Kanchipuram Temples

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.

Temples in kanchipuram are torchbearers of the glorious heritage of the Kanchipuram District and are repositories of the magnificient art forms that evolved over several centuries.

Sri Ekambareswara Temple: The most famous Siva temple at Kanchi is the Ekambareswara temple. The dimensions of this temple are reflected in its 20 - acre spread and its tall south gopuram which soars to a height of 58.5m.



Sri Kailasanathar Temple: Kailasnathar temple is built by Rajasimha of the pallava dynasty during 'the first quarter of the eighth century. The temple is built of red sandstone and has innumerable carvings of Pallava art, of which the Urdhva Tandava dance of Siva and the laughing face of Parvati are worth seeing. The architecture of this temple resembles the Shore Temple at Mamallapuram.



Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple: The centre of attraction in Vishnu Kanchi is the temple of varadarajaswamy situated on the top of Hastigiri or Elephant Hill.The Vijayanagar kings constructed this temple. The whole temple covers an area of about 23 acres. The sculptural beauty of the pillars is amazing. Ornamental rings carved out of single stone at the Four Corners of the mandapam in the form of a chain are a delightful spectacle.




Sri Kamakshiamman Temple: Kanchi is sacred as one of the three Sakti peethas of India. Kamakshi is said to be the Supergoddess, Parasakti, having Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati as her eyes. She blesses all that dedicate themselves to her. The sanctum sanctorum faces southeast in the centre of Gayatri Mandapam. The tradition says that there was a delightful grove of Champaka trees around the main temple now known as Gayatri Mandaparn.



Sri Ulagalandar Temple: This vaishnava Temple was bulit in chola period .The main deity of this temple is 35 feet high and 24 feet wide posing with one foot on earth and the other on the sky. This form is called Trivikrama.This temple is one of the 108 Divya Desam's of Lord Vishnu.



Sri Vaikunda Perumal Temple: This temple is built by The Pallava ruler, Nandivarman in the seventh century AD.Sri Vaikunda Perumal temple is famous for its architecture. The Lord is in the sitting posture. The Goddess is known as Sri Vaikunthavalli Tayar. It has great sculptures and inscription which speak of its history and the history of the city itself. Its inner walls are decorated with lion shaped pillars.



Sri Kacchapaeswarar Temple: Kacchapa Eswarar temple was built by pallava Dynasty.In this temple, siva appears as being worshipped by vishnu in the form of turtle (kurmemerali)."Kacchapam" is a Sanskrit word for "Turtle".hence the name "Kacchapa Eswarar Temple".



Sri Vijayaraghava Perumal Temple: This temple of Vijayaraghava Perumal is one of the 108 Divyadesams where Lord Rama is said to have performed the funeral rites for Jatayu, the giant bird which valiantly fought to prevent Ravana from abducting Sita, the wife of Lord Rama to Lanka.


Jain Temples at Tirupparuthikkundram: Kanchipuram is an important landmark in the history of the Jains. Many of the Pallava kings belonged to Jainism.The temples of the Jaina Tirthankaras were built in the Ninth Century A.D. The temples contain several fresco paintings and a grand image of Bhagwan Mahaveer.

Sri Subramaniya Swami Temple: Subramaniya swami temple was built around 1915. For Hindus on a pilgrimage trip, this temple is a mandatory place to visit. It gains its significance due to its location. The way this temple is located in the city is a rare phenomenon mentioned in Hindu scriptures. It is called the "Soma Skandha" Posture.

Tanjore Paintings

Thanjavur paintings basically signify paintings created using a style and technique, which originated in Thanjavur during the maratha period in the 16th century.

A typical Thanjavur painting would consist of one main figure, a deity, with a well-rounded body & almond shaped eyes. This figure would be housed in an enclosure created by means of an arch, curtains etc. The painting would be made by the gilded and gem-set technique - a technique where gold leaves & sparkling stones are used to highlight certain aspects of the painting like ornaments, dresses etc.

The painting would be bright & colourful and breathtakingly beautiful. The impact in a darkened room is that of a glowing presence. While most of the paintings would depict the Child Krishna and his various pranks, paintings of other deities were also created.

Over a period of time changes have occurred in the stylization - for example, the figures are no longer round. Presiding deities of various famous temples are also being depicted in the paintings. The technique is now more in use than the style






THANJAVUR PAINTING is a peculiar, ancient, miniature type of painting named after the place Thanjavur [called Tanjore in English] in Tamil Nadu, a southern state of INDIA. Thanjavur district is famous for various arts and crafts in which paintings are ranked high among the other arts like Thanjavur Toys, Thanjavur Plates, etc. Its origin dates back to the Nayak & the Maratha period in the 16th century.

