Samarpanam
Samarpanam – the five dancing halls of
Lord Shiva
Although
there is a shrine to Lord Shiva or Nataraja, in
virtually all of the Saivite temples in Tamilnadu,
five of these are considered to be the Pancha Sabhais or the five cosmic dance halls of Shiva. The five
dance halls are The Hall of Gold - Kanakasabha at Chidambaram,
The Hall of Silver Velli Sabhai
at Madurai, The Hall of Rubies - Ratnasabha at Tiruvalankadu, The Hall of Copper - Tamrasabha
at Tirunelveli and The Hall of
Pictures - Chitrasabha Kutralam.
In the next few articles
we will explore the story and the significance behind each of these unique
halls.
The first famous hall is
in Chidmabaram and is called the ‘Ponambalam’ or the Hall of Gold. Here
Shiva is revered as dancing the Ananda Tandava or
the dance of bliss in the hall of consciousness. The ancient temple
of Chidambaram pays special tribute
to Lord Nataraja- the dancing Shiva. The magnificent gold
roofed temple situated in the middle of the town has a bronze image 
of Nataraja in a
dancing pose known throughout the world as the most perfect synthesis in metal
art. The temple has carved pillars depicting Lord Nataraja in 108 poses of
classical Bharathanatyam.
In the temple town of Chidambaram
where Nataraja presides, the story goes that Lord Shiva
and Goddess Kali had a contest to decide who would get the biggest temple in
town. As both Lord Shiva-Nataraja and Goddess Kali
are known for their fantastic footwork, a dance competition was held. The goal
was to see who could kick their leg the highest. As both of these powerful gods
danced it soon became obvious that Kali was going to win. So Shiva, wearing
only the tiger skin wrapped around his waist, kicked his feet up into the
universe, unimpeded. Kali however was unable to match Lord Shiva as the sari
wrapped about her body didn`t allow her to kick as
high. So, Kali got a small temple on the outskirts of town and Shiva won the
huge temple complex that houses his magnificence today.
The famous dance festival
called Natyanjali
dedicated to Lord Shiva is celebrated every year during February-March for five
days in the temple of Chidambaram.
Dancers, from all over India,
travel to Chidambaram to perform and to pay their tribute to Lord Nataraja.
Many dancers think it is a blessing to be able to perform their 'arangetram' (first stage performance) in the vicinity of
the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Nataraja in Chidambaram. The festival begins
on the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivaratri and lasts for 5 days.
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