Chidambaram, 23 December 2024. Next morning after Thanjavur. Same early start, totally different temple. 
This one is for Nataraja, Shiva as the dancer. No single granite tower stealing the sky. Instead: four huge painted gopurams, long courtyards, and the reflections in the tank.
The shrine is old. Chola kings later expanded it and treated it as a royal temple. Inscriptions here come from Chola, Pandya, and Vijayanagara times. Not sure of all the details, but from what I’ve read, they are temple records carved into stone.
The walls have the 108 dance poses from the Natya Shastra. Those poses later shaped Bharatanatyam.
Went in while the sun was still coming up. One of the towers was just a silhouette.
Inside, the courtyards are huge. Long stone paths, tall walls, smaller shrines tucked everywhere. Almost nobody around.
Then you reach the temple tank. Gopurams reflecting in the water. Quiet. Perfect.
