shaivas in south india, especially tamil nadu, consider chidambaram as the heart of the world and temple of temples. although all temples are referred to as kovil, the holy city of chidambaram is the true kovil. all recitations of the thirumurai (12 holy scriptures of shaivism) begin and end with the phrase "thirucchittrambalam" (the auspicious holy of holies: chidambaram). vaishnavites on the other hand consider sri rangam as the holiest city and refer to it as the earthly vaikunta.