Govindaraja Perumal Temple  Govindaraja Perumal Temple or Thiruchitrakoodam in Chidambaram in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. The temple is inside the premises of Thillai Nataraja Temple, constructed in the Tamil architecture . The temple is glorified in the "Divya Prabandha", the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 "Divyadesam" dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Govindaraja and his consort Lakshmi as Pundarikavalli. A major shrine of Lord Shiva worship since the classical period, there have been several renovations and offerings to Chidambaram by the Pallava, Chola, Pandya, Vijayanagara and Chera royals in the ancient and pre-medieval periods. The temple as it stands now is mainly of the 12th and 13th centuries, with later additions in similar style. The Govindaraja idol is believed to have been relocated outside the temple complex during the period of Kulothunga Chola II and reinstated later by king Krishnappa Nayak (1564–1572). Six daily rituals and two major yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Chittirai festival, celebrated during the Tamil month of "Chittirai" (March–April), is the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Chidambaram is one of the many temple towns in the state which is named after the grooves, clusters or forests dominated by a particular variety of a tree or shrub and the same variety of tree or shrub sheltering the presiding deity. The town used to be called Thillai, following Thillaivanam, derived from the mangrove of "Tillai" trees ("Exocoeria agallocha") that grow here and the nearby Pichavaram wetlands. As per Hindu legend, once Shiva and Parvati wanted to judge who among them was a better dancer and wanted their sons Vinayaka and Murugan to judge. Both of them judged in favour of Paravati, after which Shiva was not satisfied. He wanted Brahma to judge and the competition was held in Thiruvalangadu. Brahma was still not satisfied and he wanted Vishnu to judge who wanted the competition in Tillaivanam.