Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram – Inscriptions
Even though the history of the temple goes back to
the Prabhandas and Thevaram, that is the Pallava period, the earliest known inscriptions are only
that of Rajendra Chola and Kulothunga
I followed by Vikrama
Chola and other later
rulers. The Nataraja temple inscriptions are notable for mentioning a
library of manuscripts in temple premises. Two inscriptions dated to the
early 13th-century mention re-organization of old temple library. According to
Hartmut Scharfe, the older library mentioned may date to early
12th-century. The inscriptions, states Scharfe, recite that the temple
employed twenty librarians, of which eight copied old manuscripts to create new
editions, two verified the copy matched the original and four managed the
proper storage of the manuscripts.
There are many Chola inscriptions in the temple, both in
Tamil and Sanskrit. These are attributed to Rajendra
Chola I (1012-1044 CE), Kulothunga Chola I (1070-1120 CE), Vikrama
Chola (1118-1135 CE), Rajadhiraja Chola II (1163 -1178 CE), Kulothunga Chola III (1178-1218 CE) and Rajaraja Chola III (1216-1256 CE).[101] Pandya inscriptions date from Thirubhuvana
Chakravarthi Veerapandiyan, Jataavarman Thirubhuvana Chakravarthi Sundarapandyan
(1251-1268 CE) and Maravarman Thirubhuvana Chakravarthi Veerakeralanaagiya Kulasekara
Pandiyan (1268-1308 CE).
Pallava inscriptions are available for king Avani Aala
Pirandhaan Kopperum Singha (1216-1242 CE). Vijayanagara Kings mentioned in
inscriptions are Veeraprathaapa Kiruttina Theva Maharaya (1509-1529 CE),
Veeraprathaapa Venkata Deva Maharaya, Sri Ranga Theva Maharaya, Achyuta Deva Maharaya
(1529-1542 CE) and Veera Bhooopathiraayar. One of the inscriptions from the
descendant of Cheraman Perumal Nayanar, Ramavarma Maharaja has been found. In
the middle of the 18th century this temple was renovated with the support of
Dutch merchants, who had a trading post in nearby Porto Nuovo. According to an
inscription on copper plates they donated a share of their profit for this
purpose.