Skip to main content

KARCHAPESHWAR TEMPLE - KANCHIPURAM

 KARCHAPESHWAR TEMPLE - KANCHIPURAM



The Karchapeshwar temple is dedicated to lord Shiva, being prayed by lord Vishnu in the form of Karchapa ( Tortoise).
Legend has it that during the churning of the ocean of milk for the nectar of immortality, the mount Meru was slipping and sinking into the ocean. Lord Vishnu in the form of a tortoise (Kurma Avatar) held the mountain on his back. In order to enhance his failing strength, he prayed to Lord Shiva & this temple depicts this entire sequence of the bhakti rasa.
The temple was built in the 7th century by the pallavas and later extended by the Chola's and Vijayanagara Kings.
The main deity (lord Shiva in the form of a Linga) of this temple is called as Karchapeswarar. The goddess is called as Soundarambikai. The temple has a five tiered Raja gopuram (temple tower) and about 5 acres area. The temple also houses other idols such as Saraswati, Ganesha, Chadurmukeswarar, Sastha and Bhairav. There are four shrines of Lord Shiva around the temple tank (called as Ishta Siddhi Teerth) - Dharma Siddheswarar, Kama Siddheswarar, Artha Siddheeswarar and Moksha Siddheswarar ( the four paths of life. Near the main deity Kachabeswarar, there is an idol of Lord Ganesha called as Satyamozhi Vinayaka.
Facing the sanctum sanctorum is a beautiful sculpture of Nandi( 5ft) on a pedestal. Nandi is in the form of a young adolescent bull, which has a wide divine smile. This is unique to not only the Karchapeshwar temple but most of the shiva temples in kanchi, including the Kailasanathar temple. In other temples the Nandi is generally in a pensive mood of reverance or submission to lord Shiva. One exception is the Nandi at lepakshi which has an upright position.
The ishta Siddheshwar sanctum is a must visit for answers to all prayers.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

VAIKUNTHA PERUMAL TEMPLE OR THIRU PARAMESHWARA VINNAGARAM KANCHIPURAM

  THIRU PARAMESHWARA VINNAGARAM OR VAIKUNTHA PERUMAL TEMPLE KANCHIPURAM Thiru Parameswara (The greatest Lord) Vinnagaram (temple) or Vaikunta Perumal Temple is a temple dedicated to Vishnu & his concert Vaikundavalli located in Kanchipuram. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple finds mention in the Divya Prabhanda the early medieval tamil literature of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one among the 108 temples dedicated to Vishnu. The temple is considered the second oldest extant temples in Kanchipuram after the Kailasanathar temple & is in a straight line facing each other, though seperated by 3.5 KMs. The temple is believed to have been built by the Pallava king Nandivarman (720-796 CE), with later contributions from Chola's and Vijayanagara Kings. The temple is surrounded by a granite wall enclosing all the shrines and a pond of the temple. The outer walls of the inner praharam is full of Kalakrithis related to the lord....
Post a Comment
Read more

KAILASANATHAR TEMPLE PART 1 - TARAMANGALAM

SRI KAILASANATHAR TEMPLE- TARAMANGALAM - SALEM DISTRICT - TAMILNADU.- PART 1 Seven tiered Rajagopuram Shaped like a chariot. Mahavishnu gave his sister Parvathi in marriage to Shiva. This process of handing over the bride, is known as "Thaaram vaththu koduppadhu" in Tamil, hence the name of the town THARAI MANGALAM now known as Tharamangalam. MAHAVISHNU giving his sister MEENAKSHI in marriage to SHIVA. In the centre of this Town is an exotic Temple of Lord Shiva as Shri Kailasanathar with his consort Sivakami Devi. One of the rarest of temples with a treasure of exotic Sculpture and the many stories attached with them. ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL U NKNOWN TEMPLES IN TAMILNADU. The first precinct on entering from the Rajagopuram. The temple had an existence before the 10th Century CE. However the same was rebuilt by the Getti Muthaliar Clan who ruled the Kongu Part of Tamilnadu from the 13th to the 17th century. The temple seems to have b...
Post a Comment
Read more

THIRUPUNAVASAL. – VRIDDHAPUREESHWARAR TEMPLE – PUDUKOTTAI – TAMILNADU

  THIRUPUNAVASAL. – VRIDDHAPUREESHWARAR TEMPLE – PUDUKOTTAI – TAMILNADU BIGGEST LINGAM IN TAMILNADU. #mntirupunavasal #mnpudukkottai #mntamilnadu The THEVARAM is a seven volume treatise on the hymns composed and sung in praise of MAHADEV SHIVA in Tamil, primarily by Tirunavukkarasar (Appar), TiruGnyanasambandar & Sundarar, the most prominent Nayanaars of the sixty three Nayanaars, of Shiva Siddhanta, which forms part of the larger twelve Volume compendium of hymns TIRUMURAI composed by many other poet saints from the 6th Century CE to the 11th Century CE. The Tevaram talks of 275 such Temples known as PAADAL (Hymn) PETRA (acquired) STHALAM (Place) , whose principle deity SHIVA has been praised by the hymns. Paadal Petra Sthalam. Out of the 275 temples , 14 Temples have been either rebuilt or renovated by the Later Pandya’s of Madurai and falls in Pandya Nadu . One such temple is this temple of Mahadev as VRIDDHAPUREESHWAR or PAZHYAMPATHINATHAR. PAZHYAM(Ancient), in the town o...
Post a Comment
Read more