Ekambareswarar Temple
Ekambareswarar Temple is one of the five main Shiva Temples situated in the historic city of Kanchipuram near Chennai in Tamil Nadu. This Temple represents the Earth among the Pancha Bootha sthalams (five Temples of Shiva).
History
The main deity of this Temple is Lord Ekambareswarar, who is the form of Lord Shiva. This temple was constructed by the great Pallava Kings. Then the Kachiyapper who was the Vedantist, had been the priest of this Temple. This Temple was again rebuilt by the Chola Kings.
From 600AD, this ancient Temple exists in South India. But the Tamil Poetry tells about the Kama kottam and the Kumara kottam in the second century AD. During the 15th century, the Vijayanagara Kings gave many presentations to the Temple. Then the Vallal Pachiyappa Mudaliar, who is a famous person from Chennai developed this Temple. He made a regular visit to this Temple in Kanchipuram from Chennai by offering prayer to the God.
Story of the Temple
The Goddess Parvati, the wife of God Shiva got a curse to be dark as Kali. Then the Goddess started to do the penance to recover from the curse. While she was doing her penance near the Vegavathi river under the Mango tree, Lord Shiva sent the fire on her to check her devotion. Then Goddess requested her brother Lord Vishnu to save her.
To save her sister, Lord pulled the Moon from the God Shiva’s head and turned the Moon rays towards the Mango tree where Goddess Parvati was seated. Thus, the moon cooled down her from the fire. Next Lord Shiva told the river Ganga to disturb the penance. Now Goddess Parvati requested river Ganga not to disturb her quoting that they both were sisters. Then the Goddess Parvati formed a Shiva Lingam after the Ganga went from her way. This Shiva lingam was known to be Ekambareswarar( meaning God of Mango Tree).
From the other story, the Goddess Parvati worshipped Prithvi Lingam (Goddess Shiva) under the Mango tree near the river. At that time, the Vegavathi river was overflowing and the lingam was about to drown. At that time, the Goddess Parvati protected the lingam from drowning. Then Lord Shiva happy with her devotion, married the Goddess Parvathi in this place .
Architecture
The Ekambareswarar Temple spreads through an area of 23 acres. There is a Raja gopuram (gate tower in Tamil) in this temple, with the idols of the Vinayagar and Murugar at its bottom on either side. This gate tower highs 59m from the floor.
The other features like the Rishabesam, Valeesam, Thirukachi Mayanam and the Satyanadeesam are present on the four sides of the Temple. Then the images of 63 Nayanmars which is made up of granite are there surrounding the first precinct. An array of lingams decorates the precinct which is kept interior. Among those lingams, one is the Sahasralingam, which is among the 1008 lingams.
Celebrations
The main festival in this Ekambareswarar Temple, is the Palguni Brahmotsavam which is celebrated for ten days, in the Tamil month of Palguni. This festival completes after the Kalyanotsavam, which is celebrated on the final day . In the ten days, various Tamil ancient procedures are carried out including the carrying of the deities around the streets near the temple(called Thiruveethi ula). During this, the main god statue is carried on the Nandi in the morning and over the Ravaneswara Vaaganam in the evening. During the sixth day, the 63 Nayanmars are taken around the Temple, while the Ekambareswarar idol is carried over a silver chariot in the evening.
Other Pancha Bhootha Sthalams
The other Pancha Bootham Sthalams ( five Shiva important Shiva Temples) along with this Temple are the Thiruvannamalai Arunachaleswarar Temple (denoting fire), Chidambaram Natarajar Temple( denoting sky), Thiruvaanaikaval Jambukeswarar Temple( denoting water), and the Kalahasti Nathar Temple( denoting wind).
Other famous Temples
There are many other famous Temples in Kanchipuram like Kamatchi Amman Temple, Kanchi Kailasanthar Temple, Ulagalandha Perumal Temple, Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Chitraguptar Temple, Gurubhagavan (Tirumalpur) and so on . This place is also famous for the handloom dresses, which attracts the Tourist coming here.
Transport facilities To reach this Temple, the buses are available from different parts of Chennai. This temple is just 2Km from the Kanchipuram bus stand. If you like to travel through the train, then the trains are available from Chennai to Kachipuram. From the Kanchipuram railway station, the temple is only at a walkable distance. The devotees who travel through flight must reach only the Chennai International Airport, since that is the nearest Airport. From Chennai, you can take a road transport to reach this Temple. From many districts of Tamil Nadu, buses are available to reach this place. There are frequent buses available from Tirupati to Kanchipuram .
Location: Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu.
Timings: Morning – 6.00 A.M to 12.30 P.M (Timings may vary with festivals)
Evening – 4.00 P.M to 8.30 P.M