A goddess held a lingam of sand against a flood. The god was won by her embrace.
- Deity
- Shiva as Ekambareswarar, lord of the mango tree
- Where
- Kanchipuram காஞ்சிபுரம்
- Known as
- One of the Pancha Bhoota Sthalams: the element of earth
- Oldest record
- Pallava era
௧ The legend
The lingam held against the flood
Parvati came to the bank of the Vegavathi river to do penance, and beneath a mango tree she shaped a lingam of sand and worshipped it.
To test her, Shiva sent the river in flood. Rather than let the lingam be washed away, Parvati threw her arms around it and held on as the water rose.
Shiva appeared and married her there, under the mango tree. Because the lingam is earth, it is not bathed with water: it is anointed with oil.
As the story is told at the temple. Legends vary in the telling.
௨ Across the centuries
Built by many hands, tier upon tier
Pallava era
The Pallavas of Kanchi
An early temple stands in the Pallava capital, the city of a thousand temples.
Chola era
The Cholas
The shrine is rebuilt and enlarged in stone.
1509
Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara
The south Rajagopuram rises to about fifty-nine metres in eleven tiers.
௩ What to look for
When you stand inside
The sacred mango tree
A tree said to be thousands of years old, whose four branches bore four different fruits.
The Rajagopuram
One of the tallest temple towers in south India.
The thousand-pillared hall
A hall of carved columns within the outer enclosure.
௪ The temple’s year
The festivals that fill it
- சித்திரைChithiraiApr–May
- வைகாசிVaikasiMay–Jun
- ஆனிAaniJun–Jul
- ஆடிAadiJul–Aug
- ஆவணிAavaniAug–Sep
- புரட்டாசிPurattasiSep–Oct
- ஐப்பசிAippasiOct–Nov
- கார்த்திகைKarthigaiNov–Dec
- மார்கழிMargazhiDec–Jan
- தைThaiJan–Feb
- மாசிMaasiFeb–Mar
- பங்குனிPanguniMar–Apr
Panguni Mar–Apr
Panguni Uthiram
The divine wedding beneath the mango tree, celebrated over thirteen days.
Festival dates follow the temple’s own calendar and change each year. We confirm them before you travel.
௫ Going there
Journeys that bring you here
- Most Tamil Nadu temples close around midday and reopen in the late afternoon. Each day keeps temples for the morning and evening and puts the road in between.
- Dress traditionally and modestly. Footwear is left outside every temple.
- Darshan arrangements differ from temple to temple and can change on festival days. We confirm what is possible at each one before you travel.
To stand here yourself, with the car, the stay, the guide and the darshan arranged, ask us to plan your journey. We call you back and listen first.
Draft Legends and history are retold from widely published sources and await review. Timings, dress code and special-entry arrangements are published once each fact has a source and a review date.