हिंदीOn this day
Standing

Kamakshi Amman Temple, Kanchipuram

The seat of Devi Kamakshi, seated in padmasana, and in Kanchi the only shrine of the Devi, for all other temples in the town are said to have none of their own. Adi Shankaracharya installed the Shri Chakra before her.

Built: Pallava-era foundations; present shrine largely of the 14th–17th centuriesWhere: Tamil NaduDeity: Mata Kamakshi, as Lalita Tripurasundari12.84° N, 79.70° E
  1. 14th–17th century
Photo: Pinakpani · CC BY 4.0

01The Devi of the three eyes of love

Kamakshi sits in yoga, holding a sugarcane bow, flower arrows, noose and goad, the four weapons of Lalita in the Lalita Sahasranama. The temple tradition says she did tapas here to win Shiva, the same katha told at Ekambareswarar. Before her lies the Shri Chakra, which the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham holds was installed by Adi Shankaracharya to temper her fierce aspect. The Peetham’s acharyas have been closely tied to this temple for generations, and its pujas follow Shakta Agamas.

02Golden vimana, silver chariot

The vimana over the sanctum is covered with gold. The main festivals are the Brahmotsavam in Masi (February–March) and Navaratri. The Pallava kings, whose capital this was, are credited with the earliest shrine, but the present walls, mandapas and gopurams are of the Vijayanagara and Nayak periods. Kanchi silk weavers still bring their first sari of the season to the Devi.

The life of this place

  1. 14th–17th centuryThe present enclosure, mandapas and gopurams are built.
Visiting

In the centre of town, close to the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham’s math.

People

Kanchi Paramacharya (Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati)Acharya
20 May 1894 – 8 January 1994

Kanchi Paramacharya (Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati)

68th Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham

Nearby

Ulagalantha Perumal Temple, KanchipuramStanding
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Ulagalantha Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram

The temple of Trivikrama in Kanchipuram, where a murti about 35 feet tall shows Vishnu with one foot raised to the heavens, the moment Bali’s gift was taken in three strides. Four Divya Desams are worshipped within its walls.

Pavalavannar Perumal Temple, Thiruppavalavannam (Kanchipuram)Standing
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Pavalavannar Perumal Temple, Thiruppavalavannam (Kanchipuram)

A west-facing temple in Kanchi where Vishnu is the colour of coral. Across the road stands his twin, Pachaivannar, the green Lord, and devotees visit the two together.

Vaikuntha Perumal Temple, KanchipuramStanding
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Vaikuntha Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram

A Pallava stone temple whose three sanctums, one above another, hold Vishnu seated, reclining and standing, and whose cloister walls carry the story of the Pallava kings in sculpture with label inscriptions.

Kanchipuram, city of learningStanding
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Kanchipuram, city of learning

One of the seven Mokshapuris and the Pallava capital, whose ghatika, a college of Vedic learning, drew students from across the south. Shaiva, Vaishnava, Jain and Buddhist teachers all taught here.