Ekambareswarar Temple,
Kanchipuram – The Temple
The
temple covers an area of over 23 acres
(93,000 m2) with five prakarams and has a thousand pillared hall. The
Raja Gopuram or the entrance tower to the temple which rises to a height of 59
meters (192 feet) was built by the Vijayanagar Monarch Krishnadevaraya during
1509 A.D. This Tower is considered as one of the tallest temple towers in south
India. The Rajagopuram is facing south and has 9 tiers. Stucco images of
Krishnadevaraya and his officials can be seen in the first tier.
The bottom half of the gateway
tower has the shrines of Vinayaka and Murugan on either side. Here Vinayaga is
on peacock which is very unusual. There are four pillared mandapam and sixteen
pillared Mandapam in front of the Rajagopuram. The four pillared mandapam is
situated in between sixteen pillared Mandapam and Rajagopuram. From the
entrance, there are two halls namely Vahana Mandapam (vehicle hall) and
Sarabesa Mandapam (also called Navaratri hall).
The Aayiram Kaal Mandapam,
or the "hallway with a thousand pillars", which was built by the
Vijayanagar Kings, is found on precinct after the gateway tower. The flag staff
of the temple is axial to the sanctum and diagonally located to the main
entrance and the temple tank on either direction. There is a shrine called
Thirukachi Mayanam and Kalayana Mandapa, named after Pachaiyappa Mudaliar, both
of which are located close to the flag staff. Thirukachi Mayanam, Vaaleesam,
Rishabesam and Satyanadeesam are located in four corners of the temple.
The hall of the flagstaff has
pillars sculpted with intricate figures indicating various legends and avatars of
Shiva. The temple consists of ten pillars in its Prakaram (inner
corridor) of this temple which is said to produce ten different musical
sounds when it is hit with a stick. The special feature of Ekambareswarar
temple is that the roof of this temple contains
the twelve zodiac signs. Balipeedam and Nandhi, housed in a Nandi Mandapam
can be found facing the sanctum.
Sanctum:
Presiding Deity is called as Ekambareswarar
/ Ekambaranathar. He is housed in the sanctum in the form of Lingam. He is worshipped
as the Prithivi Lingam. The Shiva Linga made of sand by Mother Kamakshi adores
the sanctum sanctorum. The symbol of Mother embracing the Linga is still
visible. A Somaskanda panel featuring Shiva, Parvati and Skanda adorns the rear
of the main shrine, which has been held in worship for centuries together. On
the Ratha Saptami day in the month of Thai (January-February) rays of Sun fall
on Lord. There are no idols on the Koshta of the sanctum. Opposite the sanctum
is the Spadika Linga facing west and the Spadika Nandhi is located on the
prakaram. Procession Deity of Lord Ekambareswarar is in a separate shrine of
glass under the Rudraksha Pandal-tent, the roof with 5008 Rudrakshas. There
is a second level Rajagopuram, through which we have enter to the sanctum
sanctorum.
Mother Shrine:
There is no separate shrine
for Parvati within
the complex as with all other Shiva temples in Kanchipuram. A local belief is
that Kamakshi Amman is the consort for
Ekambaranathar.
Other Shrines:
For brief details, please refer below link;
Sthala Vriksham:
Sthala Vriksham (Temple Tree) is
a 3,500 Years old mango tree whose branches are said to yield four
different types of mangoes from its four branches. The divine tree with its
four branches representing the four Vedas yields fruits in four flavors –
sweet, citric, spicy and bitter. Unfortunately, the tree is no more alive, but
a large piece of the tree has been kept in the mandapam. There is a shrine of Lord
Shiva and Kamakshi under the Stala Vriksham. It is situated in the second
prakaram.
Theerthams:
Theerthams associated with this
Temple are Siva Gangai, Kambai Theertham, Sarva Theertham and Ulagani
Theertham. Kampai Tirtha, the temple tank is believed to have an underground
holy river.
