Ekambareswarar Temple

Ekambaranathar Temple (Tamil: ஏகாம்பரநாதர் கோயில்) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located in Kanchipuram in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.

It is one of the five major Shiva temples or Pancha Bootha Sthalams (each representing a natural element) representing the element - Earth. The other four temples in this category are Thiruvanaikaval Jambukeswara (water), Chidambaram Natarajar (Sky), Thiruvannamalai Arunachaleswara (fire) and Kalahasti Nathar (wind).

It is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams, where all of the four most revered Nayanars (Saivite Saints) have sung the glories of this temple.

History

This vast temple is one of the most ancient in India having been in existence since at least 600 AD. Second century AD Tamil poetry speaks of Kama kottam, and the Kumara kottam (currently the Kamakashi Amman temple and the Subramanya temple).Initially temple was built by Pallavas .The existing structure then, was pulled down and rebuilt by the later Chola Kings. The Cholas, who came later, also made a few contributions to the temple. Vallal pachiyappa mudaliar used to go regularly from chennai to kanchi to worship in this temple, he spend significant money he amazed during British rule on the temple renovation, pachiyappa mudaliar seated at horse back can be seen in the temple pillar. At the later stage a similar temple with same name Ekambareswarar was constructed in Parrys corner, chennai by pachiappa mudaliar inorder to avoid travelling time to kanchi.

Temple

No separate shrine for Parvati exists within the complex (as in other Shiva temples in Kanchipuram). The nearby world famous Kamakshi Amman Temple to the goddess is her shrine.

There is a small shrine for Lord Vishnu named Thiru Nilaaththingal Thundathan. Here, the Lord Vishnu is prayed as Vamana Murthy. This shrine is hailed by the Alvar saints as one of the 108 Divya Desams.

Architecture

The temple covers an area of over 23 acres (93,000 m²). Reaching a height of 57 meters, the temple's Raja gopuram (the entrance tower to the temple) is one of the tallest in South India and was built by the Vijayanagar King, Krishnadevaraya and is an ultimate testimonial for the Vishwakarmas sthapathis.

One notable feature of the temple is the Aayiram Kaal Mandapam, or the "hallway with a thousand pillars", which was built by the Vijayanagar Kings. The temple's inner walls are decorated with an array of 1,008 Siva lingams.

The sthala-virutcham is a 3,500 year old mango tree whose branches are said to yield four different types of mangoes.

Legend

Legend has it that once Parvati was doing tapas under the temple's ancient Mango Tree. In order to test her devotion Lord Shiva sent fire on her. Goddess Parvati prayed to her brother, Lord Vishnu, for help. In order to save her, he took the Moon from Lord Shiva's head and showed the rays which then cooled down the tree as well as Parvati.

After that, Lord Shiva again sent the river Ganga (Ganges) to disrupt Parvati's tapas. Parvati devi prayed to Ganga and convinced her that both of them were sisters and so should not harm her. And so Ganga did not disturb her penance after that. Then Parvati made a Shiva Linga out of sand and got united with Lord Shiva.

According to another legend, it is believed that Parvati worshipped Shiva in the form of a Prithivi Lingam (or a Lingam improvised out of sand), under a mango tree. Legend has it that the neighboring Vegavati river overflowed and threatened to engulf the Shiva Lingam and that Parvati or Kamakshi embraced the Lingam. Shiva touched by the gesture materialized in person and married her. In this context he is referred to as Tazhuva kuzhainthaar ("He who melted in Her embrace") in Tamil.

Gallery

External links

• Virtual Lord Shiva Darshan and pilgrimage with videos and images
• Link to Indiantemples.com site