Tuesday, April 21, 2009

29 Mac 2009 ( Sunday)

The journey continued to Chidambaram. Chidambaram is a municipality and taluk (tehsil) headquarters in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu. It is 11 km from the coast and 240 km south of Chennai by rail. Chidambaram is a major pilgrimage site for Shaivites as the temple there houses the Akasha Lingam of Shiva and is one of the greatest Shiva Temples of Tamilnadu.The Chidambaram Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva in His form of the Cosmic Dancer,Nataraja. It is a temple complex spread over 40 acres (160,000 m2) in the heart of the city is one of the great Shiva Temples of Tamilnadu. It hosts the most ancient set of 108 Karana stone carvings, the key dance movements of Nataraja.Loved the sky.

We visited nearly 7 temples around the area and call it day at night. We stayed the night at Tanjavur @ Tanjore. Thanjavur also known by its anglicised name Tanjore, is a municipality and the headquarters of the Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu. It has a population of a quarter of a million and is the Eleventh largest city in Tamil Nadu.The name Thanjavur is derived from "Tanjan", a legendary asura in Hindu mythology. Thanjavur is one of the oldest cities in India and has a long and varied history dating back to Sangam period. The city rose into prominence during the rule of the Later Cholas when it served as the capital of the Chola empire. After the fall of the Cholas, the city was ruled by the Pandyas, Vijayanagar Empire, the Madurai Nayaks, the Thanjavur Nayaks, the Thanjavur Marathas and the British. It has been a part of independent India since 1947.Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian art and architecture. Most of the Great Living Chola Temples, an UNESCO World Heritage Monument are located in an around Thanjavur. The foremost among the Great Living Chola temples, the Brihadeeswara Temple, is located in the center of the town. Thanajavur is also the home of the Tanjore painting, a painting style unique to the region. The town is an important agricultural center located at the heart of the region, known as the "rice bowl of Tamil Nadu".

We stayed at Hotel Ramnath...