Temples
Tamil Nadu is known as : Land of Temples. Nearly 33000 ancient temples - many at least 600 to 800 years old, scattered all over the land. Studded with complex architecture, variety of sculptures and rich inscriptions - capture the very essence of the culture and heritage of Tamil land, historically more than 2000 years old.
ArakkonamKanchipuramThakkolamThiruvalangaduGovindavadi AgaramThiruthaniSholinghur |
KanchipuramEkambareswarar TempleName of the Temple: Arulmigu Kanchi Ekambaranathar Thirukoil
Built By: Pallava, Cholla Kings Year: Around 600 AD History: This vast temple is one of the most ancient in India having been in existence since at least 600 AD. Second century AD Tamil poetry speaks of Kama kottam, and the Kumara kottam (currently the Kamakashi Amman temple and the Subramanya temple).Initially temple was built by Pallavas .The existing structure then, was pulled down and rebuilt by the later Chola Kings. The Cholas, who came later, also made a few contributions to the temple. Architecture: The temple covers an area of over 23 acres (93,000 m2). Reaching a height of 57 meters, the temple's Raja gopuram (the entrance tower to the temple) is one of the tallest in South India and was built by the Vijayanagar King, Krishnadevaraya and is an ultimate testimonial for the Vishwakarmas sthapathis. One notable feature of the temple is the Aayiram Kaal Mandapam, or the "hallway with a thousand pillars", which was built by the Vijayanagar Kings. The temple's inner walls are decorated with an array of 1,008 Siva lingams. The sthala-virutcham is a 3,500 year old mango tree whose branches are said to yield four different types of mangoes.
Kamakshi Amman TempleName of the Temple: Kamakshi Amman Temple
Built By: Pallava, Chola Kings Year: Around 6 C.E History: The Kamakshi Temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Kamakshi, one of the forms of the goddess Parvati. It is located in the historic city of Kanchipuram, near Chennai, India and is popularly associated with Sankaracharya, one of the greatest Hindu gurus. The Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, the Akilandeswari temple in Thiruvanaikaval near Tiruchirappalli and this Kamakshi are the important centers of worship of Parvati as the mother goddess, in the state of Tamil Nadu. The temple was most probably built by the Pallava kings, whose capital was Kanchipuram, around 6 C.E. The main deity, Kamakshi, is seated in a majestic Padmasana, an yogic posture signifying peace and prosperity, instead of the traditional standing pose. The goddess holds a sugarcane bow and bunch of flowers in the lower two of her arms and has a pasha (lasso), an ankusha (goad) in her upper two arms. There is also a parrot perched near the flower bunch. There are no other Parvati temples in the city of Kanchipuram, apart from this temple, which is unusual in a traditional city that has hundreds of traditional temples. There are various legends that account for this fact. One of them according to Kamakshivilasa is that the Goddess had to absorb all the other shakthi forms to give a boon to Kama, the Hindu god of love. Another legend attributes it to the Raja Rajeswari pose of the deity that signifies an absolute control over the land under the deity's control. Legend has it that Kamakshi offered worship to a Shivalingam made out of sand, under a mango tree and gained Shiva's hand in marriage.
Varadharaja Perumal TempleName of the Temple: Varadaraja Perumal Kovil
Other Names: Thiru Katchi, Aththigiri, Kovil, Vezhamalai Built By: Chollas Year: 1053 History: Varadharaja Perumal Temple or Hastagiri or Attiyuran is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu located in the holy city of Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu, India. It is one of the Divya Desams, the 108 temples of Vishnu believed to have been visited by the 12 poet saints, or Alwars. Varadharaja Perumal Temple was originally built by the Cholas in 1053 and it was expanded during the reigns of the great Chola kings Kulottunga Chola I and Vikrama Chola. In the 14th century another wall and a gopura was built by the later Chola kings. It is an ancient temple and one of the 108 divyadesams, the holy abodes of Vishnu. It is located in part of Kanchipuram called the Vishnu Kanchi that is a home for a lot of famous Vishnu temples, including this one. One of the greatest Hindu scholars, Ramanuja is believed to have resided in this temple. Varadharaja Perumal Temple is a huge one on a 23-acre (93,000 m2) complex and shows the architectural skills of ancient vishwakarma sthapathis in temple architecture and is famous for its holiness and ancient history. Another significant thing about the temple are beautiful Carved lizards and platted with gold, over the sanctum. The temple is famous for its kodai. During the bhramotsavam in Vaigasi (May/June) thousands throng the temple and that increases at least by a two-fold during the garuda vahanam and ther. On normal days the temple is generally free except for some locals and a few tourists.
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