Methodology photos on Flickr

Preferred Citation: Kuttner, Ann L. Dynasty and Empire in the Age of Augustus: The Case of the Boscoreale Cups. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1995 1995. ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft309nb1mw/

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Conclusion: The Boscoreale Cups and Roman Art

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Conclusion:

The Boscoreale Cups and Roman Art

I should like to do two things here. One is to sum up the major art-historical findings of this study, as the last chapter commented on its historical findings. The other is to speak directly about my own methodology as a Roman art historian; this might seem to be more appropriate in an introduction to a study of this kind, but I feel that only the reader who has absorbed at least some of this work will be critically equipped to judge the efficacy and clarity of my approach. Its first principle is simply to ask of any period, What works of art existed, and what did they look like? So much has been lost, and lost permanently beyond all hope of retrieval; thus all fragments, hints, and indications become, like the BR cups, extremely valuable. Although it is difficult to keep always in mind an imaginative construct to supplement the poor reality of the tangible remains, the rewards of such effort are considerable. For instance, Eck stresses how the arrangement of inscriptions, often all we have left of ancient dedications, can indicate the basic structure of the lost statuary above; his point seems simple, but he was the first to consider in this light inscriptions known for over fifty years and to reconstruct from its base an actual monument of the kind long postulated as prototype for the famous Puteoli base of Tiberius (figs. 47, 62)[1]

The reader will have noted throughout a concern with the relationship of spectator to object, in terms of the intent of the original designer(s) and patron(s) who engendered Roman images, with regard to the audiences whom they wished to comprehend these images' didactic content and to appreciate their esthetic structures. In visual, as in verbal, communication, true comprehension depends on a shared language of forms and symbols; an iconographer must, like a historian, strive to the best of her necessarily limited powers to reconstruct the relevant prior experience and assump-

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tions of the persons whose perceptions she investigates. This truism is very seldom made explicit. I stand here behind T. Hölscher's unparalleled 1984 essay on the question of the Publikum for the state monuments we seek to interpret today, though I am more optimistic that one can know something of audiences besides those of the elite "senatorial" level. This optimism—though austere and limited—is founded on the principle of the lowest common denominator, the value of badly made and/or mass-produced, relatively cheap artifacts. I believe that the basic symbolic language available to classes other than the elite can be discerned in the often drastically simplified elements of "high" ideology and iconography that make it onto the crude glass pastes that crowd the back pages of gem catalogues, onto matrix-stamped military armament decoration, onto Arretine ware pottery molds, and so forth. Obviously, I also believe that numismatic designs were very often intended to disseminate legible imagery for political purposes, that the state coinage did indeed function as a vehicle for political propaganda directed toward the uneducated, as well as educated, classes; I also think these messages were usually obvious and simple.

I have been speaking of audiences and messages in the plural. A natural consequence of the multiple stratifications of society in the Roman Empire was a differentiation of culture and a variation in cultural sophistication among different classes, peoples, and regions in the Empire. It is also plain that the most capable Roman patrons were (like Greeks before them) interested in creating monuments and images that spoke to more than one segment of society and that had more than one symbolic message. To describe this quality in a work of art, multi- or polyvalency is a common image usefully borrowed from the vocabulary of atomic structure. I find useful the notion of resonance, transferred from the realm of musical effects to the world of artifacts. As the striking of a piano key produces a sound with multiple tones, so the impact of the Gemma Augustea (fig. 16) or Arch of Constantine on thoughtful vision sets off not a unitary impression but a series of related multiple impressions; the proximity and/or prior existence of related monuments known to the spectator weaves a kind of web of associations comparable to the resonant effects produced by the proximity of other strings to the piano key actually struck.

The danger in reconstructing the original resonances of an extant monument is that one will read into the work messages not intended for the original Roman audience. One can so easily become oversubtle, assert too much rather than too little. There are two brakes on exegetical speed-

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ing; first, to be explicit and knowledgeable about the historical audience postulated for an artifact; second, always to look for parallels to show that the reading one proposes was at least possible in a given context. Truisms again, but not always appreciated or observed. Only multiple occurrences of a given symbol or form justify the assertion of a pattern of action, whether formal (style) or symbolic (iconography). One needs also a plausible hypothesis to account for such patterns: one must try to document the means by which an artist or his audience could have seen the images by which they are held to have been influenced, and this takes one back to the question of a given audience and the imagery accessible to it. To cite a classic instance, it is often asserted that the architectural form of the Ara Pacis deliberately echoes that of the Athenian Altar of Pity. If true, the quote can have been expected to be legible only to the elite, who would have traveled to Athens, not to the Roman plebs; on the other hand all segments of the urban population can be expected to have recognized the parallel with the Januum, one of the oldest, most prestigious, and most central of all sanctuaries in the capital.

I have acknowledged my debt to the investigative approach formulated by Hölscher. I have gained much from the implicit and explicit definitions developed by many others of what evidence is relevant to interpreting Roman political art. It should be clear by now that often I find myself in the company of the contemporary German art historians Zanker, Simon, Fittschen, et al., asking similar questions of similar material; asked to assign myself to a "school," I should name also the Italians, F. Coarelli and M. Torelli. My real debt to Coarelli's efforts to understand artistic production in terms of patronage and the politically charged architectural geography of Rome is obscured here by the fact that this work explores mainly imperial, rather than Republican, art. Even where I disagree with Torelli's conclusions, I have tried to keep in mind the imperative heading his essays on Roman historical relief: Roman narrative and commemorative art can be illuminated by Roman texts, but they must be texts with a cognate function. Finally, in all projects I have ever undertaken with regard to Roman art, I am in debt to Otto Brendel's Prolegomena to the Study of Roman Art (New Haven, 1979): his definitions of the essential questions asked (and not asked) of Roman art and his vision of multiple lines of development separated by medium and genre have irrevocably marked my own perceptions of Roman images.

The consequences of holding to these tenets are evident in my readings of the Boscoreale Cups and of many other monuments besides. The Boscoreale Cups, and the monument from which they were copied, have been

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demonstrated primarily on political grounds to be works of Augustus' reign, specifically of the period between Tiberius' triumph in 8/7 B.C. and his exile in 6 B.C. Now firmly dated, these panels are important to the stylistic history of Roman relief; they illuminate the early occurrence not only of stock figures common in the later canon but of experiments with complex figure groupings and the depiction of "space" that are not usually associated with Augustan art. No aspect of compositional structure in these panels is discordant with the date reached on iconographic grounds; the three-beat structure of the allegory BR I:1, for instance, is typical of classicizing Augustan work in many media. Indeed, if it were absolutely necessary, the pieces could be plausibly dated between the Ara Pacis (13-9 B.C.) and the Gemma Augustea (A.D. 10–14) purely by stylistic analysis. I have discussed at many points the formal congruence of the cups with the Ara Pacis; the Gemma Augustea's upper register has compositional structures very similar to the BR audience scenes and displays a different, but no less complex, exploration of the alignment of figures in space (fig. 16). The "dating" value of the Ara Pacis is as a public sculptural monument exemplifying the best work of the court ateliers; the Gemma Augustea indicates a familiarity on its artist's part with monuments on a similar scale, for radical stylistic (as opposed to iconographic) experimentation is not to be expected of any gem cutter's workshop.

