Kāñcīpuram

City of a thousand temples · Tamil Nadu

Kāñcīpuram, the only southern city of the Sapta Purī, was a capital of the Pallavas and a great centre of learning. It is traditionally divided into Śiva Kāñcī and Viṣṇu Kāñcī, and is home to the goddess Kāmākṣī (see the Śakti Pīṭha section).

Major temples include Ekāmbareśvara, the earth-element shrine among the Pañca Bhūta Sthalas; Varadarāja Perumāḷ, one of the Vaiṣṇava Divya Deśams; and the elegant Pallava-era Kailāsanātha temple. The Kāñcī Kāmakoṭi Pīṭha is here, and the city is famous for its silk saris. November to February is the most comfortable season.

Tradition says Pārvatī came to Kāñcī to do penance and worshipped a liṅga she made of sand beneath a mango tree. Śiva tested her by sending a flood of the Vegavatī river. Pārvatī held the liṅga in her arms to protect it, and Śiva appeared and married her. The mango tree, Ekāmra, gives Ekāmbareśvara its name.

Tamil Nadu · Śiva Kāñcī · Viṣṇu Kāñcī · Kāmākṣī · Pañca Bhūta: Earth

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