Ekambareswarar Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Chennai International Airport is the nearest domestic and international airport.

• By train

  Kanchipuram railway station connects the city to the rail network.

• By road

  NH 4, the Chennai to Bangalore highway, passes the outskirts of Kanchipuram.

Why devotees come here

Ekambareswarar Temple is in northern Kanchipuram, the largest temple in the city. Shiva is worshipped here as Ekambareswarar, in a sand-mound lingam that stands for earth, one of the five elements.

Ekambareswarar is one of the Pancha Bhoota Stalams, the Shiva temples linked to the five elements. Here the element is earth, or Prithvi, and the deity is a Prithvi lingam. Legend says Parvati made a lingam of sand to please Shiva, and Shiva appeared as Ekambareswarar. Because the lingam is a sand mound, ablution is done only to its pedestal.

The temple has existed since at least 600 CE and is among the most ancient in India. The present masonry structure was built in the Chola period, in the 9th century. Vijayanagar rulers later expanded it, and made contributions to the temple in the 15th century. The Aayiram Kaal Mandapam, a hall of a thousand pillars, was built by the Vijayanagar kings. The 7th-century Tamil poet Tirugnana Sambandar praised the deity in ten verses of the Tevaram.

The complex covers 10 hectares (25 acres) and is one of the largest in India. It has four gateway towers, or gopurams. The southern tower has 11 stories and stands 192 ft high, one of the tallest temple towers in India. A 1905-06 Archaeological Survey of India report records widespread renovation by the Nattukottai Chettiars.

Festivals

• Panguni month, March to AprilPanguni Brahmotsavam

  A ten-day festival that ends with Kalyanotsavam, a celebration of marriage. On the fifth day the deity is carried on a silver Nandi in the morning and on Ravaneswara Vahanam in the evening.

Tips for your visit

• The Aayiram Kaal Mandapam, the hall of a thousand pillars, lies in the precinct after the gateway tower.
• The deity is also called Ekambaranathar or Rajalingeswaram, so look for these names on signs and maps.

Questions people ask