This book has tried to explain, as completely as possible, the imagery of the Boscoreale Cups. The listing of parallels as a mode of scholarship is mere antiquarianism if it is seen as an end and not as a means; inevitably, some of my "lists" have remained at this level, but these investigations have always tried to ask the primary questions What does image X signify, why is it used, and what is it doing on the Boscoreale Cups? In the search for a compelling argument I have tried to cast my net as wide as possible, to bring forward all relevant available evidence from textual and visual sources; my lapses will, I hope, be corrected by others in the same benevolent spirit of argument in which I have critiqued the interpretations of the scholars whose work fed mine.

The effort to explain generated many tangents and thematic excursuses. The process of explanation works both ways: images adduced to explain the BR cups are themselves illuminated by the process of explanatory ordering. Thus the cups prove to be valuable points of comparison for understanding many other works, under two main headings: the modes of policy and propaganda that much Roman art was intended to serve, and the complex patterns of form, temporality, and causation with which Roman narrative and commemorative arts concerned themselves as pri-

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mary objects of artistic endeavor. The purview of the book ranges from the earliest to the latest products of the Roman city-state, from terracotta pediments erected by nameless Republican nobiles to the monuments of the generals contesting and defending the late Empire; it takes in the Anaglypha Traiani and the Hadrianeum, the Ludovisi sarcophagus and the arches of Galerius and Constantine, the Beneventum Arch of Trajan, the Throne of Claudius and the Puteoli base, cuirass statues famous (Primaporta, Cherchel) and obscure (Castello d'Aglie, Amphipolis), famous and not-so-famous cameos, Arretine ware, military decoration, the imperial fora and the Aphrodisias Sebasteion, the cenotaph of Gaius at Limyra and of Drusus at Mainz . . .

The central contribution of this book to Roman art history is, I hope, a better understanding of Augustan artistic production, reached in the process of embedding the BR cup panels firmly in the high road of the Augustan monumental tradition. This enlarged understanding has two aspects. First, these investigations have radically enlarged and deepened our knowledge and comprehension of many individual works of art and coin images. The monument most significantly illuminated in this way is that marble microcosmos the Ara Pacis Augustae, especially in regard to its celebration of the worldwide Roman imperium and the imperial nature of Augustus' pax; for it is now clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that children of foreign rulers march in the processions of the Ara Pacis, and I have tried to stress the importance of others' findings that the peoples of empire were personified on the inner altar. Hardly another aspect of the Ara Pacis, whether of iconography, temporal or conceptual structure, landscape or relief style, cannot benefit from comparative analysis of the BR cups.[2]

Second, these investigations have significantly expanded our knowledge of specific Augustan artistic genres and themes. One can now be much more specific about that acknowledged phenomenon, the paradigmatic influence of Augustan monuments and imagery on later imperial artistic production. No longer will it be possible to contemplate Hadrianic ethnic personification groups in ignorance of the many Augustan examples, their Republican roots, and their Julio-Claudian "offspring"; the seated togate statue will not be a mysterious, ill-considered figure type; no longer will the great Flavian and second-century achievements in historical relief seem to have arisen from a near vacuum. At the same time, the book has tried to show how the Augustan production was itself grounded in Republican political and creative culture, even as Augustus' artists draw on all the resources of their Classical and Hellenistic heritage to put an Augustan stamp on this latest phase of Republican culture.

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This widened perspective strengthens the appreciation of certain themes as peculiarly Augustan. For instance, the observable Augustan interest in images of children, especially very little children, is exemplified by BR I; this theme seems to be consciously evoked only and to a limited extent in Trajanic art, although the institution (alimenta ) with which it is there associated was important politically both under Trajan's predecessor Domitian and his successor Hadrian. Under both headings, individual monuments and genres, our understanding of the self-images that Augustus sought to promulgate has been enhanced. The parameters often ascribed to the terms of his self-glorification have been permanently broadened: the public Augustus must now include the Jupiter-consul of BR I:1, who joins the naked, heroized Augustus of (lost) commemorative statuary whom Zanker, Coarelli, and others have stubbornly brought to our attention in recent years.

Comprehensive stylistic comparison with the extant canon of Republican and Julio-Claudian art has not been my aim. Now that the BR cups are more firmly dated, such comparison becomes possible; one can hope to see them enter broader discussions of Roman relief style. In closing I would like to comment on an artistic aspect of BR I:1 not previously discussed that may illustrate the inherent possibilities of such comparative analysis for enlarging our appreciation of Augustan art in general.

On BR I:1 in the allegory of Augustus' world rule Venus is about to "make" the Curia Actium Victory group (cf. fig. 20). Mars too is about to "make" a sculpture group, of a type well documented in the Augustan and Julio-Claudian periods (see pp. 41f); a class of honorific monuments in Rome showed a Roman magistrate standing or seated in the midst of a group of personifications of peoples or communities whom he had benefited. In the implied narrative here, once Mars brings up his group and they range themselves before the emperor, such a grouping will come to pass. The viewer's full appreciation of the narrative is conditional upon his knowledge of such public monuments. It was by now commonplace in Greco-Roman art to show the performance of simple acts of construction such as the decking of a trophy or the inscribing of an honorific shield by a goddess. It seems, however, to be a mark of Augustan political art that narrative at all levels, physical and symbolic, should so often be structured by such visual puns.

This characteristic indicates a high level of sophistication on the part of the artist and the audience expected to appreciate and relish such an aspect; it also assumes a high degree of familiarity with prominent individual examples of official monuments. This kind of narrative-visual structure

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can be observed on the Augustan Arcus Novus panel (fig. 12), where Amor floats through the air toward Venus' shoulder, intending to land there, as on the Ravenna relief (fig. 8), where his legs still kick in the air. It is also evident on the Belvedere altar's main panel (fig. 11); between the two laurel trees of Augustus' Palatine abode Victory floats to earth to place Augustus' clipeus virtutis on its pillar, as it appeared in the Curia.[3] And it structures the literal narrative of the bottom half of the Gemma Augustea (fig. 16), as well as the symbolic narrative of the entire cameo. In the lower exergue a trophy group is being put together—soldiers haul up the central wooden post, a captive barbarian couple are already positioned at its foot on the left, as another pair of soldiers haul over a man and woman meant to flank the post on the right, to build a Roman trophy group of classic type known from countless representations in art and probably enacted in actual triumphal parades. The soldiers at left heave the main tree toward Augustus as Tiberius overhead moves down toward him in the upper panel along a converging path; the strong sense of two dynamic lines of motion converging simultaneously on Augustus, in the two fields/worlds on the cameo, is conceptually very like the BR panel, where the two surges of motion occur within a single panel. (The lower exergue as an isolated unit has a structure parallel to the cup panel: motion from the sides toward the center.) This parallelism already sets up a symbolic narrative that is given more definite shape in the implied "future" when the trophy will be exactly between Augustus (note the position of its foot) and Tiberius, who will be immediately before him—emperor and heir aligned on a "real" historical axis of victory.

