Chidambaram

History

There is reference to the temple or the town in Sangam literature of the first to fifth centuries and the earliest mention is found in Tamil literature. Thirugnana Sambanthar has composed two songs in praise of the temple, Thirunavukkarasar aka Appar eight songs in praise of Nataraja and Sundarar one 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, the Thirumurai were stored in palm leaf manuscripts in the temple and were recovered by the Chola King Rajaraja Chola 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-perum-Singha (1216-1242 CE). Vijayanagara Kings mentioned in inscriptions are Veeraprathapa 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…

Geography

Chidambaram is located at . The town is located in Cuddalore district of the South Indian state, Tamil Nadu, from Chennai. Chidambaram is located close to the shores of Bay of Bengal. The topography is almost plain with forests around the town, with no major geological formation. There are no notable mineral resources available in and around the town. The soil types are alluvial and red that are conducive for crops like paddy, pulses and chili peppers. The temperature ranges from a maximum of to a minimum of . Like the rest of the state, April to June are the hottest months and December to January are the coldest. Chidambaram receives an average of annually, which is lesser than the state average of . The South west monsoon, with an onset in June and lasting up to August, brings scanty rainfall. Bulk of the rainfall is received during the North East monsoon in the months of October, November and December. The average number of rainy days ranges from 35 to 40 every year.

Most-observed species

• Rose-ringed Parakeet

  Psittacula krameri (Scopoli, 1769) · Aves
  833
• Common Myna

  Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  809
• Large-billed Crow

  Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler, 1827 · Aves
  658
• House Crow

  Corvus splendens Vieillot, 1817 · Aves
  596
• Yellow-billed Babbler

  Turdoides affinis (Jerdon, 1845) · Aves
  579
• Red-vented Bulbul

  Pycnonotus cafer (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  528
• Spotted Dove

  Spilopelia chinensis (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  475
• Asian Koel

  Eudynamys scolopaceus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  453

Most recent

• M 5.2 — 2001-09-25
  39 km SE of Marakkanam, India