Chitra Sabha

Courtallam

Temple Circuit · reading guide · 8 September 2026

Explore and plan this visit

Start with the story

One of Nataraja’s five dance sabhas, Chitra Sabha gives painting a central place in the encounter with the dancing Lord. Notice the copper roof, carved wooden doors and painted sacred accounts.

Sthala puranam

One of Nataraja’s five dance sabhas, Chitra Sabha gives painting a central place in the encounter with the dancing Lord. It stands separately to the north of the main Kutralanathar temple.

The people and craft behind the temple

Notice the copper roof, carved wooden doors and painted sacred accounts. Read the paintings as a sequence rather than expecting the layout of an ordinary stone sanctum. The building’s precise dating is omitted because government accounts differ.

Plan your visit

Allow time for worship and the discoveries below. Follow posted access and photography rules.

Discoveries to take with you

Painting hall

Read the images as a sequence around Nataraja’s dance; Chitra Sabha makes painting central to the visit.

Entrance and roof

Notice carved wooden doors and the copper roof. This is a separate visit north of Kutralanathar, not an inner room there.

Sources

Tenkasi district · Tamil temple account · Tenkasi district · Sacred founding account