Presented with such compositions, the viewer gets double for his money: he gets the composition as it exists, a glimpse of figures in action aligned in a meaningful pattern, and he is also given an evocation of an alignment that is about to evolve out of the one that he sees. This implicit second alignment not only extends the symbolic message he can read but also anchors the artistic construct he sees to other artistic constructs he already knows; because the mind is tugged toward the familiar composition just over the temporal horizon, these tableaux are given a real temporal dynamism.

Self-conscious artistic reference to other works of art is a well-known hallmark of Hellenistic and Roman literary art. In the visual arts it operates at a basic level in all iconographic correspondence, as in the individual figures and pairings of the BR allegory. It has not, however, been noted before as operating at the narrative level and in a temporal dimension, as here in these Augustan pieces.[4] The Boscoreale Cups testify that even if

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written discourse on art was mainly limited (as in Pliny) to "Old Masters," at least some Romans some of the time noticed and enjoyed the contemporary products of Augustus' sculptors. And the kind of visual game just outlined is further proof that we are not different from the Romans of 7 B.C. in giving serious attention to and finding pleasure in the world of Augustan art.

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Conclusion: The Boscoreale Cups and Roman Art

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Preferred Citation: Kuttner, Ann L. Dynasty and Empire in the Age of Augustus: The Case of the Boscoreale Cups. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1995 1995. ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft309nb1mw/

Discussing Teaching Methodology by Ashish Koirala

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_MG_3422. Contrary to belief of some people, Monks inside a Buddhist Monastry are not only engaged in meditation and prayers , there they also get all the necessary education for them to be comfortable in outside world. Apart from maths and science they also learn languages ( three languages in Nepal ) including english. Here these two teacher Monks are discussing the timetables of classes and breaks so that the students are comfortable in receiving knowledge. Kathmandu, Nepal.

NYC - Metropolitan Museum of Art: Salvador Dalí's Madonna by Wally Gobetz

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Madonna

1958

Salvador Dalí (Spanish, 1904-1989)

Oil on canvas; 88 7/8 x 75 1/4 in. (225.7 x 191.1 cm)

Salvador Dalí became an official member of the Surrealist group in 1929, and even after he was expelled by its leader, André Breton, in 1941, his work continued to reflect the influence of Surrealist thought and methodology. Dalí's paintings feature intellectual puzzles and visual ambiguities, and his style is marked by superrealistic illusionism that is used to describe completely unrealistic, fanciful subjects. Madonna is one of several works Dalí made after 1941 that uses classical imagery as the basis for Surrealist invention. Here, he paints two different simultaneous subjects with a profusion of gray and pink dots: a Madonna and Child based on Raphael's Sistine Madonna (Gemäldegalerie, Dresden, after 1513), and a large ear, whose ridged interior surface is defined by the presence of these two figures. Each motif is designed to come into focus at a different distance. At close range, the painting looks completely abstract; from about six feet away, it reveals the Madonna and Child; and from fifty feet, it is what the artist called "the ear of an angel." To the left of the main images is a trompe-l'oeil detail of a red cherry suspended on a string from a torn and folded piece of paper; its shadow is cast onto another piece of paper bearing the signature of the artist.

Gift of Drue Heinz, in memory of Henry J. Heinz II, 1987 (1987.465)

**

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's permanent collection contains more than two million works of art from around the world. It opened its doors on February 20, 1872, housed in a building located at 681 Fifth Avenue in New York City. Under their guidance of John Taylor Johnston and George Palmer Putnam, the Met's holdings, initially consisting of a Roman stone sarcophagus and 174 mostly European paintings, quickly outgrew the available space. In 1873, occasioned by the Met's purchase of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriot antiquities, the museum decamped from Fifth Avenue and took up residence at the Douglas Mansion on West 14th Street. However, these new accommodations were temporary; after negotiations with the city of New York, the Met acquired land on the east side of Central Park, where it built its permanent home, a red-brick Gothic Revival stone "mausoleum" designed by American architects Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mold. As of 2006, the Met measures almost a quarter mile long and occupies more than two million square feet, more than 20 times the size of the original 1880 building.

In 2007, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was ranked #17 on the AIA 150 America's Favorite Architecture list.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1967. The interior was designated in 1977.

National Historic Register #86003556

India - Tamil Nadu - Chidambaram - Nataraja Temple - 71 by Manfred Sommer

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Thillai Natarajah Temple, Chidambaram or Chidambaram temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in the town of Chidambaram, East-Central Tamil Nadu, South India. The temple is known as the foremost of all temples (Kovil) to Saivites and has influenced worship, architecture, sculpture and performance art for over two millennium. The Sangam classics list chief architect Viduvelvidugu Perumthachchan as directing an early renovation of the shrine.

A major shrine of Lord Shiva worship since the classical period, there have been several renovations and offerings to Chidambaram by the Pallava, Chola, Pandya, Vijayanagara and Chera royals in the ancient and pre-medieval periods. The temple as it stands now is mainly of the 12th and 13th centuries, with later additions in similar style. Its bronze statues and stone sculptures depicting various deities and the famous Thillai trees (Excoecaria agallocha) of the surrounding forest reflect the highpoints of early Chola and Pallava art while its famed gold plated gopuram towers are medieval structural additions by the royals Aditya I, Parantaka Chola I, Kopperunchinga I, Krishnadevaraya and Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan. King Kocengannan Chola was born following prayers his parents offered at the temple and later in his life he refined its structure. The shrine gave the town its name.

The deity that presides here is கூத்தன் - Thillai Koothan (Thillai Nataraja - Shiva, The Lord of Dance). Chidambaram is the birthplace of the sculpture and bronze image representation of Lord Shiva as the cosmic dancer, a Tamilian concept and motif in Chola art that has since become notable as a symbol of Hinduism. The shrine is the only Shiva temple to have its main deity represented in this anthropomorphic form, as the supreme being who performs all cosmic activities. The consort deity here is Sivakami Amman (form of Amman - mother goddess and female energy). Two other forms of Lord Shiva are represented close to this in the vimana (inner sanctum) of the temple - as a crystallised lingam - the most common representation of Lord Shiva in temples, and as the aether space classical element, represented with empty space and a garland of fifty one hanging golden bilvam leaves (Aegle marmelos). Lord Shiva is captured in pose as Nataraja performing the Ananda Tandava ("Dance of Delight") in the golden hall of the shrine Pon Ambalam (பொன் அம்பலம்). The sculptures of Chidambaram inspired the postures of Bharatha Natyam. The Chidambaram complex is admired for its five famous halls (ambalam or sabhai), several grand smaller shrines to the Hindu deities Ganesh, Murugan, Vishnu and Sivakami Amman which contain Pandyan and Nayak architectural styles, and for its endowment from many water tanks, one of which links it to the Thillai Kali temple.

