Chidambaram

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Chidambaram v • d • e Tamil Nadu, India
Chidambaram
District(s)	Cuddalore
Coordinates	11.4° N 79.7° E
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area • Elevation	• 3 m (10 ft)
Population	58,968 (2001)

Coordinates: 11.4° N 79.7° E

This article is about the town in Cuddalore district. For the current union Finance Minister of India, see P. Chidambaram.

Chidambaram is a municipality and taluk headquarter, in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, 11 km from the coast and 240 km south of Chennai by rail.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Temple Architecture
5 Education
6 References and Related Links
7 External links

[edit] History

Chidambaram has been the northern frontier of the ancient Chola kingdom, the successive capitals of which were Uriyur on the Kaveri, Kumbakonam and Thanjavur.

Four most revered Saivaite Saints (Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar and Manikkavachakar) have worshipped at Chidambaram, and the bulk of Manikkavachakar' s work is in praise of Shiva at Chidambaram.

[edit] Geography

Chidambaram is located at 11.4° N 79.7° E^[1]. It has an average elevation of 3 metres (9 feet).

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census^GRIndia, Chidambaram had a population of 58,968. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Chidambaram has an average literacy rate of 80%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 84% and female literacy of 76%. 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

[edit] Temple Architecture

The gopurams (pagodas) at Chidambaram Temple are the oldest in the south of India, and portions of them are gems of art. The principal temple is sacred to Shiva, and is said to have been rebuilt or enlarged by a leper emperor, who came south on a pilgrimage and was cured by bathing in the temple tank.

It contains a "Hall of a Thousand Pillars", one of numerous such halls in India. The exact number of pillars in this case is 999; each is a block of solid granite, and the roof of the principal temple is of GOLD-gilt.

Like most Shiva temples, the icon or murti is in the typical form of a linga and He is known as Srimoolanatha. However, it is the image of Shiva as Nataraja, which depicts the Lord anthropomorphically as the Cosmic Dancer, the main deity in the temple.

Chidambaram is one of the Panchabhoota Sthalams - temples built for the 5 elements said to embody Shiva - at Chidambaram (space), Kalahasti (wind), Thiruvanaikaval (water), Tiruvannamalai (fire) and Kanchipuram (earth).

Aragalur utaya Iraratevan Ponparappinan alias Vanakovaraiyan rebuilt the Siva temple at Chidambaram around 1213 AD. The same Bana Chief also built Tiruvannamalai temple.