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ChidambaramChidambaram is a town of India, in the South Arcot district of Tamil Nadu, 11 km from the coast and 240 km south of Chennai by rail. The gopurams (pagodas) at Chidambaram are the oldest in the south of India, and portions of them are gems of art. Here is supposed to have been the northern frontier of the ancient Chola kingdom, the successive capitals of which were Uriyur on the Kaveri, Kumbakonam and Thanjavur. 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 984; each is a block of solid granite, and the roof of the principal temple is of copper-gilt. Unlike most Shiva temples, the icon or murti is not in the typical form of a linga. Rather the image is of Shiva as Nataraja, which depicts the Lord anthromorphically as the Cosmic Dancer. Chidambaram is one of the Panchabhoota Sthalams - temples built for the 5 elements said to embody Shiva - at Chidambaram (space), Kalahasti (wind), Thiruvanaikkovil (water), Tiruvannamalai (fire) and Kanchipuram (earth). References and Related Links
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