Kamakshi Amman Temple

Southern India is well-known for its cultural heritage, and the Kamakshi Amman Temple represents an important gem from the past. Set amid Kanchipuram, also known as the City of Temples, this place of worship is home to the divine Goddess Kamakshi, who is believed to be an incarnation of Parvati, the Hindu goddess of love, fertility, and strength.

The Kamakshi Amman temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas, which are sacred shrines built around the falling body parts from the corpse of Goddess Sati from heaven. It is believed the naval part of her body fell at this site, thus making it a holy abode.

Shaktism is based on a Hindu tradition focused on worshipping the Goddess. In the name Kamakshi, the letter 'Ka' represents Saraswati (the Goddess of knowledge and wisdom), 'ma' represents Lakshmi (the Goddess of wealth and prosperity), and 'Akshi' refers to gracious eyes. Together, these three Hindu Goddesses or Devis are from the holy trinity of the female transcendental energy of the universe.

History of Kamakshi Amman Temple

Kamakshi comes from the conjunction of three words – Ka, Ma & Aksh. Ka means Saraswati, Ma means Lakshmi and Aksh means eyes. She is whose eyes are Lakshmi & Saraswati.

Kamakshi Temple at Kanchi is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in the country, a very important Shakti Peeth. This is where the Nabhi or the Navel of the Goddess Sati had fallen when Shiva was taking around her body. It is also believed to be the Nabhisthan or the center of the earth or at least the eastern hemisphere.

It is believed that after the Devi took birth to kill the Asur Bhandasur, she took the Kanya Swarup and sat in this temple. The idol is supposed to be Swayambhu which means it was not created but appeared. She is believed to be in the temple in three Swarupas – Sthula, Sukshama, and Shunya.

Architecture of Sri Kamakshi Amman Temple

Sri Kamakshi Amman Temple, Kanchipuram is a spectacular religious place with a multi-layered structured spread over an area of 5 acres. The entrance is remarkably denoted with a gopuram in the typical signature style of the temples in South India. The gopuram is a towering structure ornamented with murals and images of ancient gods and goddesses in different mudras or poses.

There are some tiny sculptures carefully carved to narrate stories of the main deity inside the temple. This is the symbolic style of the Dravidian architecture most commonly found in the temple of Kanchipuram and other South Indian cities

There is a gold-embellished Vimanam (spire) placed in the courtyard in the greeting posture with the idol of the deity placed on that. There are four entrances with one each sides of the spire from where the deity can be seen and worshipped.

Inside the sanctum, the idol of the Goddess Kamakshi sits in Padmasana, which is a Yoga posture resembling the form of a lotus. It is assumed that the goddess is in meditating inside the temple sanctum. She is holding a sugarcane bow in her upper left arm, a parrot in her upper right arm, and her divine chakras of Pasa and Angura in her lower left and right arms respectively.

The main shrine is decorated with several religious structures, images and figurines including a hundred-pillared hall and a sanctuary exclusively for elephants that offer prayers and worship the deity every morning at 5:00am.

The sanctum is full of multiple smaller shrines surrounding which a large pond adds to the tranquillity and spirituality of the premise.