Kanchipuram – Tamil Nadu
Kanchipuram or simply Kanchi is the ancient religious and cultural center of South India, nicknamed the “city of a thousand gopuras”, located 70 km from Chennai. In 2001, the population of the city was 153 thousand inhabitants. The time of foundation of Kanchipuram is lost in the darkness of centuries. Kalidasa and Xuanzang spoke enthusiastically about ancient Kanchipuram. It was the largest center of Buddhist and Jain learning. It is believed that it was in Kanchi that Bodhidharma and Ramanuja were educated. In the 17th century, the city was ravaged by the Marathas and the Mughals. In the XVIII century, it was taken three times by the British and French. Kanchipuram is considered one of the seven holy cities of Hinduism (Ayodhya, Varanasi, Rameshwaram, Kurukshetra, Mathura, Dvaraka, Kanchipuram). Of these seven cities, three are entirely dedicated to the god Vishnu, three to Shiva, and Kanchipuram, the oldest of the southern cities of India, is dedicated to both of them.
The city of temples has two distinct religious districts, Vishnu Kanchi (small town) and Shiva Kanchi (big town), and was once home to 108 Shiva temples and 18 Vishnu temples. However, the temple, considered the most sacred by the locals – Kamakshi-Amman – is dedicated not to Vishnu or Shiva, but to the wife of the god Shiva Parvati. Here is still the residence of the head of the Shakaracharya order, as well as the center of Vedic astrology, where predictions are made on palm leaves. In the southern part, on the other side of the river, there is a complex of Jain temples.
The rich and ancient history of the city tells us that it was the capital of the rulers of many great dynasties: Pallavas, Cholas, Vijayanagara kings, and most of the temples here were erected during the reign of the last two dynasties. Legend has it that King Ashoka was the first ruler of Kanchi. The city was a center of learning and worship not only for Hinduism, but also for Buddhism and Jainism. Chinese traveler of the 7th century AD Hiuen Tsang wrote that he saw a city full of Buddhist settlements (sangrama-s), and people “out of reach in courage, learning and reverence compared to all whom he met during his travels in India.” These exceptional people created a city, fully consistent with the principles of Vastu Shastra (Vastu Sastra, the science of architecture), measuring six miles in circumference, inhabited exclusively by members of the Brahmin community. Even the king, being a kshatriya, could not live here. The royal palace and the district for the residence of representatives of other castes was built outside of Kanchi.
Kanchipuram is also called the city of silk, since the main occupation of the locals is the weaving of silk saris. More than 5,000 families are employed in this industry to some extent.
Kailasanatha Temple is the oldest temple in Kanchipuram built in the 7th century. It was started by Rayasimha and completed by his son Mahendravarman III, a representative of the most ancient southern Pallava dynasty. The top of the temple above the sanctuary is pyramidal in shape, with a slight slope, but its height is only four floors. The entrance is also much lower and not as pronounced as at a later time, and its rounded top with a domed end is reminiscent of the unusually shaped wedding medallions that women of southern India wear around their necks on gold chains. The pilasters of the columns here are also decorated with lions, the emblem of the Pallavas. Repeating throughout the outer surface of the temple, they are more reminiscent of British heraldic symbols than Indian temple motifs. The small temple was conceived rather as a whole than was the result of long reflections and improvements. Built inside a high wall, which is decorated with domed niches with pilasters, it anticipated the idea of a fenced temple complex.
There are entrances on each side of the tower, in front of them there are eight temples of Shiva in the form of chariots. To enter the courtyard of the temple, you need to go under a wide stone arch. Inside there is a hall covered with a flat roof with many columns and a vestibule leading to the holy of holies. There are also nine subsidiary temples on the territory of the complex, which form a single whole with the tower, along the back wall there are 58 temples of Shiva in the style of chariots, and in the courtyard there are three separate temples dedicated to Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva.
The main deity of the temple is the bisexual incarnation of Shiva, Ardhanarishvara. His statue is a figure of a god, the female half of which holds a stringed instrument, while the male half is depicted sitting on the Nandi bull.
The Kamakshi Amman temple is located in the city center. This imposing temple is dedicated to Goddess Parvati in the form of Kamakshi. A striking building with a huge cobbled courtyard and the famous golden tower-entrance, it houses a magical symbol – a bewitching statue of the goddess with a circle inscribed in front of her with mystical inscriptions for performing ritual worship. The temple also houses a statue of the great philosopher Adi Shankaracharya, who is revered as a god here. He contributed to the revival of the glory and popularity of the main goddess, returned her former strength. It is said that he placed in front of the statue of the goddess another geometric sign with eight images.