Kshetra Yatra Day 2

The train that we were on, the Tiruchendur-Chennai Superfast, pulled into Chidambaram station at the break of dawn. Our second-class compartment was mostly empty by then. Walking around the town of Chidambaram, we asked a shop about a place where we could freshen up. The man directed us to a lodge. The place he recommended declined us, but empathetically directed us to another. We booked a room there for around two hours to shower and get ready.

Sannidhis in the Nataraja Temple 

From there we headed straight to the south gopuram of the grand temple. Adorning the inner walls of this gate were reliefs depicting Indian dance. Thillai Chidambaram is Natarajar, the lord of the dance. We left our bags and footwear outside and walked in. Seeing the vimanas of the grand sabhas as soon as we walked in was a profoundly spiritual experience.

We first worshipped Dakshinamurti, whose sannidhi is immediately in front of the south gopuram. Dakshinamurti is a bhāvam of Shiva representing wisdom and knowledge. Walking anticlockwise, we then worshipped Mukkuruni Vinayakar, who is Ganapati. Then was the sannadhi of Murugan in the company of Valli and Devasena. Reaching the north-western end of the temple, we saw the Sivagangai Theertham, the main temple tank. On this side, there are two large koyils to Sivakama Sundari Amman  (Parvati) and to Murugan. We worshipped at both. We did two memorable things near the Sivagangai Theertham. The first was standing on top of the prakaram around the pond at a point where one could see all four of the gopurams at once. The second was visiting the small temple of Durga popularised by the song 'Chinnanchiru Pen Pole...' (sivagangai kulatharike, sri durgai sirith irippaal).

Onwards in our pradakshinam, we saw the Aayiram Kaal Mandapam, held up by 1000 ornate granite pillars. This was formerly used as a chavadi, a resting place, for pilgrims. It is now closed, unfortunately, as was the entrance to the circuit around the temple tank. We then decided to receive Natarajar's darshanam.

South Gopuram. Own picture.

The southern fortifications. The copper roof of Pundarika Valli Thayar is also visible. On the left, outside the ramparts, is a large icon of Nandikesha and the sannidhi of Dakshinamurthi. Photo courtesy: SJ. 

Aayiram Kaal Mandapam. Own picture.

Thillai Kanakasabhayil Aadum Prabhuvallo!

Walking into the main entrance to the inner temple from the eastern gate, we found preparations for a puja going on, blocking the way in. We then decided to turn left and visit Govindaraja Perumal instead. Prostrating before Vishnu, we saw a glimpse of a sannidhi to our left. I wondered which deity it was. It struck me like a bolt of lightning that I was looking at him, Thillai Chidambaram, the Kanakasabhapati, the lord of countless songs that I had heard over the years. He was draped in red silk when we witnessed him, so much of it that we could not see his dancing feet well. He was covered in flowers of many colours.

After we saw him, the sphatika linga abhishekam began, where dhāra (pouring of offerings from above) is performed on a crystal lingam as the faithful standing outside chanted verses from the Thevaram. We left the compound to have breakfast after this ritual had concluded.

We received Natarajar's darshanam many more times that day... six or seven in all. It shocked us, I think, that such a great source of positive energy was now so easily accessible to us. We kept going back to see him. We got to see his dancing posture clearly from below where we were standing only the last two or three times.

We ate at a small gurukulam outside the temple, near its eastern gate. It is run by a deekshitar who teaches Samskrtam and has been conducting annadanam for over 17 years. We had an enlivening conversation with this deekshitar. He gave us some bhasmam as prasadam. 

A rasika's dream come true

The moment I arrived in the town to the time we left the temple compound, my mind was overflowing with Carnatic music. There are hundreds of outstanding compositions about this temple and the deity here. I alighted the station thinking of 'Saranagatam Endru Nambi Vanden' in Gowla. Then came 'En Appan Allava?' in Punnagavarali (popularised by the 1942 movie Nandanar) and then 'Thillai Chidambarame Allamal Verillai Sothanthirame' (Ashwath Narayan on RagamalikaTV) in Kapinarayani. Walking from our hotel to the gopuram I was reminded of 'Ananda Natana Prakasham' in Kedaram (OS Thiyagarajan for Manorama Music). When seeing the impressive stone ramparts from outside the southern gate for the first time, there is only one song anyone could think of: 'Ithuvo Thillai Chidambara Kshetram?' in Sindhubhairavi (Sanjay Subrahmanyan in Philadelphia, 2021). During the last few darshanams while we were there, when I saw Nataraja's feet clearly, I immediately remembered Papanasam Sivan's 'Aadum Daivam' (idathu paadam thookki aadum daivam, nee arulvaay...).

There is a rather uncommon kriti about the small Durga sannidhi near the pond in Chidambaram, popularised by Sirkazhi Govindarajan: 'Chinnanchiru Pen Pole' by Ulunthoorpettai Shanmugam (Sikkil Gurucharan at Margazhi Maha Utsavam 2023).

Brihadeeswara Temple: the Thanjavur Periyakoil

Thanjavur is around two hours on a train from Chidambaram. We took second class tickets again and awaited the Pondicherry-Kanyakumari Express to drop us off. This train, too, was crowded, but not as crowded as last night's. 

The Periyakoyil is a bit of a walk from here, around two kilometres. The huge vimanam of the temple can be seen from far away.

The gopuram of the compound containing the Brihadeeswara Temple.

This temple is a proper castle, with a huge moat (now dry), high stone walls and other intensive fortifications.  

The Brihadeeswara Temple's vimanam. Note the elliptical top. It is a mystery how the monolithic topping to this gopuram was put there.

Almost like the moon in Paramashiva's hair.

Twilight, when the temple lights were switched on.

Nightfall in Thanjavur. Excuse my astigmatic phone camera. The moon and Venus are visible in the sky, and on the earth, the house of their ruler.

With the overwhelming visit to Thanjavur, we were tired. Autoing back to the station, we took the Cuddalore Port-Mysore Express to Tiruchirappalli Junction, getting there at around 8:30pm. We had dinner at the nearby Guru's Mess, and took a bus to Srirangam, where we had a reservation for the night. The bus journey, 30 minutes as it was, was medicine to our exhausted senses. We saw the Rock Fort temple and the Rajagopuram of the Srirangam temple as the conductor loudly blasted some of the greatest Tamil music of the past 30 years. 

The Rajagopuram as seen from in front of our hotel.

We checked into our hotel past 10 and quickly went to sleep. Neeraj and I got some work done, too.