Mandirs in Kanchipuramਕਾਂਚੀਪੁਰਮ ਦੇ ਮੰਦਰ

Kanchipuram, about 72 kilometres south-west of Chennai on the Vegavathi river, is the city of a thousand temples, and its mandirs fall into a pattern no other Indian city matches. Its three greatest shrines honour three different traditions side by side: Shiva at the Ekambareswarar Temple, the Goddess at the Kamakshi Amman Temple, and Vishnu at the Varadharaja Perumal Temple, a trio devotees call the Mumurtivasam, the abode of the three. A fourth shrine, the Kailasanathar Temple, is the oldest of all, a Pallava sandstone temple of about 700 CE. This guide covers the four together. Jugti's full entries for the first three are linked below; Kailasanathar is introduced here in full and will receive its own entry in time.

Ekambareswarar Temple: Shiva as the earth itself

The Ekambareswarar Temple is one of the largest temple complexes in India and the Shaiva heart of the city. Tradition counts it among the Pancha Bhoota Sthalams, the five Shiva temples of the elements, and here the element is earth: Shiva is worshipped as the Prithvi Lingam, the lingam of earth. The temple tree, the sthala vriksham, is a mango tree said to be 3,500 years old, whose four branches are said to give four different kinds of mango. There is no separate shrine for Parvati inside the complex: local belief holds that the Kamakshi temple nearby is itself the consort's home for Ekambareswarar, which ties the city's two Shaiva and Shakta giants into one story. A small Vishnu shrine inside the complex, Nilathingal Thundam Perumal, is itself counted among the 108 Divya Desams.

Kamakshi Amman Temple: the Goddess who rules Kanchi

The Kamakshi Amman Temple honours the goddess Kamakshi, a form of the supreme goddess of Shaktism, and it is ranked among the principal Shakta Pithas of India. The temple stands on about 5 acres. In the sanctum the goddess sits in a seated posture, flanked by images of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, with a Sri Yantra placed before her that tradition credits to Adi Shankaracharya. Smaller shrines around the sanctum honour Bangaru Kamakshi, Adi Shankara and Saraswati. The temple's annual festival comes in the Tamil month of Masi, from mid February to mid March, and its chariot and float festivals draw the whole city out. The temple is administered in connection with the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, the monastic seat whose head serves as hereditary trustee.

Varadharaja Perumal Temple: Vishnu on the elephant hill

The Varadharaja Perumal Temple stands in Vishnu Kanchi, the eastern quarter given to Vishnu temples, and it is one of the 108 Divya Desams sung by the Alvar saints. The grounds cover about 23 acres, with three outer precincts, 32 shrines and hundreds of pillared halls. The temple was renovated by the Cholas in 1053 CE and carries around 350 inscriptions from many dynasties. Its wooden image of Varadharaja, made from the sacred fig tree and kept preserved under water in the temple tank, is brought out for worship only once every 40 years. A high point of the carving is a huge stone chain cut from a single stone, and two gilded lizards on the ceiling near the sanctum, linked in legend to two cursed disciples who found release here. The philosopher Ramanuja is believed to have resided in this temple.

Kailasanathar Temple: the oldest temple in the city

West of the city centre stands the Kailasanathar Temple, built around 700 CE by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman II, with the front facade and gopuram completed by his son Mahendravarman III. It is honoured as the first structural temple built in South India: where earlier shrines were cut into rock or built of wood, this one was raised in stone, sandstone over granite foundations, and it set the pattern for temples that followed. The main sanctum holds a 16 sided black granite lingam, and 58 small shrines, one for many forms of Shiva, are built into the niches of the high compound wall. Its inner walls carry some of the earliest and best Hindu mural painting in Tamil Nadu. Local tradition says Rajaraja Chola I visited this temple and drew inspiration from it for the great Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur. The temple is now maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.

How do the Kanchipuram temples fit together on a visit?

The old city divides itself for the visitor into Shiva Kanchi in the west, around Ekambareswarar, Kamakshi and Kailasanathar, and Vishnu Kanchi in the east, around Varadharaja. Kanchipuram was the capital of the Pallava kingdom between the 4th and 9th centuries, and it is counted among the seven sacred cities, the Sapta Puri, that tradition says grant liberation. All four shrines in this guide are classic work of the Dravida style, from Kailasanathar's early sandstone experiment to the great gopurams raised over the later temples. Pilgrims often add the city's handwoven silk saris to the same trip: the weaving streets around the temples are as famous as the shrines. This guide is part of Jugti's mandirs in India collection.

All Mandirs in Kanchipuram

• Ekambareswarar Temple : Shiva as the earth lingam of the Pancha Bhoota Sthalams, with its ancient mango tree and thousand pillared hall
• Kamakshi Amman Temple : the great Shakta Pitha of the seated goddess Kamakshi, on about 5 acres at the city's sacred centre
• Varadharaja Perumal Temple : the Divya Desam of Vishnu on Hastagiri, with the wooden deity raised from the tank once in 40 years
• Kailasanathar Temple: the Pallava sandstone temple of about 700 CE, the oldest surviving temple in Kanchipuram, with 58 small shrines in its compound wall (full entry coming)