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{{Short description|Perumal temple in Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, India}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox Hindu temple
| name = Govindaraja Swamy temple
| image = Natraja Temple.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| map_type = India Tamil Nadu
| map_caption = Location in Tamil Nadu
| coordinates = {{coord|11|23|58|N|79|41|36|E|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| native_name = Thiruchitrakoodam
| country = [[India]]
| state = [[Tamil Nadu]]
| district = [[Cuddalore District]]
| location = [[Chidambaram]]
| elevation_m =
| deity = {{Plainlist|
* Govindaraja Perumal ([[Vishnu]])
* Pundarikavalli Thayar ([[Lakshmi]])
}}
| facade_direction =
| temple_tank =
| tower =
| festivals =
| architecture = [[Tamil architecture]]
| temple_quantity =
| monument_quantity =
| inscriptions =
| creator =
| website =
}}
The '''Govindaraja Perumal Temple''', also called '''Thiruchitrakoodam''', is a temple situated in [[Chidambaram]], a town in the South Indian state of [[Tamil Nadu]]. Dedicated to the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] god [[Vishnu]], the temple is inside the premises of the [[Thillai Nataraja Temple]], constructed in the [[Dravidian architecture]]. The temple is glorified in the ''[[Divya Prabandha|Naalayira Divya Prabandham]]'', the early medieval [[Tamil literature|Tamil]] canon of the [[Alvars|Alvar]] saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 ''[[Divyadesam|Divya Desam]]'' dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Govindaraja Perumal and his wife [[Lakshmi]] as Pundarikavalli Thayar.

Also significant as a major shrine of [[Shiva]] worship since the classical period, there have been several renovations and offerings to Chidambaram by the [[Pallava]], [[Chola]], [[Pandya]], [[Vijayanagara]], and [[Chera Dynasty|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.

The Govindaraja idol is believed to have been uprooted outside the temple complex during the period of [[Kulothunga Chola II]]. The Govindaraja idol was later found and reinstated by the king [[Kumara Krishnappa Nayak|Krishnappa Nayak]] (1564–1572).

Six daily rituals and two major yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Chittirai festival, celebrated during the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil]] month of ''Chittirai'' (March–April), is the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the [[Government of Tamil Nadu]].

==Legend==
[[Chidambaram]] is one of the many temple towns in the state which is named after the grooves, clusters or forests dominated by a particular variety of a tree or shrub and the same variety of tree or shrub sheltering the presiding deity.<ref>{{cite book|title=Alayam - The Hindu temple - An epitome of Hindu Culture|publisher=Sri Ramakrishna Math|year=2013|location=Mylapore, Chennai|last=Reddy|first=G.Venkatramana|isbn=978-81-7823-542-4|ref=Reddy|pages=10, 31}}</ref> The town used to be called Thillai, following Thillaivanam, derived from the mangrove of ''Tillai'' trees (''Exocoeria agallocha'') that grow here and the nearby [[Pichavaram]] wetlands.<ref>T. A. Gopinatha Rao, Kalyan Kumar Dasgupta. (1971). Elements of Hindu iconography, Volume 1, Part 1. pp.43</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rajarajan|first=R.K.K.|date=2018|title=If this is Citambaram-Nataraja, then where is Tillai-Kūttaṉ? An Introspective Reading of Tēvāram Hymns|url=https://www.academia.edu/37222485|journal=History, Culture and Archaeological Studies Recent Trends, Commemoration Volume to Prof. M.L.K. Murthy, Vol. II|pages=613–634}}</ref> According to a Hindu legend, once [[Shiva]] and [[Parvati]] wanted to judge who among them was a better dancer, and wanted their sons [[Vinayaka]] and [[Murugan]] to judge their performances. Both of them judged in favour of Parvati, after which Shiva was not satisfied. He wanted [[Brahma]] to judge, and the competition was held in [[Thiruvalangadu]]. Brahma was still not satisfied, and he wanted [[Vishnu]] to judge, and the latter wanted the competition in Tillaivanam. Shiva performed the Urthvathandavam pose of picking his earring with his legs, and wearing them in the ear with his legs. Parvati was not able to perform the feat, and due to her frustration at her defeat, became Kali at the [[Thillai Kali Temple, Chidambaram|Thillai Kali temple]].<ref name=R>{{cite book|title=An introduction to religion and Philosophy - Tévarám and Tivviyappirapantam|last=R.|first=Dr. Vijayalakshmy|publisher=International Institute of Tamil Studies| location=Chennai|year=2001|edition=1st|ref=R.|pages=494–5}}</ref>