Chidambaram is one of the five Pancha Bootha Sthalams, the holiest Shiva temples each representing one of the five classical elements; Chidambaram represents akasha (aether). Chidambaram is glorified in Tirumular's Tirumandhiram and was visited by Patañjali and VyagjrapadharPulikaal Munivar. It is the primary shrine of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams - Shiva Sthalams glorified in the early medieval Tevaram poems by Tamil Saivite Nayanar saints Tirunavukkarasar, Thirugnana Sambandar and Sundarar. Hailed in the Tiruvacakam series by Manikkavacakar, these very volumes of the Tirumurai literature canon were themselves found in secret chambers of the temple. The Periya Puranam, a biography of these Nayanar saints by Sekkizhar commissioned by emperor Kulothunga Chola II, was written in the shrine's Thousand Pillared Hall. In Kanda Puranam, the epic authored by Kachiyappa Sivachariar of Kanchipuram, the Chidambaram shrine is venerated as one of the three foremost Shiva abodes in the world, alongside Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee and Mount Kailash.

ETYMOLOGY

The traditional name of the temple complex, Chidambaram Tillai Nataraja-koothan Kovil, alludes to the environment of its location and its origins and significance in Saivite worship. The mangrove of ancient Tillai (தில்லை) trees (Exocoeria agallocha) of the forest surrounding the shrine when it was first built inspired the shrine's name and early artistic inspiration; the Tillai trees of the nearby Pichavaram wetlands, the second largest mangrove in the world, extends to the temple area. The shrine is venerated as Tillai ambalam (தில்லை அம்பலம் ), literally meaning Tillai Open Stage, the open space surrounded by Tillai Vanam (தில்லை வனம்) (the Tillai forest) - the original name of this area.[9] The name of the town of this shrine, Chidambaram comes from the Tamil word Chitrambalam (சிற்றம்பலம்) - "small hall/stage"; also spelled Chithambalam (சிட்டம்பலம்), from citt/chitthu and ambalam - meaning "wisdom of this open stage/atmosphere". The shrine is where some devotees believe they will attain liberation, or chitaakasam - "wisdom/consciousness of the sky". "Nataraja" or "Koothan" mean "Lord of Dance".

LEGEND

The story of Chidambaram begins with Lord Shiva strolling into the Thillai Vanam (vanam meaning forest and thillai trees - botanical name Exocoeria agallocha, a species of mangrove trees - which currently grows in the Pichavaram wetlands near Chidambaram). In the Thillai forests resided a group of sages or 'rishis' who believed in the supremacy of magic and that God can be controlled by rituals and mantras or magical words. Lord Shiva strolled in the forest with resplendent beauty and brilliance, assuming the form of Bhikshatana, a simple mendicant seeking alms. He was followed by His consort, Vishnu as Mohini. The sages and their wives were enchanted by the brilliance and the beauty of The handsome mendicant and His consort. On seeing their womenfolk enchanted, the rishis got enraged and invoked scores of serpents (nāgas) by performing magical rituals. Lord Shiva lifted the serpents and donned them as ornaments on His matted locks, neck and waist. Further enraged, the sages invoked a fierce tiger, whose skins and dons were used by Lord Shiva as a shawl around His waist and then followed by a fierce elephant, which was devoured and ripped to death by Lord Shiva (Gajasamharamurthy).

The rishis gathered all their spiritual strength and invoked a powerful demon Muyalakan - a symbol of complete arrogance and ignorance. Lord Shiva wore a gentle smile, stepped on the demon's back, immobilized him and performed the Ánanda Tandava (the dance of eternal bliss) and disclosed his true form. The sages surrender, realizing that Lord Shiva is the truth and He is beyond magic and rituals.

PATRONAGE

To Saivites, primarily in Tamil Nadu, the very word koil refers primarily to Chidambaram Tillai Natarajar.

Chidambaram is a temple complex spread over 160,000 m2 in the heart of the city. The main complex to Lord Shiva Nataraja also contains shrines to deities such as Shivakami Amman, Ganesh, Murugan and Vishnu in the form Govindaraja Perumal. Chidambaram's earliest structures were designed and erected by ancient craftsmen called Perumtaccan. The golden tiled roof for the Chit Ambalam (the vimanam) was laid by the Chola King Parantaka I (907-950 CE) following which he was given the title - Thillaiyambalathhukku pon koorai veiyntha thevan (Tamil:தில்லையாம்பலதுக்கு பொன் கூரை வேய்ந்த தேவன், meaning the one who constructed the golden roof). In its floruit, kings Rajaraja Chola I (reign 985-1014 AD) and Kulothunga Chola I (1070-1120 AD) made significant donations to the temple. Gold and riches to the temple were donated by Rajaraja Chola's daughter Kundavai II while Chola king Vikrama Chola (1118-1135 AD) made donations for the conduct of the daily rituals.

Donations of gold and jewels have been made by various kings, rulers and patrons to the temple from 9th to 16th century - including the Maharaja of Pudukottai, Sethupathy (the emerald jewel still adorns the deity) and the British.

Naralokaviran, the general of king Kulothunga Chola I was responsible for building a shrine for child saint Thirugnana Sambanthar and installed a metal image inside it. He constructed a hall for recitation of Tevaram hymns and engraved the hymns in copper plates.

TEMPLE STRUCTURE

The temple is the only great temple complex to date mainly from the later Chola period, and contains the earliest examples of a number of features that are found in many later temples, including "the earliest known Devī or Amman shrine, nritta (dance) maṇḍapa, Sūrya shrine with chariot wheels, hundred-and-thousand pillared maṇḍapas, even the first giant Śiva Gangā tank".A classical Shiva temple as per Agama rules will have five prakarams (closed precincts of a temple) or circuits each separated by walls one within the other. The outer prakaram will be open to the sky except the innermost one. The innermost one will house the main deity as well as other deities. There will be a massive wooden or stone flag post exactly in line with the main deity. The innermost prakaram houses the sanctum sanctorum (தமிழ் = கருவரை).

Chidambaram is also referred to in various works such as Thillai (after the Thillai forest of yore in which the temple is now located), Perumpatrapuliyur or Vyagrapuram (in honour of Saint Vyagrapathar, Sanskrit: Vyaghrapada - "Tiger-Footed").

The temple is supposed to be located at the lotus heart of the Universe: Virat hridaya padma sthalam.

This gold-roofed stage is the sanctum sanctorum of the Chidambaram temple and houses the Lord in three forms:

- the "form" - the anthropomorphic form as an appearance of Nataraja, called the Sakala-thirumeni.

- the "semi-form" – the semi-anthropomorphic form as the Crystal linga of Chandramaulishvara, the Sakala-nishkala-thirumeni.

- the "formless" – as the space in Chidambara-rahasyam, an empty space within the sanctum sanctorum, the Nishkala-thirumeni.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEMPLE DESIGN

The layout and architecture of the temple is replete with philosophical meanings.

Three of the five Panchaboothasthala temples, those at Kalahasti, Kanchipuram and Chidambaram all stand on a straight line exactly at 79 degree 41 minutes East longitude - truly an engineering, astrological and geographical wonder. Of the other two temples, Tiruvanaikkaval is located at around 3 degrees to the south and exactly 1 degree to the west of the northern tip of this divine axis, while Tiruvannamalai is around midway (1.5 degree to the south and 0.5 degree to the west).

The 9 gateways signify the 9 orifices in the human body.

The Chitsabai or Ponnambalam, the sanctum sanctorum represents the heart which is reached by a flight of 5 stairs called the Panchaatchara padi - pancha meaning 5, achhara – indestructible syllables – "SI VA YA NA MA", from a raised anterior dias - the Kanakasabai. The access to the Sabhai is through the sides of the stage (and not from the front as in most temples). The Chit sabha roof is supported by four pillars symbolic of the four Vedas.

