Kanchipuram
About the city
Kanchipuram, Conjeeveram to the British, is the only one of Idia's seven holy cities in the south. It is also the only one where Shiva and Vishnu are equally revered. Its prosperity first as capital of the Pallava kingdom and later as a trading centre enabled the construction of many remarkable temples."...The Kailasanatha is four-storeyed and is an example of sandharaprasada containing two walls providing an ambulatory. The storeys are decorated with architectural designs like kutas, kostas and panjaras. The pillars in structural temples are with rampant lions generally and with elephants, nagas and bhulas at times. Niches are to be seen in both the rock-cut and structural temples and have a makaratorana decoration on their top, the makaras in them having floriated tails overflowing on the sides. The corbels are generally curved in profile with the taranga (wave moulding) ornament and a median band. The gopuras are absent in these early temples. In the Kailasanatha at Kanchi and the Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram there are faint but unmistakable suggestions of gopuradhvaras which were to evolve into towers. Another feature of these early structural temples is the almost prodigal sculptural embellishment of the exterior walls. The carvings are invariably those of deities, a few of which appear to be fresh inceptions from the Calukyan area..."
It's not very difficult to get around the golden city of Kanchipuram. Bicycles can be hired from shops near the main bus stand at. Apart from this adventurous and energizing medium of transport, rickshaws, auto rickshaws and buses are readily available.
If you are bilingual and know either Tamil, Telugu or Kannada, you would definitely feel at home in Kanchipuram. There's not much of a problem even if you don't know the languages, as the locals here are not only friendly and helpful but also speak English
Kanchipuram's renowned silk sarees are woven from pure mulberry silk. The saree is not only known for its contrasting colors but also for its luster, durability and finish. The silk weavers of Kanchipuram settled here more than 400 years ago and now over 3,500 families in the city are engrossed in this industry. Kanchipuram's dazzling sarees are embellished with fine gold thread, and made in flamboyant colours in every possible style and design ever imaginable.
Kanchipuram has a diverse sects of Hindu worship; one part being Vishnu Kanchi, surrounding the Varadaraja Perumal Temple and the other being Siva Kanchi, surrounding the Ekambaranathar Temple while the Kamakshi Amman Temple stands in between as a place of Shakthi worship.
Practically every street in Kanchipuram has a temple. A few important and well known ones are the Sri Kamakshi Amman Temple, Sri Ekambareshwarar Temple, Sri Kumarakotam, Sri Ashtabuja Perumal Temple and Varadarajar Temple.
Kanchipuram not only offers a great deal to pilgrims and tourists but also plays a great part in enhancing 'temple architecture'. Students and people interested in the art of temple making are trained at Silpa Shala of the Kanchi Mutt, located at a distance of about 5 km from the main town.
Kanchipuram, the ‘golden city of Thousand Temples', set on the banks of the palav river is considered to be one of the seven sacred cities of India. It was under the control of the cholas as far back as the 2nd century BC and a Pallava capital between the 6th and 8th centuries. Kanchi was a major centre of learning, culture and philosophy. It is also a world renowned alike centre.
The ‘golden city' was the centre of Pallav power from 300 onwards. The place is one of the oldest in South India and is often called the ‘Benares of the South'. In the 3rd century B.C. the emperor Ashoka erected here is memorial stones. A few centuries later the Cholas were present here. Through their port at Mahabalipuram the Pallavs of Kanchipuram traveled all over southeast Asia and left their traces on distant shores. When the Chinese Hsuan Tsang (ca. 640) visited southern India. Kanchipuram was a flourishing Buddhist centre, with more than 100 monasteries. The Pallavs also occupied Badami, but in their turn they were defeated by the Chalukyas and by other rivals. In later years the Vijaynagar dynasty too left its mark in Kanchipuram.
