Kanchi - the temple city

Kanchi - the temple city

Kanchi or Kanchipuram, in Tamilnadu, has always been =; prominent seat of religion and !earning, and a capita! city in a bygone era. it was once called the city of thousand temples. Today only 126 ~ these remain, the fifth century A.D Kanchi was the capital of the Pallava kingdom. Under Pallava rule, the city was enriched with some of the grandest temple constructions that South India had ever known. he Ekambareswa temple, Karnakshi temple, Sri Varadaraja temple, and the Kailasanatha temple are just a few. They can be rightly
called abodes of both worship and art.

The Ekambareswarar temple is spread over an area of 20 acres. This Siva temple was originally built by the Pallava rulers and later developed by the Vijayanagara kings. Here Lord Siva is worshipped as Prithvi or earth, one of the five elements of nature. The southern temple tower is one of the largest in south India. !t is 11-storeyed and soars to a height of 58.5m_

The Varadaraja temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The presiding deity is known as Devarajaswamy. The temple was built by the Vijayanagara rulers. The 1 00-pillared ha!! in 'the temple is a fine specimen of the sculptures of that era.

Hieun Tsang, the Chinese traveler, who visited Kanchi in A.D.642, has recorded the presence of a stupa erected here by Emperor Asoka. Re cent excavations too have confirmed its existence.

Technorati Tags: Travel/Places

Vote Result

Score: 0.0, Votes: 0