The Ponnambalam or the Sanctum sanctorum is held by 28 pillars – representing the 28 agamas or set methodologies for the worship of Lord Shiva. The roof is held by a set of 64 beams representing the 64 forms of art and is held by several cross-beams representing the innumerable blood vessels. The roof has been laid by 21,600 golden tiles with the word SIVAYANAMA inscribed on them representing 21600 breaths. The golden tiles are fixed using 72,000 golden nails which represents the no. of nadis exists in human body. The roof is topped by a set of 9 sacred pots or kalasas, representing the 9 forms of energy. The artha mandapa(sanctum) has six pillars denoting the six shastras (holy texts).

The hall next to the artha mantapa has eighteen pillars symbolizing the eighteen Puranas.

TOWERS

The temple has nine gateways, and four of these have gateway towers or gopurams each with 7 storeys facing the East, South, West and North. The South gopuram called the Sokkaseeyan Thirunilai Ezhugopuram was constructed by a Pandya king identified from the presence of the dynasty's fish emblem sculpted on the ceiling. The Pandyas sculpted two fishes facing each other when they completed gopurams (and left it with one fish, in case it was incomplete). The earliest and smallest of the four is West gopuram constructed around 1150 and there are no reliable evidence on the construction. The sculptures shows goddess fighting the buffalo-demon and warlike Skanda astride his peacock. The North Gopuram was initiated around 1300 AD with the brick portion constructed by the Vijayanagara king Krishnadevaraya (1509-1530 AD) in the 16th century. The East Gopuram, was claimed to have been constructed by the Pallava King Koperunsingan II (1243-1279 AD) as per epigrahical records and was repaired by Subbammal, the mother-in-law of the famous philanthropist Pachaiyappa Mudaliar (1754-1794 AD). The idols of Pachaiappa Mudaliar and his wife Iyalammal have been sculpted on the eastern gopuram. The Pachaiappa Trust to date has been responsible for various functions in the temple and also maintain the temple car. The eastern gopuram is renowned for its complete enumeration of 108 poses of Indian classical dance – Bharathanatyam, detailed in small rectangular panels along the passage that leads to the gateway. Each gopuram has around fifty stone sculptures, with each repeating some portions from the other.

HALLS

There are 5 ambalams or sabhas (halls) inside the temple.

- Chit Ambalam or Chit Sabhai, which is the sanctum sanctorum housing Lord Nataraja and his consort Sivakami Sundari, and gave the temple town its name.

- Pon Ambalam or Kanaka Sabhai – the golden hall in front of the Chit Ambalam, from where the daily rituals are conducted.

- Nrithya sabhai or Natya sabhai, a 56-pillared hall lies to the south of the temple's flag mast (kodi maram or dwaja sthambam) where Nataraja outdanced Kali and established his supremacy

- Raja sabhai or the 1000-pillared hall which symbolizes the yogic chakra of thousand pillared lotus or Sahasraram (which in yoga is a chakra) at the crown of the head and is a seat where the soul unites with God. This chakra is represented as a 1000-petalled lotus. Meditating by concentrating at the Sahasrara Chakra is said to lead to a state of union with The Divine Force and is the pinnacle of yogic practice. The hall is open only on festive days.

- Deva Sabhai, which houses the Pancha moorthis (pancha - five, moorthis - deities, namely the deities of Ganesh, Somaskanda (seated posture of Lord Shiva with Pavarthi and Skanda), Sivananda Nayaki, Muruga and the image of Chandikeswarar.

SHRINES

- The shrines for the original Shivalingam worshipped by the saints Patanjali and Vyagrapathar – called the Thiru Aadhimoolanathar and his consort Umaiyammai

- The shrine of the 63 nayanars of Lord Shiva – called the Arubaththu moovar.

- Shrine of Sivagami.

- Ganesha shrine

- Shrine of Muruga or Pandiya nayakan

There are also several smaller shrines in the temple complex.

GOVINDARAJA SWAMY SHRINE

The Govindaraja shrine is dedicated to Vishnu and is one of the 108 holy temples of Lord Vishnu called divyadesam, revered by the 7th-9th-century saint poets of vaishnava (those worshipping Lord Vishnu) tradition, alwars. Kulashekara alwar mentions this temple as Tillai Chitrakutam and equates Chitrakuta of Ramayana fame with this shrine. King Kulothunga Chola II is believed to have uprooted the presiding Govindraja image from the shrine. The shrine has close connections with the Govindaraja temple in Tirupati dating back to saint Ramanuja of the 11-12th century. Ramanujar fled to Tirupati with the utsava (festival image) of the temple to escape punishment. Down the centuries, king Krishnappa Nayak (1564-1572 AD) was instrumental in installing the image of Govindaraja back in the temple. There was lot of resistance from the shaivites (those worshipping Shiva) against placing the Vishnu image in a revered Shiva temple, but the king was unmoved and the image was installed in the present form. There is no satisfactory evidence of co-existence of the Shiva and Vishnu shrines within the same temple built during the same time - there was a dispute even in last century during 1849 AD regarding the rights on the Govindaraja idol and Alwar Sannidhi(sanctum of azhwars) between Vaishnavas and Dikshitars and the position of Vaishnavas was upheld by the district court.

TEMPLE TANKS

The Chidambaram temple is well endowed with several water bodies within and around the temple complex.

- Sivaganga (சிவகங்கை) tank is in the third corridor of the temple opposite to the shrine of Shivagami. It is accessed by flights of stone steps leading from the shrine.

- Paramanandha koobham is the well on the eastern side of the Chitsabhai hall from which water is drawn for sacred purposes.

- Kuyya theertham is situated to the north-east of Chidambaram in Killai near the Bay of Bengal and has the shore called Pasamaruthanthurai.

- Pulimadu is situated around a kilometer and a half to the south of Chidambaram.

- Vyagrapatha Theertham is situated on to the west of the temple opposite to the temple of Ilamai Akkinaar.

- Anantha Theertham is situated to the west of the temple in front of the Anantheswarar temple.

- Nagaseri tank is situated to the west of the Anantha thirtham.

- Brahma Theertham is situated to the north-west of the temple at Thirukalaanjeri.

- Underground channels at the shrine drain excess water in a northeasterly direction to the Shivapiyai temple tank (சிவப்பியை குளம்) of the Thillai Kali Temple, Chidambaram. Due to poor maintenance, it has not been in use.

- Thiruparkadal is the tank to the south-east of the Shivapiyai tank.

TEMPLE CAR

The Chidambaram temple car is, perhaps, the most beautiful example of a temple car in all of Tamil Nadu. This car, on which Lord Nataraja descends twice a year, is drawn by several thousand devotees during the festivals.