==History==
The Govindaraja shrine<ref name="Sundar">[[#Sundararajan|Sundararajan 2003]], p. 263</ref> is dedicated to [[Vishnu]] and is one of the 108 holy temples of Vishnu called ''[[divyadesam|Divya Desam]]'', revered by the 6th-9th-century saint poets of the ''[[Vaishnava]]'' (Vishnu-centric) tradition, the ''[[alwars|Alvars]]''. [[Kulashekhara Alwar|Kulashekara Alvar]] mentions this temple as ''Tillai Chitrakutam,'' and equates [[Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh|Chitrakuta]] of ''[[Ramayana]]'' fame with this shrine.<ref>[[#Dubey|Dubey 1996]], p. 51</ref>

King [[Kulothunga Chola II]] is believed to have uprooted the presiding Govindaraja [[Murti|image]] from the shrine. Kulothunga was a Shaiva king, and he wanted to establish the supremacy of Shaivism by destroying Vaishnava temples and killing Vaishnavas.<ref name="Ayyangar" /> The shrine has close connections with the [[Govindaraja Temple, Tirupati|Govindaraja temple]] in [[Tirupati]], dating back to the saint [[Ramanuja]] of the 11-12th century.<ref name="Hüsken">[[#Hüsken|Hüsken 2009]], p. 197</ref> Ramanuja fled to Tirupati with the ''[[utsava]]'' (festival image) of the temple to escape persecution.<ref name="Ayyangar">[[#Ayyangar|Ayyangar 1908]], p. 237</ref><ref name="Aiyangar">[[#Aiyangar|Aiyangar 1991]], pp. 217-221</ref>

In the 16th century, king [[Madurai Nayak Dynasty#Kumara Krishnappa (1563—1573)|Krishnappa Nayak]] was instrumental in installing the image of Govindaraja back in the temple.<ref>[[#Michell|Michell 1995]], p. 79</ref> There was a lot of resistance from those belonging to the ''[[shaivite|Shaiva]]'' (Shiva-centric) tradition against reestablishing the Vishnu image in what had become a revered Shiva temple, but the king was unmoved, and the image was installed in the present form.<ref>[[#Manninezhath|Manninezhath 1993]], p.25</ref> 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 in 1849 regarding the rights on the Govindaraja idol and ''Alvar Sannidhi'' (sanctum of ''Alvars'') between ''Vaishnavas'' and ''Dikshitars,'' and the position of ''Vaishnavas'' was upheld by the district court.<ref>''The Indian Law reports : Madras Series 1906'', pp. 107-108</ref>

==Religious significance==
The temple is revered in ''[[Nalayira Divya Prabandham|Naalayira Divya Prabandham]]'', the 6th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by [[Kulasekaraazhvaar|Kulasekara Alvar]]<ref>{{cite journal|title=CHERAMAN PERUMAL II ALIAS KULASEKARA, ALWAR ALIAS KULASEKARA PERUMAL III (Born 730 A.D.—Ascended the throne 754 A. D.—Left the throne 798 A. D.—Died 800 A.D.)|last=A.|first=Chidambaram|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=10|year=1947|publisher=Indian History Congress|pages=271|jstor=44137144}}</ref> in eleven hymns and [[Thirumangai Alvar]] in thirteen hymns. The temple is classified as a ''[[Divyadesam|Divya Desam]]'', one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book.<ref name="Verma75">[[#Verma|Verma]] 2012, p. 75</ref><ref>[[#V.K.|V.K. 2003]], p. 17</ref> According to legend, Govindaraja is believed to have descended upon the earth for the sage [[Kanva]] and the 3,000 [[Dikshitar|Dikshitars]] of the [[Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram|Thillai Natarajar]] temple.<ref>[[#Ayyar|Ayyar 1993]], p. 535</ref> The temple is one of the two rare Divya Desams, with the other being [[Nilathingal Thundam Perumal temple]], that are housed in a Shiva temple.<ref name=census>{{cite book|title=Temples of Tamil Nadu Kancheepuram District|publisher= Directorate of Census Operations, Tamil Nadu|year=2003|last=C.|first=Chandramouli}}</ref>