The Maratha rule of Thanjavur lasted for about 2 centuries from the late 16th century. The Thanjavur school of painting evolved in a period full of political chaos in South India. Thanjavur Paintings flourished under the patronage of the Nayak & Maratha princes in the 16th to the 18th centuries.

The art was practiced by two main communities namely - the RAJUS in THANJAVUR and TRICHY[a city near THANJAVUR] and NAIDUS in MADURAI[a city ruled by PANDIYAS]. The artists [Rajus & Naidus] who are originally Telugu speaking people from "Rayalseema" region, moved to Tamil Nadu in the wake of the Nayaks rule of Madurai & Tanjore. The paintings were rooted in tradition and innovation was limited. The art was sacred to those master craftsmen who chose to be anonymous and humble.

Sripuram Golden Temple situated in Vellore

A Mahalakshmi temple called 'Sripuram' and made of more than a tonne of pure gold will glitter and gleam under the sun on August 24 when it is unveiled for consecration by the Sri Narayani Peetam headed by a 31-year-old godman who calls himself Narayani Amma. Devotees hail the temple as 'one of the wonders of the world' and say that it is the only temple covered fully with gold.

More than 400 gold and coppersmiths from the Thirupath Thirumala Devasthanam are said to have worked for six years to craft the Rs 600-crore gold temple located on 55,000 sq ft of land on a 100-acre salubrious stretch in Malaikodi, about 6 km from Vellore in north Tamil Nadu. According to official sources, the gold bars were purchased through RBI in "a transparent manner."

Chennai - Madras Patanm

Chennai originally known as Madras Patnam, was located in the province of Tondaimandalam, an area lying between Pennar river of Nellore and the Pennar river of Cuddalore. The capital of the province was Kancheepuram. Tondaimandalam was ruled in the 2nd century A.D. by Tondaiman Ilam Tiraiyan, who was a representative of the Chola family at Kanchipuram. It is believed that Ilam Tiraiyan must have subdued Kurumbas, the original inhabitants of the region and established his rule over Tondaimandalam.Chennai is city which has grown by merging numerous villages which are really ancient.The temples of Thiruvanmiyur, Thiruvotriyur, Thirvallikeni(Triplicane), Thirumyilai(Mylapore) have existed for more than 1000 year. Thiruvanmiyur, Thiruvotiryur and Thirumyilai are mentioned in Thevarams of Moovar (of the Nayanmars).The present structure of the Mylapore temple is only few centuries old but historically a temple has existed on the same site from much before.

It is thought that the apostle St. Thomas had immigrated to India in 52 to preach the teachings of Jesus, and he preached from on top of a hillock in the southwest part of the city. He was later said to be assassinated around the year 70. There is now a small museum and a Catholic church near a cave where St. Thomas was supposed to have lived. The surrounding area is called 'Chennamalai'.

Subsequent to Ilam Tiraiyan, the region was ruled by the Chola Prince Ilam Killi. The Chola occupation of Tondaimandalam was put to an end by the Andhra Satavahana incursions from the north under their King Pulumayi II. They appointed chieftains to look after the Kanchipuram region. Bappaswami, who is considered as the first Pallava to rule from Kanchipuram, was himself a chieftain (of the tract round) at Kanchipuram under the Satavahana empire in the beginning of the 3rd century A.D., The Pallavas who had so far been merely viceroys, became independent rulers of Kancheepuram and its surrounding areas.

The Panch Rathas buit by the PallavasThe Pallavas held sway over this region from the beginning of the 3rd century A.D.to the closing years of the 9th century except for the interval of some decades when the region was under Kalabhras. The Pallavas were defeated by the Cholas under Aditya I by about 879 A.D. and the region was brought under Chola rule. Pandyas under Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan rose to power and the region was brought under Pandya rule by putting an end to Chola supremacy in 1264 A.D. Pandya's rule over this region lasted a little over half a century followed by Bahmini kingdom with the extension of Delhi Sultanate under Khilji dynasty especially under the rule of Alauddin Khilji, a pioneer of all revenue works. During 1361, Kumara Kampana II, the son of Vijayanagar Emperor, Bukka I conquered and established Vijayanagar rule in Tondaimandalam.

The Vijayanagar rulers appointed chieftain known as Nayaks who ruled over the different regions of the province almost independently. Damarla Venkatapathy Nayak, an influential chieftain under Vijayanagara King Peda Venkata Rayalu based in Chandragiri-Vellore Fort,who was in-charge of the area of present Chennai city, gave the grant of a piece of land lying between the river Cooum almost at the point it enters the sea and another river known as Egmore river to the English in 1639. On this piece of waste land was founded the Fort St. George exactly for business considerations. In honour of Chennappa Nayak, father of Venkatapathy Nayak, who controlled the entire coastal country from Pulicat in the north to the Portuguese settlement of Santhome, the settlement which had grown up around Fort St. George was named after Chennapatanam.