ANANDA TANDAVA

The legend of the temple is same as the legend of Ānanda-tāṇḍava. Adhisesha, the serpent who serves as a bed of Lord Vishnu, hears about the Änanda thaandava and yearns to see and enjoy it. Lord Shiva beckons him to assume the saintly form of sage Patanjali and sends him to the Thillai forest, informing him that he will display the dance in due course. Patanjali who meditated in the Himalayas during krita age joins another saint, Vyaghrapada or Pulikaalmuni (Vyagra / Puli meaning "Tiger" and patha / kaal meaning "feet" – referring to the story of how he sought and got the feet and eyesight of a tiger to help climb trees well before dawn to pick flowers for The Lord before the bees visit them). The story of sage Patanjali as well as his great student sage Upamanyu is narrated in both Vishnu Purana as well as Shiva Purana. They move into the Thillai forest and worship Lord Shiva in the form of lingam, a deity worshipped today as Thirumoolataneswarar (Thiru - sri, Moolatanam - primordial or in the nature of a foundation, Eswarar- the Lord). Legends say that Lord Shiva displayed his dance of bliss (the Aananda Thaandavam) - as Nataraja to these two saints on the day of the poosam star in the Tamil month of Thai (January-February).

THE ANANDA TANDAVA POSTURE

The Ānanda-tāṇḍava posture of Nataraja represents pancikritya functions of the godhead believed to have created the dynamic force to create the world.

- The demon under Lord Nataraja's feet signifies that ignorance is under His feet.

- The fire in His hand (power of destruction) means He is the destroyer of evil.

- The raised hand (Abhaya or Pataka mudra) signifies that He is the savior of all life forms.

- The arc of fire called Thiruvashi or Prabhavati signifies the cosmos and the perpetual motion of the earth.

- The drum in His hand signifies the origin of life forms.

- The lotus pedestal signifies Om, the sound of the universe.

- His right eye, left eye and third eye signify the sun, moon and fire/knowledge, respectively.

- His right earring (makara kundalam) and left earring (sthri kundalam) signify the union of man and woman (right is man, left is woman).

- The crescent moon in His hair signifies benevolence and beauty.

- The flowing of river Ganges through His matted hair signifies eternity of life.

- The dreading of His hair and drape signify the force of His dance.

Another notable point of this posture is that it is based on the six point star. Nataraja's head forms the topmost point of the star, while His spreading hair and right hand form the upper side points. His drape and raised left leg form the lower points, and His right leg that rests on the demon Myalagga forms the lowest point. Surrounding this is the arc of fire.

RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEMPLE

Pancha Bhoota Stalam (Sanskrit: पन्च भूत स्थल) refers to the five Shiva temples, each representing the manifestation of the five prime elements of nature - land, water, air, sky, fire. Pancha indicates five, Bhoota means elements and Stala means place. All these temples are located in South India with four of these temples at Tamil Nadu and one at Andhra Pradesh. The five elements are believed to be enshrined in the five lingams and each of the lingams representing Lord Shiva in the temple have five different names based on the elements they represent. In the temple, Shiva is said to have manifested himself in the form of sky. The other four manifestations are Prithivi Lingam (representing land) at Ekambareswarar Temple, Appu Lingam (representing Water) at Thiruvanaikaval, Agni Lingam (representing fire) at Annamalaiyar Temple and Vayu Lingam (representing air) at Srikalahasti Temple.

Aathara Stala indicates the Shiva temples which are considered to be divine impersonification of Tantric chakras associated with human anatomy. Nataraja temple is called the Anthaga stalam associated with Anthagam - the third eye.

Pancha Sabhai refers to the five places where Lord Shiva is said to have displayed His cosmic dance and all these places have stages or ambalams, also known as Sabhai. Apart from Chidambaram which has the Ponna Ambalam - the Golden Hall, the others are the I-Ratthina Ambalam - the Jeweled Hall at Thiruvaalangadu (rathinam – ruby / red jewelled), the Chitra Ambalam - the Painted Hall at Thirukutralam (chitra – painting), the Velli Ambalam - the Silver Hall at Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple (velli – silver) and the Thaamira Ambalam - the Copper Hall at Nellaiappar Temple, Tirunelveli (Thaamiram – copper).

RELIGIOUS WORK AND SAINTS

There is no reference to the temple in Sangam literature of the 1st to 5th centuries and the earliest mention is found in 6th century Tamil literature. The temple and the deity were immortalized in Tamil poetry in the works of Thevaram by three poet saints belonging to the 7th century - Thirugnana Sambanthar, Thirunavukkarasar and Sundaramoorthy Nayanar. Thirugnana Sambanthar has composed 2 songs in praise of the temple, Thirunavukkarasar aka Appar 8 Tevarams in praise of Nataraja and Sundarar 1 song in praise of Nataraja. Sundarar commences his Thiruthondar thogai (the sacred list of Lord Shiva's 63 devotees) paying his respects to the priests of the Thillai temple - "To the devotees of the priests at Thillai, I am a devotee". The works of the first three saints, Thirumurai were stored in palm leaf manuscripts in the temple and were recovered by the Chola King Rajaraja Chola under the guidance of Nambiandarnambi. Manikkavasagar, the 10th century saivite poet has written two works, the first called Tiruvasakam (The sacred utterances) which largely has been sung in Chidambaram and the Thiruchitrambalakkovaiyar (aka Thirukovaiyar), which has been sung entirely in the temple. Manikkavasagar is said to have attained spiritual bliss at Chidambaram. The Chidambaram Mahatmiyam composed during the 12th century explain the subsequent evolution and de-sanskritization.

THE CHIDAMBARA RAHASIYAM

During the daily rituals, the Chief priest, of the day, himself in a state of Godliness - Shivohambhava (Shiva - the Lord, in His Sandhi form - Shivo-, aham – me / us, bhava - state of mind), parts the curtain, indicating the withdrawal of ignorance and reveals the space, and The Lord’s presence.

The Chidambara Rahasya, is hence representative of that time when one, in total surrender, allows God to intervene and remove our ignorance, even as we get to 'see and experience' His presence and hence - bliss.

Temple administration and daily rituals

WORSHIP FORMS

A unique feature of this temple is the bejeweled image of Lord Nataraja as the main deity. It depicts Lord Shiva as the master of Koothu-Bharata Natyam and is one of the few temples where Lord Shiva is represented by an anthropomorphic murthi rather than the classic, anionic Lingam.

At Chidambaram, the dancer dominates, not the linga as in other Shiva shrines. The Chitsabha houses a small sphatika(crystal) linga (Chandramoulisvara), believed to be a piece that fell from the crescent adorning Lord Shiva's head and installed by Adi Shankara. The linga is associated with the intangible fifth element, akasha (ether or space), the eternal infinite expanse where the dance of Lord Shiva takes place daily puja is offered to the linga and also to a small gem-carved figure of Ratnasabhapati.

Chidambaram offers a combination of the three apects of Shaiva worship - of the form Lord(Nataraja), of the form and the formlessness (linga) and of the formless omnipresence. The last is suggested by a "Chidambara rahasya", a chakra inscribed on a wall and blackened by applying "punugu" (civet) and over which hangs a string of golden bilva (bael) leaves. This can be viewed through the square chinks when the priest draws aside the dark "curtain of ignorance".

WORSHIP

The temple is managed and administered hereditarily by the Chidambaram Dikshitar – a class of Vaidika Brahmins whom, legends say, were brought here from Mt. Kailas, by Patanjali, specifically for the performance of the daily rituals and maintenance of the Chidambaram temple.

