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Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu · 11.3979°, 79.6955°
A Shakta temple on the northern edge of Chidambaram built in the thirteenth century by the Kadava chieftain Kopperunchingan, holding the goddess in both a benign four-faced form and a fierce Kali form. Its thirteen-day Vaikasi Thiruvizha is the principal festival.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
Kali is said to have lost a dance contest to Shiva at Chidambaram when he performed the urdhva tandava, and to have withdrawn in anger to settle outside the town.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Kadava
Answers only from cited records
Opening the line…