Kancheepuram: The Nexus of History, Spirituality, and Elegance
Kancheepuram — the land of a thousand temples — is not just any other south Indian town, but is the land that resonates with Dravidian culture and is a place with serenity filled in its soul and cosmic energy woven in its air, a sacred abode where Shiva-Shakti-Vaishnava beliefs go hand in hand, preaching the oneness of the ultimate energy that drives life. It is the very same glorious city that once witnessed the sovereignty of the Chola, Pallava, and the Vijayanagara empires, and a land where the sacred Srichakra was consecrated by Adi Shankaracharya, the torch bearer of the Advaita philosophy.
Kancheepuram, also called kanchi or kanjeevaram, is one of the sapta Mokshapuris in Bharathakanda (अयोध्या मथुरा माया काशी काञ्ची अवन्तिका | पुरी द्वारावती चैव सप्तैते मोक्षदायकाः ॥). It served as the capital of early Cholas and the Pallavas. Kavikulaguru -the preceptor of the poets-Kalidasa once mentioned, “Pushpeshu Jati. Purusheshu Vishnu. Nareeshu Rambha. Nagareshu Kanchi”, acclaiming Kancheepuram as the best among the cities of his time.
Tamil saint-poet Thirunavukkarasar described the city as “Kalviyil Karaillatha Kanchi, “ meaning that Kanchi is a place where education/skills are pursued without obstacles.
The Ekambareshwar temple
Being one of the Panchabhuta sthalas, Ekambareshwar represents the Earth element(Prithvi lingam). Built by the Vijayanagaras, the Rajagopuram stands nearly 180 feet tall, proudly representing their intricate skill in architecture and their command over the stone.
The legend has it that one day Devi Katyayani prayed to a saikatalinga (a shiva linga made of sand) under a mango tree and to test her devotion, Lord Shiva ordered the Vegavathi river to flood the area. At that moment Devi Katyayani embraced her Shiva linga. Moved by this sincere gesture, Lord Shiva accepted Shakti in the form of Kamakshi and the tree under which Shakti prayed for Shiva stood as a representation of the Vedas with four branches, each branch bearing mangoes of different taste and this tree can still be seen in the temple.
Atthi Varadar and the Varadaraja Swami temple
Varadaraja Perumal temple is of the 108 divyadesams (the most sacred abodes in Vaishnavism) and the legend has it that Lord vishnu was worshipped as Varadaraja at this temple by Lord Brahma in Krita Yuga, Gajendran in Treta Yuga, Brihaspati in Dwapara Yuga and Adisesha in Kali Yuga. Thirukkachi Nambigal and Ramanujacharya are some ardent devotees of this temple.
In Sanskrit ‘ka’ means Brahma and ‘anchi’ means worship. Legend has it that Lord Brahma once severely disturbed, decides to perform penance on the banks of the river Ganga. While doing so a divine voice instructs Brahma to perform 1000 yagas to overcome his burdens, and hence Brahma decides to perform the yaga at satyavrata shketra(present-day Kanchipuram), where performing one Yaga is equal to performing a thousand. However, Devi Saraswati isn’t pleased with Brahma’s actions due to certain misunderstandings and hence decides to disrupt the yaga in the form of the Vegavathi river and starts to flood the area. Lord Brahma then invoked Vishnu, who appeared as Yathotkari Perumal and lay across the river, guarding the yaga. Once the yaga was completed, upon Brahma’s request, Lord Vishnu then agrees to bless the devotees as Varadara (one who grants varas/boons), and an idol of Varadaraja was carved by the craftsman of gods — Vishwakarma — out of an Atthi(fig) tree, hence the name Atthivaradara.
The idol present today in the garbhagriha isn’t the original idol. The later kings enshrined it, and the original idol carved by Vishwakarma is kept under the Ananda Pushkarini(pond) in the temple, which will be taken out for only 48 days, once in every 40 years. Our ancestors introduced this custom to protect the sacred idol from foreign invasions during their times and the tradition continues till day.
We all must have certainly heard of the golden and silver lizards on the roof of Varadaraja temple, touching which, relieves us from all sins and evil influence. There are a few stories related to them, the first says that one day when two disciples of Gautama Maharishi offered a vessel of water for their guru, a lizard fell into the vessel. Angered by the unmindfulness of the disciples, Gautama cursed them to turn into lizards but upon their request, he said they would be relieved from the curse if they worship Varadaraja. As instructed, the disciples prayed to Varadaraja and as a result, their souls were liberated from the mortal world and their material bodies were turned into gold and silver.