DIKSHITARS

The Dikshithars were supposed to be 3000 were called Tillai Muvayiram. Today they number around 360. These Dikshithars follow the Vedic rituals, unlike the Sivachariyars or Adhisaivars who follow the agamic rituals for the worship of Shiva and they sport a specific lopsided-to-the-left half shaved head. The rituals for the temple were collated from the Vedas and set by Patanjali, who is said to have inducted the Dikshithars into the worship of Lord Shiva as Nataraja. Every married male member of the Dikshithar family gets a turn to perform the rituals at the temple and can serve as the chief priest for the day. Married Dikshithars are also entitled a share of the temple's revenue. Though the temple is said to have been given endowments of almost 20 km2 of fertile land – having been patronized by various rulers for several centuries, it is managed almost entirely by privately run endowments.

DAILY RITUALS

The day begins with the chief priest of the day, performing required rituals to purify himself and assume the Shivoham bhava (Shiva-hood), after which he enters the temple to do the daily rituals. The day begins with Lord Shiva's footwear (padukas) brought at 7:00 am from the palliyarai (bedroom) to the sanctum sanctorum in a palanquin accompanied by devotees with cymbals, chimes and drums. The priest then performs the daily rituals with a yajna and a 'Gopujai' (worship of a cow and her calf). Worship (Puja) is done 6 times in a day. Before each puja, the spadika linga (crystal linga) or the semi form state of Lord Shiva is anointed with ghee, milk, curds, rice, sandal paste and holy ash. This is followed by presenting the naivedhyam or offering of freshly prepared food and sweets to the deity and the diparaadhana, a ritual of showing varied and decoratively set lamps, the reciting of Vedas in Sanskrit and the Panchapuranam (a set of 5 poems from a set of 12 works in Tamil – called the panniru thirumurai). The puja ends with the priest parting the curtains of the sanctum sanctorum to reveal the Chidambara Rahasyam (sanctum).

Before the 2nd puja, apart from the regular anointing of the crystal linga, a ruby Nataraja deity (the Rathinasabhapathy) is also anointed. The 3rd puja is at around 12.00 noon, after which the temple closes until around 4:30 pm. The 4th puja is performed at 6.00 pm, the 5th at 8:00 pm and the last puja of the day is performed at 10:00 pm, after which Lord Shiva’s footwear is taken in a procession for Him to ‘retire’ for the night. Before the 5th puja at night, the priest performs special rituals at the Chidambara Rahasya, where he anointed the yantra with aromatic substances and offers naivedyam. The last puja, called the arthajaama puja is performed with special fervor. It is believed that the entire divine force of the universe retires into the deity, when he retires for the night.

TEMPLE ADMINISTRATION

The Diskshithars one and fully responsible for the administration and pooja. Simply they mentioned their surname as the Sri Natarajar Temple Trustee and Pooja forever. Dikshithars life and temple tied as the nail and flesh relationship.

FESTIVALS

A whole year for men is said to be a single day for the gods. Just as six poojas are performed in a day at the sanctum sanctorum, six anointing ceremonies are performed for the principal deity - Nataraja in a year. They are the Marghazhi Thiruvaadhirai (in December-January) indicating the first puja, the fourteenth day after the new moon (chaturdasi) of the month of Masi (February-March) indicating the second pooja, the Chittirai Thiruvonam (in April-May), indicating the third pooja or uchikalam, the Uthiram of Aani (June-July) also called the Aani Thirumanjanam indicating the evening or the fourth puja, the chaturdasi of Aavani (August-September) indicating the fifth puja and the chaturdasi of the month of Puratasi (October-November) indicating the sixth pooja or Arthajama. Of these the Marghazhi Thiruvaadhirai (in December-January) and the Aani Thirumanjanam (in June-July ) are the most important. These are conducted as the key festivals with the main deity being brought outside the sanctum sanctorum in a procession that included a temple car procession followed by a long anointing ceremony. Several hundreds of thousands of people flock the temple to see the anointing ceremony and the ritualistic dance of Shiva when he is taken back to the sanctum sanctorum. Lord Shiva, in his incarnation of Nataraja, is believed to have born on full moon day in the constellation of Ardra, the sixth lunar mansion. Lord Shiva is bathed only 6 times a year, and on the previous night of Ardra, the bath rituals are performed on a grand scale. Pots full of milk, pomegranate juices, coconut water, ghee, oil, sandal paste, curds, holy ashes, and other liquids and solids, considered as sacred offering to the deity are used for the sacred ablution.

There are references in Umapathy Sivam's

Kunchithaangristhavam that the Maasi festival also had the Lord being carried out in procession, however this is not in vogue these days.

Natyanjali is a prominent festival celebrated during February every year when Bharatnatyam dancers from all over the country converge to present dance offering to Nataraja.

HISTORY

Constructed to signify where Tamil Shaivites identify the centre loci of the universe to be, the shrine, dedicated to Lord Shiva, has witnessed several significant events in the history of Tamil Nadu. A powerful legacy of Dravidian art, its structures and sculptures have attracted pilgrims to Chidambaram for over two millennium. The birthplace of Nataraja when Shaivite worship was highly popular during the Sangam period, Chidambaram had gained a reputation for holiness across the continent by the third century CE and the admiration of the Tamilakkam royals of the early Cholas, Chera dynasty and the early Pandyan Kingdom. Built by the early Cholas to one of their family deities - Nataraja-Koothan - it served as the king and queen's state temple and seat of their monarchs' coronations. The Chola royals underlined their non-partisan approach to religious iconography and faith by also patronizing the Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple dedicated to Vishnu - their other Kuladheivam or "abode of family deity". Chola King Kocengannan who reigned in the first half of the 2nd century CE was born after his parents King Subhadevan and Kamaladevi worshipped in the Thillai Golden Hall (Pon Ambalam). He expanded the shrine in his later life and added to unfinished decorations. Saints Patañjali Tirumular and Vyaghrapada famously worshipped Nataraja at the shrine. The travelling Pallava-Chola king Simhavarman (II or III) who reigned in the 5th-6th century CE was cured of leprosy by bathing in the Shivagangai tank and in gratitude made extensive repairs and additions to the temple. He changed his name to Hiranyavarman or "golden bodied."

The Puranas, Sangam literature and the Tirumurai canon join several epigraphs and murals in highlighting the brilliance of the temple site and the devotion of Patañjali, Vyaghrapada-Pulikaalmunivar and patanjali to Nataraja at Thillai. The sthala puranam as well as umapathi sivacharya's koyil puranam give an account of how an ancient chola prince of kritayugam or first of epochal ages. Worshipped The Lord's feet at Chidambaram and being blessed with a vision of His was further helped by saint Vyaghrapada to consecrate a place of worship therewith. The temple murals and some cholan and pandyan literature refer to this sthala puranam. The chidambaram mahatyam as well as koyil puranam by the same author discuss as to how this prince who was presented with dhataki or atti garland and tiger flag in which Lord Indra would take abode to make him ever victorious was blessed with vision of lord and further attained mukti at this spot. This is very credible because all ancient literature and documents report that tiger flag and atti or dhataki (grislea tomentosa) garland as being emblematic with cholas. Some sangam period works also passingly refer to the krita age king's war with demons and his victory against them. The king also went by name Vyaghraketu after being gifted with the tiger flag.

