Arudhra Darshan Festival, which is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Devi Parvathi takes place on the full moon night (along with Arudhra Birth Star) in the Tamil month of Margazhi and this is also the longest night in a year (December – January). It is essentially a Saivite festival and celebrates the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva, which is represented by the Nataraja form. Arudhra signifies the golden red flame and Shiva performs the dance in the form of this red flamed light. The cosmic dance of Lord Shiva represents five activities viz: Creation, Protection, Destruction, Embodiment and Release. In essence, it represents the continuous cycle of creation and destruction. This cosmic dance takes place in every particle and is the source of all energy. The cosmic dance of Lord Shiva is enacted on this day. Arudhra Darshan celebrates this ecstatic dance of Lord Shiva. The festival is mainly observed in the Tamil speaking world. This most important Arudhra Darshan festival takes place in all Shiva Temples. All the temples around the world with Lord Nataraja and Shiva as deity perform the Arudhra Darshan.

With a view to revive and consolidate this tradition a concerted effort was started in 2010 in the form of annual event, Natyanjali with the active cooperation of the Karur temple administration. The temple provides an ideal backdrop for the event as the performances take place in the vicinity of the holy sanctum. Over the years Natyanjali has grown in status developing into International Festival presenting many styles of Indian classical Dance. Participation and response have acquired International dimension. The Five Days event now features about 300 to 400 dancers. The festival is organized by the Trust known as ‘Karur Natyanjali Trust’.