Ekambareswarar Temple (Kanchipuram)

Legend has it that once Parvati, the consort of Shiva, wanted to expiate herself from sin by doing penance under a mango tree near Vegavati river. In order to test her devotion Shiva sent fire on her. Parvati prayed to the god Vishnu. Vishnu brought the Moon whose rays cooled down the tree and Parvati. Shiva again sent the river Ganga (Ganges) to disrupt Parvati's penance. Parvati convinced Ganga that since they were sisters, she should not harm Parvati. Parvati worshipped a Shiva Linga out of sand to please Shiva. Ultimately, Shiva appeared before her as Ekambareswarar or "Lord of Mango Tree". According to another legend, Parvati worshipped Shiva in the form of a Prithvi Lingam (or a Lingam out of sand), under a mango tree. Legend has it that the Vegavati river overflowed, threatening to engulf the Shiva Lingam; Parvati as Kamakshi embraced the Lingam. Shiva touched by the gesture materialized in person and married her. In this context he is referred to as Tazhuva kuzhainthaar ("He who melted in Her embrace") in Tamil. Tirukuripputhonda Nayanar, a nayanar saint, was a washerman near the temple and he washed the clothes of all the Saivities. He was divinely tricked by Shiva appearing as an aged brahmin and asked him to wash before dawn. At the same time, Shiva made a cloudly evening. On observing the approach of the evening, the washerman banged his head in a stone in disappointment. God appeared in his true form and graced his devotee. ==History==

This vast temple is one of the most ancient in India having been in existence since at least 600 CE. Second-century-CE Tamil poetry speaks of Kama kottam, and the Kumara kottam (currently the Kamakashi Amman temple and the Subramanya temple). The temple finds mention in the classical Tamil Sangam literature dated 300 BCE like Manimegalai and Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai. There are inscriptions dated 1532 CE (record 544 of 1919) indicating the gift of number of villages made by Achutaraya. The eleven-storied southern gopuram, built by Krishnadevaraya (1509–29), is tall and is one of the tallest gopurams in the country. The Vijayanagar kings, during the 15th century, also made lot of contributions to the temple In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. The temple's kumbhabhishekam was performed on December 8th 2025, in the presence of the Shankaracharyas from the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. ==Architecture==

The temple covers an area of over . There are granite image of the 63 Nayanmars around the first precinct. The temple's inner most precinct are decorated with an array of Shivalingam, one of which is a Sahasra Lingam with 1,008 Siva lingams sculpted on it. There is no separate shrine for Parvati within the complex as with all other Shiva temples in Kanchipuram. A local belief is that the deity at the Kamakshi Amman Temple is the consort for Ekambaranathar. Behind the image of Lingam in the sanctum, there is a depiction of Shiva and Parvathi in a plaque with Shiva depicted as Tazhuvakuzhainthaar Swami and Parvathi as Elavarkuzhali Amman. There is a small shrine for Vishnu named Nilathingal Thundam Perumal temple inside the temple complex. Vishnu is prayed as Vamana and the shrine is hailed by the Alvar saints as one of the 108 Divya Desams. There is a separate shrine for Nataraja on the second precinct. ==Religious significance of the temple==

Pancha Bhoota Stalam refers to the five Shiva temples, each representing the manifestation of the five prime elements of nature - land, water, air, sky, fire. Pancha indicates five, Bhoota means elements and Stala means place. All these temples are located in South India with four of these temples at Tamil Nadu and one at Andhra Pradesh. The five elements are believed to be enshrined in the five lingams Akasha Lingam (representing sky) at Annamalaiyar Temple Kanchipuram is famous for hand-woven silk sarees - a design by name Ekambaranathar obtain its name from the designs of these shrines. ==Saints and literary mention==

Tirugnana Sambandar, a 7th-century Tamil Saivite poet, venerated Ekambareswarar in ten verses in Tevaram, compiled as the First Tirumurai. Appar and Sundarar, contemporaries of Sambandar, also venerated Ekambareswarar in 10 verses in Tevaram, compiled as the Fifth Tirumurai and Ninth Tirumurai respectively. As the temple is revered in Tevaram, it is classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam, one of the 276 temples that find mention in the Saiva canon. Manickavasagar, a 9th-century Tamil saint and poet, revered Ekambareswarar in his writing. Thus the temple is revered by all four Saiva Kuravars. The presiding deity is also revered in the verses of famous folk singer Kanchi Kotayappa Nayak, one of the trinities of Carnatic music Muthuswami Dikshitar and Pattinathar. ==Worship and festivals==

The temple priest perform the pooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Shaivaite community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed six times a day; Ushathkalam at 5:30 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Ucchikalam at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 8:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 10:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: abhishekam (sacred bath), alankaram (decoration), naivedyam (food offering) and deepa aradhanai (waving of lamps) for the pedestal of Ekambareswarar. Since it is a Lingam made of sand mound, all the ablution is done only to the pedestal. The worship is held amidst music with nagaswaram (pipe instrument) and tavil (percussion instrument), religious instructions in the Vedas read by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals like ' and ', fortnightly rituals like pradosham and monthly festivals like amavasai (new moon day), kiruthigai or on krittika nakshatram, pournami (full moon day) and chaturthi. The temple celebrates dozens of festivals throughout the year. The most important of these is the Panguni (or Phalguni in devanagari) Brahmotsavam that lasts ten days during the Tamil month of Panguni, between March and April, concluding with the celebration of Kalyanotsavam. The festival is the most popular of all the temple festivals in Kanchipuram. There are various processions during the ten days with the festive images of presiding deities of the temple carried in various mounts around the streets of the temple. During the fifth day, Ekambareswarar is carried silver mount Nandi during the morning and Ravaneswara Vahanam during the evening. The 63 Nayanmars are taken in procession the sixth day morning, while Ekambareswarar is carried on Silver car festival in the evening. Silver Mavadi seva is performed on the ninth day. On the concluding day, Kalyanotsavam (marriage festival) is held when the marriage of Ekambareswarar is enacted. During the day, many unmarried people get married irrespective of their caste along with the deity. The event is witnessed by thousands of people every year. ==Notes==