Below are photographs of the abhishekam and deeparathani performed on Lord Nataraja and the Goddess at the Arunachaleswarar Temple, 1000 Pillar Hall on Wednesday, January 11, 2017. Arudra Darshan is observed in the Tamil month of Margazhi (December–January). It takes place at the time of the full moon (along with Arudra Birth Star) and is the longest night of the year.
This function celebrates the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva, which is represented by the Nataraja form. The term 'Nataraj' means 'King of Dancers' (nata = dance; raja = king). Arudra denotes a red flame and Lord Siva has also a name called "Semporjyoti" or "Golden Red Flame," and thus Nataraja is the manifestation of Siva as a Light.
The cosmic dance of Lord Shiva represents five activities–Creation, Protection, Destruction, Embodiment and Release–thereby representing the continuous cycle of creation and destruction. It is believed that the energy from this dance of bliss (Ananda Tandavam) sustains the cosmos, and when Siva is finished with this dance, the Universe will end and a new one will begin.
This Festival is in particular celebrated in a grand manner in the five Sabhas of Sri Nataraja. Lord Shiva as Nataraja (Lord of the Dance) performs the Tandava–the dance in which the Universe is created, maintained, and resolved. The five places where Lord Nataraja performed His Tandavam are collectively known as Pancha Sabhas meaning Five Assembly Halls of Lord Nataraja.
(1) Kanakasabha (Gold) at Chidambaram, Ananda Tandavam (Dance)
(2) Velli Sabhai (Silver) at Madurai, Sandhya Tandavam (Dance)
(3) Ratnasabha (Ruby) at Tiruvalankadu , Oordhva Tandavam (Dance)
(4) Tamrasabha (Copper) at Tirunelveli, Muni Tandavam (Dance)
(5) Chitrasabha at Kutralam, Tripura Tandavam (Dance)
In this festival at Arunachaleswarar Temple, Abhishekam of Lord Nataraja takes place early in the morning and He and the Goddess then come outside amongst devotees. Only a few times a year is the statue of Lord Nataraja brought out of its permanent home at the 2nd Prakaram of Arunachaleswarar Temple.
For more information and photographs about the performance of this Festival at Arunachaleswarar Temple, please visit an earlier post at this link here.
