Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Through a door north of the Nritta Sabha you enter the inner courtyard. In front of you
is the Kanaka Sabha , a pavilion where many temple rituals are performed. At puja times de-
votees crowd into and around the pavilion to witness the rites performed by the temple's
hereditary Brahmin priests, the Dikshithars, who shave off some of their hair but grow the
rest of it long and tie it into topknots.
Behind (north of) the Kanaka Sabha is the innermost sanctum, the golden-roofed Chit
Sabha , which holds the temple's central bronze image of Nataraja - Shiva the cosmic dan-
cer, ending one cycle of creation, beginning another and uniting all opposites.
Priests may offer to guide you around the temple complex. Since they work as a kind of
cooperative to fund the temple, you may wish to support this magnificent building by hir-
ing one (for anything between ?30 and ?300, depending on their language skills and
knowledge).
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