Tamilnadu Tourism: Kanchipuram

Kanchipuram

Kanchipuram

Kancheepuram District had been administered by the Pallavas, Cholas, Vijayanagar rulers and the British before Independence. It was a part of Thondaimandalam roughly comprising the present day districts of Chennai, Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur, Vellore and Thiruvannamalai. The capital of Thondaimandalam was Kancheepuram city. From the 3rd to the 9th century AD., Kanchi was the capital of the Pallavas who ruled over the territory extending from the river Krishna in the north to the river Kaveri in the south.

The Pallavas fortified the city with ramparts, moats, etc., with wide and well laid out roads and fine temples. They were a great maritime power with contacts with far-off China, Siam, Fiji, etc., through their chief Port Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram). The Cholas ruled this region from the 10th century to the 13th century. Kings of Vijayanagar dynasty ruled from the 14th century to the 17th century. Kanchi was a major seat of learning as well as an important place of pilgrimage for Buddhists, Jains and Hindus.

Dandin has described it to be the best among the cities (Nagareshu Kanchi), just as Jati (jasmine) is the sweetest amongst the flowers, Rambha the most beautiful amongst women and Grihasthasrama the most ideal amongst the four asramas of human life. One of the kings of Kanchi, Mahendravarman-I, was a great scholar and musician, a man of great intelligence and also a great playwright.

Yuan Chwang, the great Chinese traveler, visited Kanchipuram city in the 7th century and said that this city was 6 miles in circumference and that its people were famous for bravery and piety as well as for their love of justice and veneration for learning. He further recorded that Buddha had visited the place. As regards learning, Kanchi stood second in glory only to Banaras. Once the seat of learning and religious fervour, it started its climb down with the Mughal invasions followed by three centuries of colonial rule under the British.