Ekambareswarar Temple (Kanchipuram): Difference between revisions

'''Ekambareswarar Temple''' ('''Ekambaranathar Temple''') (Kacchi Eakamban Tirukkoyil) is a [[Hindu temple]] dedicated to the deitygod [[Shiva]], located in the town of [[Kanchipuram]] in [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]].<ref name="let">{{cite book|title=Let's Go India and Nepal, 8th Ed.|publisher=Let's Go Publications|pages=585}}</ref> It is significant to the Hindu sect of [[Saivism]] as one of the temples associated with the five elements, the ''[[Pancha Bhoota Stalam|Pancha Bhoota Stala]]s'', and specifically the element of earth, or [[Prithvi]]. Shiva is worshiped as Ekambareswarar or Ekambaranathar or Rajlingeswaram, and is represented by the ''[[lingam]]'', with his idol referred to as ''Prithvi lingam''. His consort [[Parvati]] is depicted as Elavarkuzhali. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the ''[[Tevaram]]'', written by Tamil saint poets known as the [[nayanars]] and classified as ''[[Paadal Petra Sthalam]]''. The temple also houses [[Nilathingal Thundam Perumal temple]], a [[Divyadesam]], the 108 temples revered in the Vaishnava canon [[Nalayira Divya Prabhandam]].<ref name="Sajnani">[[#Sajnani|Sajnani 2001]], pp. 305</ref>

The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 3:30]]~4:00 a.m. to 10 p.m., and twelve yearly festivals on its calendar. [[Panguni Uthiram]] festival celebrated for thirteen days during the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil month]] of ''Panguni'' (March - April) is the most prominent festival of the temple and the town.<ref>[[Panguni Uthiram]] at Lord Ekambaranathar Temple [http://www.ekambaranathartemple.tnhrce.in/festivals.html]</ref>

Legend has it that once [[Parvati]], the consort of Shiva, wanted to expiate herself from sin by doing [[Tapas (Indian religions)|penance]] under the temple's ancienta Mangomango tree near VegavathiVegavati river.<ref name=Meena>{{cite book|title=Temples in South India|last=V.|first=Meena|publisher=Harikumar Arts|location=Kanniyakumari|year=1974|edition=1st|page=44}}</ref><ref name="Ayyar71">[[#Ayyar|Ayyar 1991]], pp. 71-72</ref> In order to test her devotion Shiva sent fire on her. Goddess Parvati prayed to herthe brother,god Vishnu, for help. In order to save her, heVishnu tookbrought the Moon from Shiva's head and showed thewhose rays which then cooled down the tree as well asand Parvati. Shiva again sent the river Ganga ([[Ganges]]) to disrupt Parvati's penance. Parvati Requestconvinced to[[Ganga (goddess)|Ganga and convinced her]] that bothsince of themthey were sisters, and soshe should not harm herParvati. Subsequently, Ganga did not disturb her penance and Parvati madeworshipped a [[lingam|Shiva Linga]] out of sand to get united withplease Shiva. TheUltimately, GodShiva hereappeared camebefore to be knownher as Ekambareswarar or "Lord of Mango Tree".<ref name="Rajaiah">For derivation of Ekambareswarar, see: Rajaiah, section A King for Kings</ref>

According to another legend, it is believed that Parvati worshipped Shiva in the form of a ''PrithiviPrithvi Lingam'' (or a Lingam improvised out of sand), under a mango tree.<ref name="let"/> Legend has it that the neighboring ''Vegavati'' river overflowed, and threatenedthreatening to engulf the Shiva Lingam and that; Parvati oras [[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[[Tiru Nayanar,Kurippu oneThonda ofNayanar|Tirukuripputhonda the 63 saivite saintsNayanar]], calleda ''[[nayanars|nayanar]]'' saint, was a washerman near the temple and he washed the clothes of all the Saivities. He was divinely tricked by God 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.<ref name="Ayyar71"/>

The Vijayanagar kings, during the 15th century, also made lot of contributions to the temple<ref name="Bhargava"/> and later developed by Vallal Pachiyappa Mudaliar used to go regularly from Chennai to Kanchipuram to worship in this temple, he spent significant money he amazed during British rule on the temple renovation, Pachiyappa Mudaliar seated at horse back can be seen in the temple pillar. At the later stage a similar temple with same name Ekambareswarar was constructed in Chennai by Pachiappa Mudaliar in order to avoid travelling time to Kanchipuram. The [[Archaeological Survey of India]] report of 1905–06 indicates widespread renovation activities carried out in the temple by Nattukottai Chettiars.<ref name="Hancock">[[#Hancock|Hancock 2008]], p. 220</ref> In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the [[Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department]] of the [[Government of Tamil Nadu]].<ref name=HRCE>{{cite web|title=Thirukoil - Temple list of Tamil Nadu|url=https://tnhrce.gov.in/resources/docs/temple_list.pdf|publisher=Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department, Government of Tamil Nadu|pages=244|access-date=13 November 2021|archive-date=9 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009010850/https://tnhrce.gov.in/resources/docs/temple_list.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The temple covers an area of over {{convert|23|acre|m2ha|order=flip}}.<ref name="Sajnani"/> Reaching a height of {{convert|59|m|ft|abbr=on}}, the temple's Raja ''[[gopuram]]'' (the entrance tower to the temple) is one of the tallest in South India.<ref name="Bhargava"/> The bottom half of the gateway tower has the shrines of Vinayaka and Murugan on either sides. From the entrance, there are two halls namely Vahana Mandapam (vehicle hall) and Sarabesa Mandapam (also called Navaratri hall).<ref name=Chari/> 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.<ref name="Bhargava"/>

