Ekambanathar Temple is one of the famous Hindu temples dedicated to
Lord Shiva, located in Kanchipuram in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.
It is one of the five major Shiva temples or Pancha Bootha Sthalams
(each representing a natural element) representing the element - Earth.
The other four temples in this category are Thiruvanaikaval
Jambukeswara (water), Chidambaram Natarajar (ether), Thiruvannamalai
Arunachaleswara (fire) and Kalahasti Nathar (wind).
All of the four revered Saivite Saints have sung the glories of this temple.
This vast temple is one of the most ancient in India having been in
existence since at least 600 AD. Second century AD Tamil poetry speaks
of Kama kottam, and the Kumara kottam (currently the Kamakashi Amman
temple and the Subramanya temple). The existing structure then, was
pulled down and rebuilt by the Pallava Kings. The Cholas, who came
later, also made several contributions to the temple.
No separate shrine for Parvati exists here (as in other Shiva temples in Kanchipuram).
There is a small shrine for Lord Vishnu named Thiru Nilaaththingal
Thundathan. Here, the Lord Vishnu is prayed as Vamana Murthy.
The temple covers an area of over 40 acres. Reaching a height of 57
meters, the temple's Raja gopuram (the entrance tower to the temple) is
one of the tallest in South India and was built by the Vijayanagar
King, Krishnadevaraya.
One notable feature of the temple is the Aayiram Kaal Mandapam, or the
"hallway with a thousand pillars", which was built by the Vijayanagar
Kings. The temple's inner walls are decorated with an array of 1,008
Siva lingams.
The sthala-virutcham is a 3,500 year old mango tree whose branches are said to yield four different types of mangoes.
Legend has it that once Parvati was doing tapas under the temple's
ancient Mango Tree. In order to test her devotion Lord Shiva sent fire
on her. Goddess Parvati prayed to her brother, Lord Vishnu, for help. In
order to save her, he took the Moon from Lord Shiva's head and showed
the rays which then cooled down the tree as well as Parvati.
After that, Lord Shiva again sent the river Ganga to disrupt Parvati's
tapas. Parvati devi prayed to Ganga and convinced her that both of them
were sisters and so should not harm her. And so Ganga did not disturb
her penance after that. Then Parvati made a Shiva Linga out of sand and
got united with Lord Shiva.
According to another legend, it is believed that Parvati worshipped
Shiva in the form of a Prithivi Lingam (or a Lingam improvised out of
sand), under a mango tree. Legend has it that the neighboring Vegavati
river overflowed and threatened to engulf the Shiva Lingam and that
Parvati or 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.
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