The other tale is of lord Indra being cursed by Sarawati to turn into an elephant and he was relieved from the curse by the divine power of Varadaraja, hence this palace is also called Hastigiri ( the elephant hill). Indra is said to remain as the Hastigiri hillock on top of which the Lord has been enshrined and along with the Sun and the Moon, the representations of two lizards that witnessed the entire episode were installed on the upper wall of the temple by Indra.
The Kamakshi Amman temple
This is the place where the spectacular sculptures and carvings on the pillars take you to the Pallava era, with the air around filled with the scent of flowers and karpuram, the voice of the archakas reverberating in your ears and your mind being in the most pristine state that you never experienced before, in between the illumination of the diyas and the hue of kumkum, we see the most serene and angelic idol of Devi Kamakshi Amma, the mother of the universe with a smile her on lips appearing as pleasant as a lotus and with the most generous and alluring eyes. Ka denotes Saraswati, Ma denotes Lakshmi and akshi means eyes, Kamakshi means the one who possesses Saraswati and Lakshmi in her enchanting eyes.
Legend has it that, after taking birth to kill Asura Bhandasur, Devi sat at this very same place taking “Kanya Swarup.” The idol is swayambhu, which signifies that it has appeared from the earth naturally and hasn’t been created or sculpted. She is believed to be present in the temple in three forms- Sthula, Sukshama, and Shunya.The sanctum’s four walls represent four Vedas, and Gayatri Mandap’s 24 pillars represent the 24 beejakshar of the Gayatri mantra.
MukaPanchaSathi is a very popular devotional text in Sanskrit and is dedicated to Devi Kamakshi. It consists of 500 verses -Arya, Padaravinda, Kataksha, Mandasmita shatakas — and glorifies the divine beauty of Goddess Kamakshi. It is believed that the text was composed by a deaf and dumb, helpless devotee, who was blessed by Kamakshi Amman to be a great poet.
Kancheepuram is one of the Shakti Peethas, where the nabhi(naval) of Sati Devi fell. This place is also believed to be the Nabhistan of the earth, also representing the sacred connection between mother and fetus.
Rishi Durvasa, was once cursed and he overcame the curse by worshipping Kamakshi, he also installed the Sri Chakra here. He wrote Saubhagya Chintamani Kalpa also called Durvasa Samhita. In this text, he laid down the detailed pooja-vidhi, or the way to worship Kamakshi. Even today the worship and rituals are done exactly as written in his text Saubhagya Chintamani.
The textures of tradition: Six yards of perfection
The silk of Kanchipuram has earned global fame for its pure mulberry silk and the beautiful motifs (golden jari designs on the saree). What makes the Kancheepuram silk saree unique is the fact that the body of the saree, border, and pallu are woven separately and then joined together using the loom. Another peculiar trait of this silk is that the thread is produced by twisting 2 or 3 yarns together which adds to the weight of the saree.
The weavers of Kancheepuram are said to be the descendants of sage Markandeya (the master weaver of the Devas) and they perceive their art as a sacred responsibility of representing their culture, and beliefs. The sarees they weave have the power to evoke a sense of sacredness and make women embrace femininity. These motifs are not just designs on a saree but are manifestations of dharmic elements, woven with care and attention to detail. They add a sense of sacredness to the saree, elevating it from just a piece of clothing to a representation of our culture.
These motifs represent rasagnatha of the weaver and are inspired by the temple sculptures. The weavers claim that the temples in Kancheepuram are an abundant source of gorgeous designs from the iruthala-pakshi to the yazhi, from the Makara to the peacock; all designs are primarily rooted in the temple sculptures made in the Chola and Vijayanagara ages.
The legacy of Kancheepuram weavers is unparalleled; their perfection in the ability to transform mere threads into artworks adorn women from all walks of life, and the way they’ve treasured their traditions and passed them down through generations shows that they are a testament to the timeless craftsmanship.
AUTHOR: Ujwala Desu, EC22B1126: I am a great admirer of Indian culture and temple architecture. The knowledge of our forefathers in the fields of science and geometry always amaze me and I love to gather information about myths, stories and legends about our temples and rituals. I find a great sense of self-satisfaction in decoding the messages and secrets hidden in them.