Ancient Kanchipuram, the city of thousand temples, is one of the seven most sacred pilgrim centres for the Hindus. There now remain about 126 temples in Kanchi and a few more in its outskirts. The city was the capital of the Early Cholas as far back as the 2nd century BC and a Pallava capital between the 6th and 8th centuries.
Given its illustrious past, it is not surprising that Kanchi was a major seat of Tamil learning as well as an important place of pilgrimage for Buddhists, Jains and Hindus. Today, apart from its temples, this small town is also known for its thriving handloom industry. The silk weavers of Kanchi settled more than 400 years ago and have given it an enviable reputation as the producer of the best silk sarees in the country. Woven from pure mulberry silk, the sarees in dazzling colours are embellished with fine gold thread (zari) and are available in every imaginable design and variety, which can make the job of selection quite challenging.
Temple festivals are held throughout the year and apart from the temple car (ratha) festivals, which are held in January, April and May, there are other days when the idols in the temples are taken out in procession on their respective vahanas or vehicles.
History
It is said that Buddha visited Kanchipuram and built temples there. No traces remain, but there is no doubt that the town was established as a place of learning and a local centre well before the Christian era. Its golden age came under the Pallva kings from AD600 onwards. The Pallavas were in constant conflict with the Chalukyas based at Badami, but expanded their kingdom well beyond Chennai in the north and to Tiruchirapalli and Thanjavur in the south. The Pallavas were overthrown early in the tenth century by the Cholas who expanded Hindu influence to south-east Asia and Indonesia. They in turn were conquered by the Pandyas of Madurai. Eventually Kanchipuram became part of the Vijayanagar empire and, when that fell, came under the control of the Muslim Nawab of Arcot. Despite all these changes Tamil Nadu remained a prosperous place and building continued. Even the Muslims ruled with a lighter hand than in the north. In the 18th century, this part of Tamil Nadu became a battleground for the French and the British, each making up for their own small numbrs by backing rival factions of the Muslim ruling hierarchy. In 1751 Clive captured Kanchipuram from a French and Muslim force holding the great temple. Kanchipuram settled down under British rule as a wealthy religious and silk-producing town.The Temple Town
The Kailasanatha temple is notable tor being a purely Dravidian design dating from the Pallava era (early eighth century), though the front is a Chola addition. It is dedicated to Shiva as Lord of Mount Kailash. The temple was once brightly painted; sight remains of this can be seen in the shrines round the courtyard.The basis of the Ekambareshwara Temple is Pallava with Chola additions. The 57m-high gopuram and outer wall date from the Vijayanagar period (16th century). There are two theories about the attribution of this temple. The name can refer to Shiva as the Naked Lord, in other words as leader of the ascetics. Alternatively, it could be a corruption of ‘Lord of the Mango Tree'. There is a mango tree supposedly several thousand years old in one of the courtyards, but whether the name was made to fit this or the other way round is a matter for conjecture. This is about as far as you can go, but the gopuram provides a view of the rest. The Thousand-Pillar Hall actually has only 540. The towe of the mandapa, over 60m high, was built by a Vijayanagar king in 1509. The temple was used as a fortress, in the Anglo-French Carnatic War, which did it no good at all.
The Kamakshiamman Temple was built by the Cholas in the 14th century. It is dedicated to Parvati (Shiva's wife) in her Shakti form and it is very popular with newly-weds. The Vaikuntapenimal Temple is one of the oldest, having been built by King Nandivarman around AD735. Dedicated to Vishnu it has the alternative name of Venkatanatha, the Lord of the Hills. The relief around the shrine depicts the war between the Pallava and the Chalykuas.
The Varadarajaperumal Temple is huge. Varadaraja means Lord of the World and applies to Vishnu. Swami is sometimes added to the name; this is Vishnu again as a guru or teacher. The mandapa is known as the marriage Hall, but this was for a marriage of the gods, not humans. The 96 pillars are carved with avatars of Vishny in Vijayanagar style. Note also te European solider, perhaps a Portuguese as they aided Vijayanagar against the Muslims.