Akasha Lingam

 

Vande Natrajam Natya kala sasthra swaroopam |
Sivakama Sundari Sahitham Chidhambarasam Namamyagam ||

Natarajar - in Akash-Lingam has his abode in Chidhambaram-kshetram in Tamil nadu. Lord Siva is in the form of empty Space, one of the five elements. Here Lord Siva is called Anandha Thandaveswar (The one in the cosmic dance of bliss). This temple has been well known for centuries. But when Hiranya Chakravarthi of Kashmir visited Chidhambaram about 500 AD Then it became more popular. The legend says that the Kashmir king was cured of leprosy by a sip of the Sivaganga 'Pushkarini thirtham' ( water from the tank) in this temple. The four devotees of Lord Siva Appar, Sundharar, Sambandar, and Manikkavasagar sang eulogizing the lord in this temple. This was the place where contrary to the age old practice the low caste Nandanar. Pathanjali and Thiruneelakandar were given prmission to pray at the sanctum. The Chola king Parantaka I donated lot of wealth to this temple and also built the golden roof to this temple. He maintained the glory of saivism at its zenith. The north Tower was built by Krishnadeva Raya of Vijayanagaram and the east tower by Sundra Pandyan of Madurai. This temple is built of granite in an area of about 40 acres. It has massive walls with four tall Towers in four directions. There is a pond called Sivaganga theertham It measures about 175x100 feet and is on the northern side . The North & South towers are approximately 170 feet high. There are 108 'Bharatha Natya' models ( dance poses ) from Natya Sastra fixed in these towers. It has five principal 'sabhas' known as Kanakasabha, Chit sabha, Nritya sabha, Deva sabha and Raja sabha. The idol of Nataraja is enshrined in the Chit sabha. Behind this idol, is a black screen, which is considered to cover the Akasa Lingam. There is no Lingam idol but the belief is that there is an invisible Lingam ( because it is blank space) with golden Bilva garlands. ( The meaning is :there is everything but nothing.) There are five silver plated steps to reach the Chit Sabha, representing the Panchakshara Jabam- Na-ma-si-va-ya. The doors are embossed with the images of saints Vyagrapada and Patanjali. These are supposed to have been blessed by mere sight of Lord Nataraja. It is said that Lord Vishnu witnessed the scene of their salvation. The sanctum of consort Sivakama Sundari is on the left side of Lord Nataraja . There are four linga images in chitsaba. 1. Ratnasabhapati (Nataraja of Ruby) 2. Chandramauleeswara (the cristal lingam) 3. Swarnakarshana Bhairavar and 4. Mukhalingam. The Kanaka sabha (golden Hall) is next to chit sabha and all pujas are offered in this saba. These two Halls(sabhas) have golden roof. The luminous Lord Nataraja idol in Urdhava Tandava pose is in Nirutya Saba. A chariot drawn by horses and Sarabheswara images are also installed in Nirutya Saba. The Deva Sabha is a spacious hall meant for the celebration of important festivals . The Raja sabha is huge and has one thousand pillars. Tradition says that Sekhizhar recited the Peria Puranam here. Two important annual festivals are the Arudra Darisanam in December/January and the second is Aani Tirumanjanam at the end of June.

Om hreem Namasivaya

Location 

 Chidhambaram is about 300 kilo
metors from Chennai.