Thanks The Lord of Dance
Atoms, Arts & Abode
Chidambaram Abode of Lord Shiva with uniqueness
Located in 50 Acres
GOD - Murthy ABODE - Thalam HOLY WATER - pond – Theerththam the three items decide the speciality of the temple
CHIDAMABARAM TEMPLE is famous for ALL THREE
Chidambaram : Temple
word derived from Chit + Ambaram -
Chit meaning "consciousness“
Ambaram meaning "sky" - the sky of consciousness: which is the ultimate aim one should attain according to Hindu belief.
Lord is worshipped in his manifestation as sky (Five elements: earth, water, fire, wind & space )
west
Newly painted main entrance - RAJA GOPURAM (East Tower)
North Gopuram
South Gopuram
West Gopuram
All FOUR entrances make “swastic”shape
Golden roof on sanctum sanctorum
Golden Roof is covered by
21.600 golden plates.
That's - the times a person
breathes in a day on
average 21600 (15 * 60 *
24 = 21.600)
GOD - THREE forms of Siva
The temple has three forms of Lord Siva “Form” - the anthromorphological form as Lord Nataraja the "semi-form" – the semi-anthromorphological form as the Crystal linga – it has some form but can not define the "formless" – as the Space in Chidambara Rahasyam, an empty space within the sanctum sanctorum can not see the form .
NATARAJA SYMBOLIC EXPRESSION
The cobra represents the desire.
The encircling flames
represent
consciousness and the
manifest universe; the
endless cycle of birth
and death.
The fiery
ring, prahabhamandala,
represents the universe
with all its illusion,
suffering and pain.
The cobra around
Nataraja's waist
is kundalini
shakti, or the
divine force
thought to reside
within everything.
The submission to God clears the ego from the heart.
The uplifted left foot is elegantly
raised, signifying grace,
upliftment and liberation of the
mature soul from bondage
Shiva's unkempt
hair—long, matted tresses, a symbol of
a rejection of
society—shows him to be an ascetic.
The upper left hand
holds a flame (agni),
which signifies
destruction, the
dissolution of form.
The opposing
concepts in the
upper hands show
the counterbalance
of creation and
destruction, or the
fire of life.
The small drum awakes the souls from illusion.
The upper r ight
hand
holds a ḍamaru—a
small, hourglass-
shaped drum—
symbolizing sound
originating creation
and marking the
passage of time.
AGNI –FIRE The fire on the hand represents liberated souls.
The dwarf on which Nataraja dances
is Apasmarapurusha, a soul temporarily Earth-
bound by sloth, confusion and forgetfulness.
Right leg,
represents
obscuring
grace,
symbolizes
his victory
over
ignorance
The left hand is held
across the chest in the
gaja hasta (elephant
trunk) pose, points
towards the lifted leg -
singnifies ‘ lead the way
through the jungle of
ignorance’ to reach
enlightenment
a skull on his head is,
symbolizing conquest
over death.
His third eye is symbolic
of omniscience, insight
and enlightenment.
T h e L o r d o f D a n c e a n d A r t s
Anandatandava: ‘the Dance of
Bliss’ is the unique dance of
Nataraja.
He is believed to perform 108
Karnas
– dance poses and these
sculptures are found in
Chidambaram.
108 Dance poses
Atoms and Shiva
I n 2 0 0 4 , a 2 m s t a t u e o f t h e d a n c i n g
S h i v a w a s u n v e i l e d a t C E R N , t h e
E u r o p e a n C e n t r e f o r R e s e a r c h i n
P a r t i c l e P h y s i c s i n G e n e v a
A S c i e n t i f i c M e t a p h o r
The Hindu View of Matter in the Light of Modern Physics," and later in the The Tao of Physics beautifully relates Nataraj's dance with modern physics. " Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created visual images of dancing Shivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our time, physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of the cosmic dance. The metaphor of the cosmic dance thus unifies ancient mythology, religious art and modern physics. As in Hindu mythology, it is a continual dance of creation and destruction involving the whole cosmos; the basis of all existence and of all natural phenomena.“ : Fritzof Capra in his article "The Dance of Shiva”
"T h e s o u r c e o f a l l m o v e m e n t , S h i v a ' s d a n c e , G i v e s r h y t h m t o t h e u n i v e r s e . H e d a n c e s i n e v i l p l a c e s , I n s a c r e d , H e c r e a t e s a n d p r e s e r v e s , D e s t r o y s a n d r e l e a s e s . W e a r e p a r t o f t h i s d a n c e T h i s e t e r n a l r h y t h m , A n d w o e t o u s i f , b l i n d e d B y i l l u s i o n s , W e d e t a c h o u r s e l v e s F r o m t h e d a n c i n g c o s m o s , T h i s u n i v e r s a l h a r m o n y … “ : R u t h P e e l
108 poses T h e e r t h t h a m – t h e P o n d
THANK YOU