==Festivals and religious practices==
The temple priests perform the ''[[puja (Hinduism)|puja]]'' (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnavaite]] community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed six times a day: ''Ushathkalam'' at 7 a.m., ''Kalasanthi'' at 8:00 a.m., ''Uchikalam'' at 12:00 p.m., ''Sayarakshai'' at 6:00 p.m., ''Irandamkalam'' at 7:00 p.m. and ''Ardha Jamam'' at 10:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps: ''alangaram'' (decoration), ''neivethanam'' (food offering) and ''deepa aradanai'' (waving of lamps) for both Govindarajan and Pundarikavalli. During the last step of worship, ''[[nagaswaram]]'' (pipe instrument) and ''[[tavil]]'' (percussion instrument) are played, religious instructions in the ''[[Vedas]]'' (sacred text) are recited by priests, and worshippers prostrate themselves in front of the [[Iconography of Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu#Dvajasthamba and Pali Peedam|temple mast]]. There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple. The 10-day Chittirai festival celebrated during the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil month]] of ''Chittirai'' (March - April) and Gajendra Moksha festival are the prominent festivals celebrated in the temple.<ref name="dinamalar">{{cite web|title=Govindaraja Perumal Temple|url=https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=443|publisher=Dinamalar|access-date=2013-09-09}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==References==
*{{Cite book |last=Ayyar |first=P. V. Jagadisa |title=South Indian shrines: illustrated|year=1993|edition=2 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-81-206-0151-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NLSGFW1uZboC&dq=tiruvidaimaruthur&pg=PA535|ref=Ayyar}}
*{{Cite book |last=Ayyangar |first=Sreenivasa C.R. |title=The life and teachings of Sri Ramanujacharya |year=1908 |publisher=R. Venkateshwar & Co. |location=Madras |ref=Ayyangar }}
*{{Cite book |last=Hüsken |first=Ute |author2=Will Sweetman|title=Viṣṇu's children: prenatal life-cycle rituals in South India By |year=2009 |publisher=otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co.KG, Wiesbaden |location=Germany |isbn=9783447058544|ref=Hüsken}}
*{{Cite book |last=Sundararajan |first=K.R. |author2=Bithika Mukerji |title=Hindu spirituality: Postclassical and modern |year=2003 |publisher=Cross Road Publishing Company |location=USA |isbn=978-81-208-1937-5|ref=Sundararajan}}
*{{Cite book |last=Dubey |first=D. P. |title=Rays and ways of Indian culture |year=2003 |publisher=M.D. Publishing Pvt. Ltd. |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-81-85880-98-3|ref=Dubey}}
*{{Cite book |last=Manninezhath |first=Thomas |title=Harmony of religions: Vedānta Siddhānta samarasam of Tāyumānavar |year=1993 |publisher=Motilalal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-81-208-1001-3|ref=Manninezhath }}
*{{Cite book |last=Michell |first=George |title=Architecture and art of southern India: Vijayanagara and , Volume 1, Issue 6 |year=1995 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-521-44110-0|ref=Michell}}
* {{cite book|title=Sacred Songs Of India, Volume 5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zNObF6dLipIC&dq=tiruvellarai&pg=PA17|first=Subramanian|last=V.K.|publisher=Abhinav Publications|year=2003|isbn=9788170174011|ref=V.K.}}

==External==
{{Commons category|Nataraja temple}}

[[Category:Divya Desams]]
[[Category:Hindu temples in Cuddalore district]]

Govindaraja Perumal Temple - Revision history

Rishank124 at 02:22, 14 January 2025