Chidambaram : Home of the Nataraja

Among Tamil Nadu's innumerable beautiful temples, that at Chidambaram occupies a unique place as the centre of worship of Nataraja - Lord Shiva in his form as the Cosmic Dancer.

This is one of the most celebrated images of any Hindu deity, and it is the ancient dance contest held in the Golden Hall at Chidambaram that provides focus for the iconography of Nataraja and the architectural configuration of the temple itself, both of which found their distinctive forms under the Chola Dynasty in the 9th - 12th centuries.

It is the interrelationship between ritual, philosophy, history, art and architecture that is explored by the various contributors to this book.