Later during the 4th or 5th century CE, a pallava king called Simha Varman who was also a nayanmar saint by name Aiyatikal Kaadavarkon made some compositions and bathed in the tank and attained mukthi at tiru-perum-ppatra-puliyur or chidambaram. Aragalur Udaya Iraratevan Ponparappinan had refurbished most of the parts and rebuilt some parts of the temple around 1213 AD.

At periodical intervals (12 years in general), major repairs and renovation works are carried out, new facilities added and consecrated. Most old temples have also 'grown' over periods of time with additional facilities, more outer corridors and new gopurams (pagodas) were added by the rulers who patronized the temple. While this process has helped to keep the temples 'alive' as places of worship, from a purely archeological or historical perspective these renovations have unintentionally lead to destruction of the original works - which were not in sync with the latter and usually grander temple plans.

To this general trend, Chidambaram temple is no exception. The origins and developments of the temple are hence largely deduced from allied references in works of literature and poetry, the verbal information passed over generations by the Dikshithar community and from what little, of inscriptions and manuscripts that are available today.

The temple site is very ancient one is known to have been crafted time and again by the ancient craftsmen guild known as Perumthachchans. The reference to the same is available in sangam literature as well as other documents. The tevaram trio in particular have held this site to be of great sanctity with some like Tirugnanasambandar and Sundarar out of devotion being reluctant to set their foot in the place "because it would be an insult to the lord to put one's foot on his abode". The sangam works refer to the temple being favoured by all the three ancient crowns of south, the Neriyan (cholas), chezhiyan (pandyas) and uthiyan (cheras), even if the temple was in what was traditionally chola country.

INSCRIPTIONS

There are several inscriptions available in the temple and referring to the Chidambaram temple in neighbouring areas. Most inscriptions available pertain to the periods of Cholas - Rajaraja Chola I (985-1014 CE), Rajendra Chola I (1012-1044 CE), Kulothunga Chola I (1070-1120 CE), Vikrama Chola (1118-1135 CE), Rajadhiraja Chola II (1163 -1178 CE), Kulothunga Chola III (1178-1218 CE) and Rajaraja Chola III (1216-1256 CE). Pandya inscriptions date from Thribhuvana Chakravarthi Veerapandiyan, Jataavarman Thribhuvana Chakravarthi Sundarapaandiyan (1251-1268 CE) and Maaravarman Thribhuvana Chakravarthi Veerakeralanaagiya Kulashekara Pandiyan (1268-1308 CE). Pallava inscriptions are available for king Avani Aala Pirandhaan Ko-pperum-Singha (1216-1242 CE). Vijayanagara Kings mentioned in inscriptions are Veeraprathaapa Kiruttina Theva Mahaaraayar (1509-1529 CE), Veeraprathaapa Venkata Deva Mahaaraayar, Sri Ranga Theva Mahaaraayar, Atchyutha Deva Mahaaraayar (1529-1542 CE) and Veera Bhooopathiraayar. One of the inscriptions from the descendant of Cheramaan Perumal nayanar, Ramavarma Maharaja has been found.

KUMBHABISHEKAM 2015

The sacred Chidambaram Sri Sabanayagar Temple, which is also described as Boologa Kailaasam and Chithakasam

Sri Sivagamasundari Samaedha Sriman Anandha Nataraja Moorthy's Chitsabha Samprokshana Chithvilasa Maha Kumbhabishekam is about to happen in a great way On the auspicious day of Manmadha (Tamil) year Chithirai month 18th day (01-May-2015) Friday morning between 7:00 am and 8:30 am Hastha Nakshthra, Thrayodhasi Thithi, Amirtha yoga, Rishabha Lagna.

INVASIONS

The temple was severely vandalised during Malik Kafur's invasions of South India between 1311 and 1325. A garrison was set up within the temple precincts and the walls were fortified during the Carnatic Wars between the East India Company and the French and the Anglo-Mysore Wars that the British fought with Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan.

WIKIPEDIA

12th NICbr Annual Workshop on Survey Methodology by NIC Brasil

Entre 29 de agosto e 1 de setembro de 2022, na sede do NIC.br em São Paulo, o Cetic.br|NIC.br|CGI.br promoveu evento coorganizado pela Escola Nacional de Ciências Estatísticas (ENCE) do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). O evento contou com uma série de webinars com palestrantes renomados que expuseram práticas inovadoras para produção e uso de dados.

(Fotos:Ricardo Matsukawa/Divulgação NIC.br)

Participatory Ranking Exercise by Lindsay Stark

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This image was taken to document a methodology I have written about in a different context here.

This participative ranking methodology involves having participants free-list priority concerns, indicators of well-being, etc. After free-listing, participants choose every day objects to represent the items on the list, and then rank them from most to least important.

Gambella Town, Ethiopia

The Need for New Representational Principles by brewbooks

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Simon Levy presents Vector Symbolic Architectures: A New Building Material for Artificial General Intelligence by Simon Levy of Washington and Lee University and Ross Gayler

(I'd like to take a class from Simon Levy, he is a great teacher from what I could see. Sorry that the photo is poor of him here, but this particular slide mad me think and do quite a bit of homework to increased my understanding of this topic.)

The Need for New Representational Principles

(My notes on this, please feel free to add or clarify anything I have said, it is just my [poor] understanding.)

- Ecological Affordance introduced by James J. Gibson (1979), The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception (an interesting sidebar - this was about the last thing that Gibson published before his death in 1979 at age 75.) A number of his writings are on-line, published as the Purple Perils

- Distributed Connectionist Representations (PDP - which is Parallel Distributed Processing was the start of Connectionism I had colleagues who did research in this area in the early 1990s, at the time I was not as curious as I could have been, being wrapped up in some completely different projects. Now - I have begun to tie it together, funny how that works! The classic work was done by James McClelland, David Rumelhart and the PDP Research Group. They wrote a two volume book: Parallel Distributed Processing: Explorations in the Microstructure of Cognition in 1986)

Holographic Representations Dennis Gabor 1971 and Plate 2003

I probably went down a related area with Karl Pribram's Holonomic brain theory but I need to do some more research about this.

Fractals Attractors Dynamical Systems Tabor 2000 , Levy and Pollack 2001

For a good introduction see Dynamical & Evolutionary Machine Organization part of Jordan Pollack's research at Brandeis University.

In Technical Session # 7: Neural Network and Brain Modeling

Session Chair: Randal Koene , Laboratory of Computational Neurophysiology, Center for Memory and Brain, Boston University at the The First Conference on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI-08)

This room is The Zone, at the FedEx Institute of Technology, University of Memphis. It was a very good venue for this conference.

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) research focuses on the original and ultimate goal of AI -- to create intelligence as a whole, by exploring all available paths, including theoretical and experimental computer science, cognitive science, neuroscience, and innovative interdisciplinary methodologies. AGI is also called Strong AI in the AI community.

Another good reference is Artificial General Intelligence : A Gentle Introduction Pei Wang

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India - Tamil Nadu - Chidambaram - Nataraja Temple - Ambalam - 138 by Manfred Sommer