Kailasanathar Temple
The Rajasimhesvara temple, now known as the Kailasanathar Temple is the oldest surviving temple in the city of Kanchipuram. Constructed in the early 8th century AD by the renowned Pallava king Rajasimha, after whom it was originally named, the temple is celebrated for its architectural elegance and rich sculptures. It served as the main source of inspiration for the Chalukyan temple of Virupaksha at Pattadakkal and the celebrated Kailasa temple of Ellora. Unlike many other temples in the Tamil region, it has largely remained unaltered over time, preserving early sculptures, inscriptions in ancient scripts, and original architectural forms. Set against a typical South Indian scenery of green paddy fields and coconut groves, the Rajasimhesvara Temple is the loveliest of all the temples in the ancient city of Kanchi.
Kamakshi Amman Temple
Kanchipuram is called the city of temples owing to its huge number of temples than any other city in India. But a fact exists, strange yet true, that despite of numerous temples in Kanchipuram there is one and only one temple dedicated to Goddess Parvati that is Kamakshi Amman temple. The fact that there is only one temple dedicated to Kamakshi, one of the forms of Goddess Parvati, makes it very important temple to visit for devotees in Kanchipuram. In the word “KAMAKSHI” letter “KA” represents Goddess Saraswati ,”MA” represents Goddess Lakshmi and “AKSHI” refers to the gracious eyes. Goddess Lakshmi and Saraswati are referred as the two eyes of Sri Kamakshi Amman deity. Kamakshi Amman temple was built by the Pallavas during the 6th century and is around 2000- 3000 years old. The original Kamakshi Amman Temple that was built by the Pallavas is presently known as Adi Peeteswari or the Adi Peeta Parameswari, which is near to the presently famous Kamakshi Amman temple. The present Kamakshi Devi temple is known as Bhoga peetam.
Ekambareswarar Temple
One among the “Pancha Bhoota Stalam” [five Shiva temples each representing five elements of life], Ekambareswarar Temple is one of the most sacred Shiva temples. It represents the element Earth. Shiva is worshipped as Ekambareswarar. The temple is thousands of years old with the current structure being a reconstructed one, around 600 AD by the Pallavas. However the temple displays the works of likely every dynasty that ruled Kanchipuram. The 172 feet Raja Gopuram is a marvelous piece of architectural wonder built by the Vijayanagara Empire. The Cholas made architectural contributions to the temple too. Legend has it that the lingam here at the Ekambareswarar Temple is made and worshipped by Goddess Parvati herself and that we can still see a mark on the Lingam which holds this legend true. Once Goddess Parvati covered Shiva’s eyes and the world suddenly filled with darkness. With Shiva’s eyes closed, the Sun and Moon darkened without even a beam of light. He opened his third eye and saved the day for the mankind. Parvati was filled with guilt after witnessing all these. Shiva asked her to do penance to free her from wrong karma. Parvati born on earth as Kamakshi and started her penance. She made a Shiva linga out of sand and worshipped Lord Shiva in the form of Prithvi Lingam [Lingam made of earth] under an ancient temple mango tree. At the same time, Shiva in order to test her devotion caused a flood where Kamakshi was busy worshipping him.