It
is believed that
Kancheepuram stands
first among the
seven sacred cities
of India.
Kanchi was the
capital of the
pallavas and remnants
of the pallava
art and sculpture
is visible in
the many temples
here Kanchi is
considered to
be one of the
three most important
centers of Vaishnavites,
the other being
Srirangam and
Tirumalai, with
the addition of
Tirunarayanpuram
in Mysore. Lot
of saints have
visited here and
worshipped the
Lord. There are
several noteworthy
temples here.
The temples belonging
to the Vishnu
kanchi are as
follows. The temple
of Varadarajaswami
is situated on
the top of  the
elephant hill
or hastagiri.
Vishnu in the
form of Varadaraja
helped Brahma
complete his yaga
by protecting
him from the Vegavati
River. On Brahma’s
insistence he
was manifested
in the physical
form here. The
yathotakari temple
is very famous.
It is believed
that the whole
of Kancheepuram
descended into
darkness when
the devoted kanikannan
was banished from
the court following
which the saint
Tirumazhisai and
the Lord himself
left the city.
They returned
however after
the king apologized.
The Vilakkoli
Perumal Temple
is a temple wherein
Mahavishnu is
given the name
Deepa Prakasa.
Here Lord Vishnu
is supposed to
have illuminated
a dark place inorder
to allow Brahma
carry out his
yaga. Sri Vaikuntha
Perumal temple
is famous for
its architecture
Here the Lord
is in the sitting
posture and the
Goddess is Vaikunthavalli
Tayar. Sri Ulagalandar
Temple is based
on the mythological
story of Vishnu
taking the vamana
avatar and making
Bali the king
of the underworld.
Sri Ashtabhujam
temple has the
image of Lord
Vishnu with ten
eight hands. The
Chitraguptaswami
temple is one
of the rare temples
that worship Chitragupta.
The Siva Kanchi
temples are also
many. The most
famous of the
Siva temples here
is the Ekambareswara
temple wherein
he is worshipped
in the form of
Prithvi linga.
It is said that
Parvati regained
Siva under a mango
tree here; the
temple was called
Ekamranatha and
later Ekambareswara.
The Kailasanatha
temple and the
Kanchapeswara
temple are the
other famous temples.
The temples dedicated
to other gods
include Sri Kamakshiamman
temple, Kumarakoshtam,
Satyavrateswara
and Sri Agastswarar
and Sri Upanisahd
Mutt.
Kancheepuram
is very popular
and is easily
accessible by
rail and road.
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