Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the first half of the lunar month of Phalguna. The festival commemorates the wedding of Shiva and Parvati, and the occasion that Shiva performs his divine dance, called the Tandava.
Meditating Shiva statue on Maha-Shivaratri
Many legends explain the significance of Maha Shivaratri, one being it is the night of Shiva's dance.
Maha Shivaratri in Maharashtra
Pashupatinath Temple
Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram
Thillai Nataraja Temple, also referred as the Chidambaram Nataraja Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Nataraja, the form of Shiva as the lord of dance. This temple is located in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. This temple has ancient roots and a Shiva shrine existed at the site when the town was known as Thillai. Chidambaram, the name of the city literally means "stage of consciousness". The temple architecture symbolizes the connection between the arts and spirituality, creative activity and the divine. The temple wall carvings display all the 108 karanas from the Natya Shastra by Bharata Muni, and these postures form a foundation of Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance.
A view of north-side gopuram and pond of the temple
The main gopuram of Chidambaram Natarajar temple
Sivaganga pool and gopuram, ca. 1800-1850.
Nataraja – Shiva as the cosmic dancer, inspired the 10th-century Chola kings to rebuild the Chidambaram temple with stone and gold. A silver Nataraja, not Shivalinga, is the principal icon in this temple.