all his auspicious (saumya) and inauspicious (ugra or ashiva). It stands as a never surpassed model of eternity.

Lord Shiva is the creator, sustainer, dispellor of ignorance, grantor of solace and destroyer of the five essential acts called panchakriyas. The lord creates and destroys. Destruction is being recognized as not only the end but also the beginning (antam adi ie., anta is adi) and Shiva’s dance is the cosmic dance. His dance destroys all samasta samhara tandava. His is the dance of knowledge and above all his is the dance of bliss the paramanda tandava.

The upper sphere, the space above the linga in the sanctum should be worshipped as a aakasha, the supreme and tranquil space where the blissful dance takes place.

The Tandava dance of Shiva (the Lord of Chandi) give you pleasure which caused the hood of Shesha (the king of snakes) to bend down owing to the vortex created by the earth revolving in accordance with the movements of the feet of Shiva who is skilled in practicing the Chari step (in dancing) whose dance put to flight the elephants of the cardinal points because of the revolutions of his rod like arms, and whose dance suddenly caused commotion in parts of the universe (and) which (was accompanied by the) deep sound of the damaru gives you pleasure. The Shiva Tandava stotram also expresses the deep sounds of the damaru of Shiva with exact the same onomatopoeic tune as that the inscription refers.