Information of Ekambareswarar Temple, Nanmangalam, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu

The Ekambareswarar Temple is quite a well-known Hindu temple in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. The reigning deity of the temple is Lord Shiva and is known to be one of the largest temples in entire Kanchipuram town. Kanchipuram is popularly known as the 'temple town' and is counted to be one of the chief pilgrimage hubs amongst all the seven in the country, India. The Ekambareswarar Temple is located Nanmangalam Locality in St. thomas Mount City in Kanchipuram District.

Ekambareswarar Temple Religious Significance

The Ekambareswarar Temple is considered to be amongst the five chief temples dedicated to Lord Shiva or Pancha Bootha Sthalams symbolizing the prime element that is Earth. The Pancha Bootha Sthalams is a Sanskrit term which means the five temples of Shiva each of which stands for the expression with regard to the five main elements relating to nature and they are water, sky, land, fire and air. Pancha means five, the term Bhoota stands for elements and the word Stala refers to place. All the five Shiva temples representing the basic elements are situated in South India with four of them at Tamil Nadu itself and only one in Andhra Pradesh. The five basic elements or rather constituents of nature are assumed to be preserved in the various lingams of the five temples. It needs to be added in the mentioned context that Lord Shiva is commonly represented in the form of a lingam in the temples dedicated to him. The lingams in the stated five temples are known by unlike names owing to the nature of the elements symbolized by them. In the Ekambareswarar Temple, Lord Shiva is believed to have revealed himself as a Prithvi Lingam or land.

Ekambareswarar Temple Mythology & History

According to the legends, it is believed that the wife of Lord Shiva, Parvati a long time ago indulged herself in an act of self-punishment beneath the mentioned temple's very old Mango tree close to the Vegavathi river. Lord Shiva with the intention of assessing her level of devotion set the tree on fire. Goddess Parvati in order to protect herself from the fire prayed to Vishnu, her brother for help. Vishnu took away the Moon from Shiva's forehead in the act of saving his sister. The rays of the Moon cooled down the fire set on the tress as well as Parvati. Then after, river Ganga was again sent to Parvati by Shiva in order to interrupt her act of penance. Parvati was successful in convincing Ganga by saying a prayer that both Parvati and Ganga were sisters and thus, Ganga should not make any attempts of harming Parvati. Consequently, Ganga allowed Parvati to carry out her penance and Parvati in order to become one with lord Shiva, formed a Shiva Linga made of sand. Therefore, the God of this temple was known as the "Lord of Mango Tree" or Embareswarar.

Ekambareswarar Temple Architectural Significance

The Ekambareswarar Temple is identified to be amongst the earliest temples in the country and is known to date back to 600 AD. The construction of the temple was made in accordance with Dravidian style of architecture and is spread on an area of more than 23 acres. The tower at the entrance of the temple is considered to be one of the tallest ones in the entire South India. The hallway of the temple consists of thousand pillars which is regarded to be quite a significant architectural characteristic. The area of the temple includes five courtyards along with a tank which is assumed to comprise a subversive source of Holy River.