Shiva (Nataraja / Sabhanayagar) temple · Chidambaram, Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, India
The Thillai Nataraja Temple (Sri Sabhanayagar Temple) in Chidambaram, Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, is a Hindu temple to Shiva as Nataraja, the cosmic dancer, with his consort Sivakamasundari. It is one of the most important Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu, drawing very large crowds for its festivals, The Hindu reports.
Faith & Tradition
The temple's two principal annual ten-day festivals are Arudra Darshan (Margazhi, December–January) and Aani Thirumanjanam (June–July). During both, Nataraja is taken in procession around the four car streets of the temple town and returns to the thousand-pillared mandapam for darshan; in 2001 an estimated two lakh devotees attended Arudra Darshan, The Hindu reported.
Dinamalar lists the temple's sacred tanks, led by the Sivaganga, where Nataraja grants theertham on special days such as the Tamil New Year, Thiruvathirai and new-moon days, and the Thiruppavadai festival on Thai Poosam.
Heritage
The temple has long been managed by the Podhu Dikshitars. In January 2014 the Supreme Court quashed the Tamil Nadu government's February 2009 order appointing an executive officer to run the temple, holding that the Dikshitars' right to manage it could not be taken away (The Hindu; BBC Tamil).
The temple has a thousand-pillared mandapam and a large east rajagopuram (The Hindu; Dinamalar).
Plan Your Visit
Festival days draw very large crowds. Confirm darshan timings with the temple before visiting.
Timings and arrangements change with seasons and festivals. Confirm current details with Podhu Dikshitars before travelling. Last reviewed 5 October 2026.
Sacred Calendar
Ten-day festival with Nataraja's procession around the four car streets (The Hindu).
The other principal ten-day festival (The Hindu).
Listed by Dinamalar among the temple's festivals.
Location
The temple is in the town of Chidambaram, Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu.
Location: Chidambaram, Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, India
More in Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu · Shiva (Nataraja / Sabhanayagar) temples
Questions
In Chidambaram town, Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu.
Shiva as Nataraja, the cosmic dancer, with his consort Sivakamasundari.
Arudra Darshan in Margazhi and Aani Thirumanjanam in Aani, both ten-day festivals.
The Podhu Dikshitars; the Supreme Court upheld their right to manage it in 2014.
The temple's principal sacred tank.
Further reading: Thillai Nataraja Temple (Sabhanayagar), Chidambaram on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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