The sanctum sanctorum contains the [[lingam]] along with the image of Shiva and Parvati sitting together. The gold plated lingam depicts the story of Parvati hugging the lingam to save it from the flooding Vegavati river.<ref name="Schreitmüller">[[#Schreitmüller|Schreitmüller]], p. 545</ref> There are granite image of the 63 [[Nayanmars]] around the first precinct.<ref>{{cite book|title=Hindu Pilgrimage Centres|last=Harshananda|first=Swami|ref=Harsha|edition=second|publisher=Ramakrishna Math|location=Bangalore|year=2012|isbn=978-81-7907-053-6|page=61}}</ref> The temple's inner most precinct are decorated with an array of Shivalingam, one of which is a Sahasra Lingam with 1,008 Siva [[lingam]]s sculpted on it.<ref name="Alexander">[[#Alexander|Alexander 2009]], p. 91</ref> 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 TazhuvaTazhuvakuzhainthaar kuzhainthaarSwami and Parvathi as ElavarElavarkuzhali KuzhaliAmman.<ref name=Diwakar>{{cite book|title=Temples of South India|first=Macherla|last=Diwakar|location=Chennai|year=2011|edition=1st|page=141|isbn=978-93-83440-34-4|publisher=Techno Book House}}</ref>

There is a small shrine for [[Vishnu]] named [[Nilathingal Thundam Perumal temple]] inside the temple complex. Vishnu is prayed as [[Vamana]] Murthy 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.<ref name=Chari/> The ''sthala-virutchamvriksham'' or temple tree is believed to be a 3,500-year-old [[mango]] tree whose branches are said to yield four different types of mangoes from its four branches.<ref name="let"/><ref name="Rajaiah"/><ref name="Bhargava">[[#Bhargava|Bhargava 2007]], p. 402</ref><ref name="Alexander"/><ref>{{cite book|title=The Top Ten Temple Towns of India|publisher=Mark Age Publication|first=S.C.|last=Karkar|location=Kolkota|isbn=978-81-87952-12-1|year=2009|page=44}}</ref>

[[Pancha Bhoota Stalam]] refers to the five Shiva temples,<ref name="Ramaswamy">[[#Ramaswamy|Ramaswamy 2007]], pp. 301-302</ref> each representing the manifestation of the five prime elements of nature - land, water, air, sky, fire.<ref>''A dictionary, Canarese and English''William Reeve, Daniel Sanderson</ref> ''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]]''<ref name="Ramaswamy" /> and each of the ''lingams'' representing Shiva in the temple have five different names based on the elements they represent. In the temple, Shiva is said to have manifested himself in the form of Prithvi Lingam. The other four manifestations are Appu Lingam (representing water) at [[Jambukeswarar Temple, Thiruvanaikaval]],<ref name="Knapp">[[#Knapp|Knapp 2005]], p. 121</ref> AkayaAkasha Lingam (representing sky)<ref name="Ramaswamy"/> at [[Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram]],<ref name="Knapp" /> Agni Lingam (representing fire)<ref name="M.K.V.">[[#MKV|M.K.V 2007]], p. 37</ref> at [[Annamalaiyar Temple]]<ref name="Knapp" /> and Vayu Lingam (representing air) at [[Srikalahasti Temple]].<ref name="Knapp" /><ref>[[#Bajwa|Bajwa 2007]], p. 271</ref> Kanchipuram is famous for hand-woven [[Kanchipuram silk sari|silk sarees]] - a design by name Ekambaranathar obtain its name from the designs of these shrines.<ref>[[#Rao|Rao 2008]], p. 133</ref>

The temple priest perform the ''[[puja (Hinduism)|pooja]]'' (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the [[Shaivism|Shaivaite]] community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed six times a day; Ushathkalam at 5:30&nbsp;a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00&nbsp;a.m., Ucchikalam at 10:00&nbsp;a.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00&nbsp;p.m., Irandamkalam at 8:00&nbsp;p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 10:00&nbsp;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 ''{{lang|ta-Latn|somavaram}}'' and ''{{lang|ta-Latn|shukravaram}}'', fortnightly rituals like ''[[pradosha]]m'' and monthly festivals like ''[[amavasya|amavasai]]'' (new moon day), ''kiruthigai'' or on krittika nakshatram, ''[[pournami (festival)|pournami]]'' (full moon day) and ''chaturthi''.<ref name=Chari/><ref name="dinamalar">{{cite web|title=Pandava Thoothar Temple|url=httphttps://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=578|publisher=Dinamalar|access-date=31 May 2014|year=2014}}</ref>