Temple town and holy
location (tirtha) located around forty miles southwest of Madras in Tamil Nadu.
As one of India's Seven Sacred Cities, Kanchipuram is
significant.
Dying in one of these cities is said to provide complete
spiritual liberty (moksha).
Kanchipuram was the capital of the Pallava, Chola, and
Vijayanagar kingdoms at various eras, and each of these dynasties left its stamp
on the city's architecture.
Kanchipuram is brimming with temples, many of which are
superb specimens of the Dravida architectural style of southern India.
Kanchipuram's political prominence, as well as the
concentration of temples, brahmins, and academics, made it one of the most
important centers of Hindu life, learning, and religion.
Kanchipuram is also known for its temples dedicated to the
Hindu gods Vishnu, Shiva, and the Goddess.
The Vaikuntaperumal Temple is devoted to Vishnu in his
heavenly avatar as "Lord of Vaikuntha." Kamakshi ("desiring
eyes") is the Goddess's name.
The goddess Kamakhya, whose temple in Assam is the most
potent of all the Shakti Pithas, is associated with Kamakshi.
At the Kailasanatha temple, Shiva is worshipped as the
"Lord of Mt.
Kailas," while at the Ekambareshvar temple, Shiva is
worshipped as the "Lord of Mt.
Kailas." One of the bhutalingas ("elemental
lingas"), a network of five southern Indian shrines devoted to the deity
Shiva, is shown at the old location.
Shiva is revered as a linga, a pillar-shaped item that
represents him in each of these locations.
The linga is said to have been generated from one of the
five primordial elements (bhuta)—earth, wind, fire, water, and space—at each
location (akasha).
The element of earth is related with the Kanchipuram linga,
the most basic yet most important of all.
Kanchipuram's significance is also due to its long history
as a center for asceticism.
The Dashanami sect has an old center in Kanchipuram's
Kamakotipith.
Its leader is regarded as one of the most influential modern
Hindu leaders, the Shankaracharyas.
According to local legend, the Kamakotipith was the first
and most significant of Shankaracharya's mathematics, or monastic institutions,
which he subsequently constructed at Joshimath, Puri, Shringeri, and Dwaraka.
This claim to primacy has sparked considerable debate, with
opponents not only disputing Kamakotipith's claim to be the first of the
arithmetic, but also claiming that Kamakotipith is really a branch of Shringeri
math.
The symbolism associated with the number four—the four
cardinal directions, the four holy scriptures known as Vedas, and the four
organizational groupings of the Dashanami Sanyasis themselves—provides some
credence for these arguments.
Because the number four represents wholeness and totality, a
fifth holy center is problematic.
The name Kamakotipith emphasizes Kanchipuram's status as a holy and political center where any ascetic center might achieve substantial power.
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