Let us end this last day of a year of hope and change with the divine darshan of the Shiva Lingam and other deities at the Ekambareswarar Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located in Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. This 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 believed to be in existence since at least 600 AD. Second century AD Tamil poets speak of Kama kottam, and the Kumara kottam (currently the Kamakashi Amman temple and the Subramanya temple). The existing structure 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 as in other Shiva temples in Kanchipuram. The temple complex covers an area of over 40 acres. Reaching a height nearly 60 meters, the temples 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 temples 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 tapa under the temples ancient Mango Tree. In order to test her devotion Lord Shiva set fire on her. Goddess Parvati prayed to her brother, Lord Vishnu, for help. In order to save her, he took the Moon from Lord Shivas head and showered the rays which then cooled down the tree as well as Parvati. After that, Lord Shiva again sent river Ganga to disrupt Parvatis tapa. Parvati 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 Lingam 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 (a Lingam made of sand), under a mango tree. Legend also has it that, once the neighboring Vegavati River overflowed and threatened to engulf the Shiva Lingam and Parvati or Kamakshi embraced the Lingam. Shiva touched by the gesture appeared in person and married her.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 05:22:58 +0000
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