VISIT TO THE TEMPLE TOWN OF KANCHEEPURAM

Recently, I made a two-day visit to the Temple Town of  Kancheepuram between 1^st and 3^rd November 2022. 

Despite continuous rains, Darshanam at various temples for two days during my visit was so blissful that I feel so blessed to have undertaken this tour and here I share the details.

 On reaching Kanchipuram around 3 pm, I checked in at Yatri Niwas - just about 50 mts from the eastern gate of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Kamakshi Amman Temple, and immediately visited the temple after freshening up at the Lodge.  

The Temple which is about 1600 years old, is dedicated to the goddess Kamakshi, one of the highest aspects of Adi Shakti. Its construction is credited to the Pallava kings, whose capital was in the same city.

 This temple, along with the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai the and Akhilandeshwari temple in Thiruvanaikaval near Tiruchirappalli are the important centers of Goddess worship in the state of Tamil Nadu. The other important places of Worship of Shakti, as we all know,  is Vishalakshi temple in Kashi. 

The image of the main deity, Kamakshi, is seated in a Padmasana, a posture signifying peace and prosperity, instead of the traditional standing pose. 

                                    
The goddess holds a sugarcane bow and bunch of five flowers in the lower two of her arms and has a pasha (lasso), an ankusha (goad) in her upper two arms. A parrot perches near the flower bunch. There are no other exclusive goddess temples in the city of Kanchipuram, apart from this one, which is unusual in a city that has hundreds of traditional temples.

There are various legends that account for the sthala purana or the Historical Significance.

One such account is that in Kailasa, playfully, Goddess Parvati Devi closed the eyes of Lord Shiva which resulted in total darkness in the tirloka.  So, as prayaschitam (atonement), Parvathi Devi took avatar in Bhulokam and did penance in Kanchipuram to get married to Lord Shiva.

According to a local legends, Adi Shankaracharya established the Sri Chakra in this Kamakshi Devi temple in the trough-like structure in that shrine.

A Maha Kumba Abhishekam or the consecration was also held in February 2017.

As is the practice in almost all the South Indian temples, every day, around 4.30 am, the temple rituals starts with the Gau (sacred cow) Pooja and Gaja (elephant) Pooja followed by Abhishekm and Alankaram.  I am very fortunate and blessed to have had this early morning darshan on the 2nd day of my visit by the grace of the Goddess. 

On the first day, after having darshan of Ammbal (Maa), I proceed to the temple of  Lord Ekambareswarar  which is about 2 kms from Kamakshi temple. 

 

This temple dedicated to the deity Shiva and is worshiped in the form of a Lingam. It is significant to the Hindu sect of Saivism as one of the temples associated with the five elements, the Pancha Bhoota Stalas, and specifically the element of earth, or Prithvi. Shiva is worshiped as Ekambareswarar or Ekambaranathar, and is represented by the lingam, with his idol referred to as Prithvi lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Elavarkuzhali.

 While the temple construction dates back to 6^th Century, the present masonry structure was built during the Chola dynasty in the 9th century, while later expansions are attributed to Vijayanagar rulers.

Legend has it that once Goddess Parvati, the consort of Shiva, wanted to atone herself from the mistake of closing Lord Shiva’s eyes playfully in Kailasa, by doing penance under the temple's ancient Mango tree near Vegavathi river. She made a Linga out of sand - (Prithvi Lingam) for worshiping. When her devotion was put to test by the Lord by the threatening of over flow of Vegavati River, Devi Parvathi is believed to have embraced the lingam from being washed away. 

Touched by the gesture, the Lord is believed to have given darshan to Parvathi and united with her.

In this context he is referred to as “Tazhuva kuzhainthaar” (He who melted in Her embrace") in Tamil.

The sanctum sanctorum contains the lingam – the Moolavar -the main deity, behind this there is a depiction of Shiva Parvathi in Kalyana Kolam or Wedding mural, in a plaque with Shiva depicted as Tazhuva kuzhainthaar and Parvathi as Elavar Kuzha.

Since the Lingam was made by Parvathi Devi herself, and that too out of sand, even the Priests of the temple do not touch the lingam and no Abhishekam is performed for the lingam ie. The moolavar or the main deity.  

The Lingam is also called “Theenda Thirumeni” in Tamil, meaning “The One who has not been touched”

There is no separate shrine for Parvati within the temple complex as with all other Shiva temples in Kanchipuram.

And this is the only temple to have both Shiva and Vishnu in the same complex. There is a small shrine for Vishnu named Nilathingal Thundam Perumal as he is believed to have helped Parvathi when her devotion was being tested and is also a witness to the marriage of Shiv and Parvathi here.

The sthala-viruksham or temple tree, under which Goddess Parvathi is believed to have done penance is believed to be a 3,500-year-old mango tree whose branches are said to yield four different types of mangoes from its four branches - representing four Vedas.

Observing that the old Mango tree was perishing, the tree has been clone made from the original tree by Indian geneticists. under the supervision of the then Secretary of Agriculture Department of Kanchipuram Distt. the While the old tree is also preserved in the temple with proper care, the cloned tree can be seen presently in the temple.

                                             

There is also a Sahasra Lingam shrine with one thousand small lingams etched on the body of a big Lingam icon in the temple Praharam. (Around the Sanctum)

The legend also has it that Lord Rama did pooja here to ward away the sin (Brahmahathi dosham) due to his killing of Raavan (a Brahmin by birth).

Here there is no salary from the govt to the priest. They all come from the familial lineage and are supposed to seek biksha from the devotees. 

Please note that I have sourced the information from direct talks with the Priests of some of the temples, the locals and also from some valuable information from other bloggers.   

I also visited other temples Viz. Kailasanadar Temple, Ulagandaar Temple, Varadaraja Perumal temple and the Sri Matam of Shankarachaya.   I shall give a separate account of the visit to these places shortly.

                                                                   SHUBHAM