ThePancha Sabhai Sthalangal (Tamil:பஞ்ச சபை ஸ்தலங்கள்,lit. 'Five hall places') refers to the temples ofNataraja, a form of the Hindu godShiva[1] where he is regarded to have performed the cosmic dance called theTandava.[2] All these temples are located inTamil Nadu,India. The five dance performances were the Kali Tandava at Ratna Sabha inVada Aaranyeswarar Temple, Ananda Tandava at the Kanaka Sabha inNatarajar Temple, Sandhya Tandava at the Rajata Sabha inMeenakshi Amman Temple, Muni Tandava at the Tamra Sabha atChepparai Temple, and Tripura Tandava at the Chitra Sabha inKutralanathar Temple.
The presiding deities are revered in the 7th-century TamilShaiva canonical work, theTevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as thenayanars and classified asPaadal Petra Sthalam. The five temples inTamil Nadu are maintained and administered by theHindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of theGovernment of Tamil Nadu.
The five halls within the Chidambaram temple are called Chitra Sabhai (the sanctum), Por Sabhai (hall preceding the sanctum), Nirutha Sabhai (the chariot shaped hall), Deva Sabhai (the hall where all the festival deities are housed) and Raja Sabhai (the thousand pillared hall) in Tamil.[3]
As per the sageBharata, Shiva is the originator of dance, and he allowedNandi to witness his performance.Tandava, the dance form, is derived fromTanda, the other name of Nandi. Shiva Tandava is classified into seven types, namely, Kali Tandava, Sandhya Tandava, Tripura Tandava, Ananda Tandava, Uma Tandava, Samhara Tandava, and Urdhva Tandava.[4]
A few temples inTamil Nadu are closely associated withNataraja and have their own myths of dance along with the halls specific to their version of dance.[5]
In the above classification of Shiva's dance, as mentioned in puranic literature the temples are found within the geographical and cultural limit ofTamil Nadu. Of the seven dances, the seventh dance,Ananda Tandava is representative and symbolic of the themes inherent in all other dances. The seventh is a composite ideal of the main tenets ofShaiva Siddhanta Philosophy. According to Anand and Parmeshwaranand, the dance itself is a source of supreme aesthetic enjoyment of the beauty and bliss of god.[6]
| Category | Temple | Location | Element | Tandava | Image | Details |
| Ratna Sabha (Rathinachabai) | Vada Aaranyeswarar Temple | Thiruvalangadu 13°07′48″N79°46′30″E / 13.13000°N 79.77500°E /13.13000; 79.77500 | Emerald | Kali Tandava | .jpg) | At Sage Munjikesa Karkodaka's request, Shiva reached this temple's site. Kali challenged Shiva to a dance and said that she would give her right in the place to the deity if he won. The dance began. Shiva dropped his earring on the ground, picked it by the toe of his left leg and fixed it back on his ear in the dance. Kali accepted her defeat and said she could not do such a marvellous dance. Shiva said that he alone was equal to her and said further that those coming to worship him here, should worship her first to reap the full benefit of the worship. Since then, Kali has her own temple to grace the devotees. |
| Kanaka Sabha (Porchabai) | Natarajar Temple | Chidambaram 11°23′58″N79°41′36″E / 11.39944°N 79.69333°E /11.39944; 79.69333 | Gold | Ananda Tandava |  | Chidambaram, the name of the city and the temple literally means "atmosphere of wisdom" or "clothed in thought", the temple architecture symbolizes the connection between the arts and spirituality, creative activity and the divine.[7][8][9] The temple wall carvings display all the 108 karanas from theNatya Shastra by Bharata Muni, and these postures form a foundation ofBharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance.[7][10] Shiva asNataraja is the primary deity of the temple, it reverentially presents major themes fromShaktism,Vaishnavism, and other traditions of Hinduism. The Chidambaram temple complex, for example, has the earliest known Amman orDevi temple in South India, a pre-13th-centurySurya shrine with chariot, shrines forGanesha,Murugan andVishnu, one of the earliest known Shiva Ganga sacred pool, large mandapas for the convenience of pilgrims (choultry,ambalam orsabha) and other monuments.[11][12] Shiva himself is presented as theNataraja performing theAnanda Tandava ("Dance of Delight") in the golden hall of the shrinePon Ambalam.[13] |
| Rajata Sabha (Vellichabai) | Meenakshi Amman Temple | Madurai 9°55′22″N78°7′12″E / 9.92278°N 78.12000°E /9.92278; 78.12000 | Silver | Sandhya Tandava |  | The temple is a historic Hindu temple located on the southern bank of theVaigai River[14] in the temple city ofMadurai,Tamil Nadu,India. It is dedicated to the goddessMeenakshi, a form ofParvati, and her consort,Sundareshvarar, a form ofShiva.[15] The temple is at the center of the ancient temple city of Madurai mentioned in the Tamil Sangam literature, with the goddess temple mentioned in 6th-century-CE texts.[16] |
| Tamra Sabha (Thamirachabai) | Nellaiappar Temple | Tirunelveli 8°43′43″N77°41′17″E / 8.72861°N 77.68806°E /8.72861; 77.68806 | Copper | Muni Tandava |  | During Puranic times, the place was called Venuvana, a forest of bamboos. The deity in the current temple was believed have appeared inside the bamboo forest.Vishnu is believed to have witnessed the wedding between Shiva andParvati at this place. There is an image of Vishnu with a metallicgindi, a vessel with a spout, in the temple depicting the legend.[17] Shiva is worshipped as Nellaiappar (also called Venuvananathar) represented by thelingam and his consortParvati is depicted as Kanthimathi Amman.[17] |
| Chitra Sabha (Chithirachabai) | Kutralanathar Temple | Courtallam 8°55′45″N77°16′9″E / 8.92917°N 77.26917°E /8.92917; 77.26917 | Art | Tripura Tandava |  | The sageAgastya, at Shiva's request, proceeded southward to stabilize the balance of the earth, and relieve the instability caused by the multitude of entities at Shiva's and Parvati's wedding in theHimalayas, to wait for a glimpse of the divine couple. There he is said to have created the Shivalingam here by shrinking an image of Vishnu, hence the name Kutralam. Architecturally the Chitrasabha resembles that of the other Nataraja Sabhas elsewhere in Tamil Nadu, and its interior is decked with hundreds of murals, depicting images from the Indian epics. Nataraja is brought here during festivals from the Kurumpalaveesar temple. Thetemple tree is called the Kurum Pala and the temple tank is called Chitranadhi. Nataraja is depicted with the Nritya Tandava posture.[18] |
the hymnists as Tillai came to be universally accepted as the place where the Lord dances in the Hall of Gold -Pon Ambalam