The older area called the Madraspatnam lay to the north of it. Later on, the intervening space between the older northern site of Madraspatnam came to be quickly built over with houses of the new settlers (as the two expanded) and that the two villages became virtually one town. While the official centre of the settlement was designated Fort St. George, the British applied the name Madras Patnam to the combined town. Golkonda forces under General Mir Jumla conquered Madras in 1646 and brought Chennai and its immediate surroundings under his control. On the fall of Golkonda in 1687, the region came under the rule of the Mughal Emperors of Delhi.

Firmans were issued by the Mughal Emperor granting the rights of English company in Chennai. In the later part of the seventeenth century, Chennai steadily progressed during the period of Agency and under many Governors. During the regime of Governor Elihu Yale (1687-92),the most important event was the formation of the institution of a mayor and Corporation for the city of Chennai. In 1693, a perwanna was received from the local Nawab granting the towns Tondiarpet, Purasawalkam and Egmore to the company. Thomas Pitt became the Governor of Chennai in 1698 and governed for eleven years. This period witnessed remarkable development of trade and increase in wealth.

The present parts of Chennai like Poonamalee (ancient Tamil name - Poo Iruntha alli), Triplicane (ancient Tamil name - Thiru alli keni) are mentioned in Tamil bhakti lieterature of the sixth - ninth centuries.

Thanjavur Periya Kovil

Emperor Raja Raja Cholan built the Thanjai Big Temple (also referred to as Thanjavur Peria Koil or Tanjore Big Temple) almost a thousand years ago; it took 4 years of construction and was dedicated in1010 AD. Why is his statue not allowed in the temple grounds and is standing on a public street further away from the view of the thousands of visitors to the temple? We are not talking about installing the statue inside the temple but within the outer walls of the temple where visitors can see it. There are other structures within the outer wall. In fact, we see a statue of Raja Rajan and his queen Ko-perum-thevi in the Tiruvisalur temple. This statue was there well before there was an Indian Government. But, alas, the Indian Government would not permit the statue of this great Tamil emperor to be installed on the grounds of the temple he built.

Some two decades ago the Tamil Nadu State government commissioned a statue of the Emperor and intended to place it within the outer walls of the Thanjai Big Temple. The Indian Government told the Tamil Nadu Government that it would not allow the statue inside the temple grounds. So the latter placed it in a nearby street. The outcome is, the many thousands of devotees and tourists who visit the temple do not see the statue.

You may wonder why the Tamil Nadu Government has to get Indian Government's permission to install the statue of a Tamil emperor within the outer walls of a Tamil Temple built by the Tamil Emperor on Tamil soil with Tamil money and labor? Indian Government decided, without any consultation with the Tamil Nadu Government, that it would take over the major temples in Tamil Nadu. Now nothing significant can be done without the consent of Hindians who control and dominate the Indian parliament.

Meenakshi Temple Tamil Nadu

Madurai, situated in southern Tamil Nadu, is a district with its headquarters in Madurai city, on the banks of Vaigai river. Madurai is the second largest city in Tamil Nadu. It is more than 2,500 year old and is an important cultural and commercial centre, Madurai, once the seat of Tamil learning and still the place where Tamil Language is spoken in its purest form, is an ancient city planned in the shape of a lotus. Madurai is synonymous with the Sri Meenakshi Temple, dedicated to Sir Meenakshi, the consort of Lord Shiva. The temple complex, the main attraction at Madurai, is one of the biggest in India. The five gopurams that surround the temple are know for stucco work, and the 48.8 metre high southern gopuram is the tallest. Legend has it that when the last Tamil Sangam (Academy) met here, literary works were thrown into the temple tank. Those that floated were deemed to be outstanding literature, It is believed that the Kadasma tree under which Lord Shiva meditated was the only one that covered this area, Exquisite sculptures are to be found throughout the complex.
The hall of thousand pillars is a museum of icons, photographs and illustrations. Apart from being a very sacred spot for the Hindus, the Meenakshi temple is one of the country's most important tourist landmarks. According to the legend, Madurai is the actual site where the wedding between Shiva and his consort Meenakshi took place. The soaring and exquisitely carved gopurams or towers, seen over and over again as the Cosmic Personae, enclose this temple dedicated to the wife of Shiva. The south gateway contains the twin temples of Shiva and Meenakshi and is about nine storeys high (150 feet). The highly dense statuary of the south Indian temple is an evidence of how evolved Dravidian art was at that time. The gigantic temple complex, the colossal statues exploring the range of human emotions, everything here is a larger-than-life exposition of the splendor of Indian art. The grandeur of the Meenakshi temple has not diminished for the past two thousand years. This sprawling and awe-inspiring temple complex is not only a marvel of architecture but also a veritable treasure trove of Indian culture and civilization. It is also one of the largest temple complexes in India.