Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple Tamil Nadu History and Interesting Facts

Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple Quick Facts

Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple Overview

Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple is located in the famous city of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, India. The construction of this temple is attributed to the Pallava dynasty which is built in the Dravidian architectural style. Kailasanathar Temple is also known as "Kanchi" or "Shiva Kanchi". Built by the Pallava dynasty, this temple is considered one of the seven holy cities of Hinduism.

Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple History

The construction of the temple is attributed to King Narasimhavarman II of the Pallava dynasty. According to historians, this temple, built in the eighth century, was built by King Narasimhavarman II at the request of his wife, but the facade of the temple was built by the king's son Mahendra Varman III.

Narasimhavarman built many temples during his reign but this temple built by him comes in the First category as well as the first structural temple built by the king in South India and presently the Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple Interesting Facts

1. Kailasanathar means "Lord of the Cosmic Mountains" and built in the tradition of smart worship of Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya (Sun), Ganesha, and Kartikeya in Hinduism, this temple replaces a Buddhist one.
2. A secret tunnel built by the kings into the temple which was used as a secret passage is present in the temple today.
3. The Temple was built under the influence and architecture of the styles developed by the Chola dynasty and the Vijayanagara emperors, which can still be seen in the temple today.
4. The Temple is built in contrast to the stone architecture but the stone-cut Vastu style can be seen and the same architecture was used in the temples of Mahabalipuram.
5. The Tall Gopuram situated in the temple is located to the left of the main entrance of the temple and the foundation of the temple is made of granite stone which can easily bear the load of the temple.
6. There is a wonderful sight of carvings on the walls of the temple. Because all the carvings are made of sandstone.
7. The Temple consists of a sanctum sanctorum and an inner enclosure, which is surrounded on all sides by a high wall and the only main entrance to the temple is the Gopuram.
8. The Temple complex has a simple map of the structure with a tower in the center and the main temple sanctum has a square structure. But the upper part of the sanctum has emerged in the shape of a pyramid.
9. At the entrance of the temple, the walls of the gopuram are plastered and the wall of the main entrance has eight smaller shrines and a gopura, a precursor to the main Gopura.
10. The Sanctum sanctorum of the main temple has 16 one-sided Shiva lingams made of black granite stone and is accompanied by a very splendidly carved idol of the deity with a Nandi bull at a distance to protect the deity.
11. The Southern walls of the temple depict the lingam form of Lord Shiva and the Umamaheshwar form of Parvati, and the lower pillar depicts images of Brahma and Vishnu and Amar Ujala in sculptural form.
12. The northern walls of the temple have carvings of Lord Shiva in his "Tripurantaka" form, which also depicts three goddesses, Goddess Durga, Goddess Bhairavi and Goddess Kaushiki.
13. Several Images of the Lord are shown on the inner walls of the periphery of the temple. These include Kartikeya, Durga, Tripurantaka, Garudarudha-Vishnu, Asura Sanhara (slaying of demons), Narasimha (an incarnation of Vishnu), Trivikram (an incarnation of another Vishnu), Shiva Tandava (Shiva in a dancing posture), Shiva the fifth head of Brahma. The image of Lord Brahma and his consort, Gangadhara, Urdhva Tandava, Bhudevi, Lingodbhava, Bhikshatana, Ravana and Ardhanarishvara sitting on a bull is shown.
14. In Front of the southern wall of the temple is situated a very beautiful image of Shiva in the calm and serene posture of Vimana which is known as Dakshinamurthy.
15. The Temple complex consists of 58 small temples around the compound wall around the main temple and 8 smaller temples at the main entrance of the temple, in which Shiva and his consort Parvati are depicted in various dance forms.

How to reach Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple

• The Nearest Railway station to Kailasanathar Temple is Kanchipuram Railway Station. It is situated at a distance of only 2.6 km from the temple.
• Apart from this, the Nearest Airport to the temple is Chennai International Airport. It is located at a distance of 64.3 km from the temple. From here the temple is easily accessible by taxi and public bus.