The site became the capital of Cholas in the 10th century, and they renamed it to Chidambaram and built the current temple for their family deity of Nataraja Shiva. The word "Chidambaram" comes from the Tamil word "Chitrambalam" (also spelled "Chithambalam") meaning "wisdom atmosphere". The roots are "citt" or "chitthu" means "consciousness or wisdom", while and "ampalam" means "atmosphere". This composite word comes from its association with Shiva Nataraja, the cosmic dancer and the cultural atmosphere for arts. The word Chidambaram is translated by James Lochtefeld as "clothed in thought".