13th November 2018
Musings.......
Merriam Webster Dictionary defines a travelogue as a piece of writing about travel ; a talk or lecture on travel usually accompanied by a film or slides; a narrated motion picture about travel. My idea for this article is the first one.
Cherished moments are blessings that come by and one such moment was my recent trip to Chennai, Kanchipuram to be exact. Kanchipuram at a distance of 70 odd kilometres from Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu is a city that holds years of history.
Kanchipuram or Kanchi is the headquarters of the Kanchi Mutt, monastic institution founded by the saint Adi Shankaracharya. This city has been ruled by Pallavas ( was the capital between 4th and 9th Century ), Medivial and Later Cholas, Later Pandyas, Vijayanagara Empire, the Carnatic Kingdom and the British who called the city Conjeevaram.
Kanchipuram in Sanskrit means place from where Lord Brahma worshipped Lord Shiva. It is located in the banks of Vegavathi river, a tributary of the Palar River.
Buddhism flourished in Kanchipuram between 1st and 5th century. According to folklore, Bodhidharma a 5th Century Buddhist monk and founder of Shaolin Kung Fu was the third son of a Pallava King from Kanchipuram. Buddhist institutions from Kanchipuram spread Theravada Buddhism to the people of Myanmar and Thailand who in return spread the religion to incoming Burmese and Thai people.
Jainism was introduced to Kanchipuram by Kunda Kundacharya in 1st century and spread by Akalanka and Kalbhras, the rulers of Kanchi before the Pallavas. Trilokanatha/Chandraprabha temple is a twin Jain temple and has inscriptions from Pallava and Chola Kings.
Hindus consider Kanchipuram to be one of the seven holiest cities in India, the Sapta Puri.
Sapta Puri temples----
1) Ayodhya ( Vishnu as Rama )
2) Mathura ( Vishnu as Krishna )
3) Haridwar ( Shiva as Gangadhar )
4) Varanasi ( Shiva as Vishwanath )
5) Kanchipuram ( Durga as Parvati )
6) Ujjain ( Shiva as Mahakaleshwar )
7) Dwarka ( Vishnu as Krishna )
Kanchipuram has 108 Shaiva and 18 Vaishnava temples. Ramanujacharya, the Hindu philosopher who propagated Vishishtadvaita philosophy studied here. Kamakshi Amman temple is the most famous in the city. It is associated with Adi Shankara and ledgend has it that Kamakshi offered worship to a Shivaling made out of sand and gained Lord Shiva's hand in marriage. Ekambareshwarar temple, dedicated to one of the five elements, the Pancha Bhootha Sthalas, and specifically the element of Earth or Prithvi.
Legend has it that Parvati was cursed to become dark like Kali. She did penance under the temple Mango tree. In order to test her devotion, Shiva set fire upon her. Hence, Lord Shiva here is called Ekambareshwar ( Lord of Mango tree ). Other legend says Prithvi Lingam made of sand was worshipped by Parvati or Kamakshi. River Vegavathi threatened to overflow the sand Shiva lingam. Parvati embraced the Shivalingam to protect it from harm and touched by the gesture, Shiva came in person to marry Parvati.
Varadaraja Perumal temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu is the largest Vishnu temple in Kanchipuram. Built by the Cholas, it is one of the divyadeshams, the 108 holy abodes of Vishnu. Robert Clive is said to have presented an emerald necklace to the temple and is still used to decorate the deity, called the Clive Makarakandi.
The city has two mosques one near Ekambareshwar temple built by the Navab of Arcot in the 17th Century and another near Vaikuntha Perumal Temple, with which it shares a common tank. Muslims take part in festival of Varadarajaswamy temple.
Christ church, is the oldest church in the city built by the British in Scottish style brick architecture with arches and pillars.
Such examples of Religious tolerance and intermingling of society is something which was heartening to see. I still believe all communal hatred spread through fake news and propaganda building can be eliminated through community effort and partnership. Governments of our times can play a major role in developing mutual respect and sense of brotherhood among people belonging to different religions and within religions. It is imperative upon the Secular forces of our country to highlight such examples to counter the divisive Right wing forces in our country.
Any travelogue on Kanchipuram would be incomplete without mentioning about the silk weaving and handloom industry producing Kanchipuram Sarees. Worth ₹100 crores the industry received the Geographical Indication tag in 2005, the first product to receive the label in our country.
The silk trade began during the times of Raja Raja Chola I who invited weavers to migrate to Kanchi. Mass migration happened from Andhra Pradesh during the Vijayanagara rule.
According to Hindu mythology, Kanchi silk weavers are the descendants of the Sage Markanda, the master weaver of a Gods who is supposed to have woven tissue from lotus fibre. While cotton is considered the favourite fabric of Lord Shiva, silk is preferred by Lord Vishnu.
Kanchipuram sarees are depicted in paintings of a Raja Ravi Verma and epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana.
As a traveller and an outsider I watched history flash before my eyes as I visited these places. Such rich culture and heritage of our country so near yet so far was something hard to digest. The realisation that Chola and Vijayanagara kings had walked the same sanctum sanctorum of the temple was mind blowing.
To know such rich heritage and religious tolerance of olden times made me ponder over the futility of what is happening in our times. Whether it be Ayodhya issues or Sabarimala women entry issue, divisive forces trying to polarise our society is saddening. Our country has the history of accepting guests as our own. Vasudeva Kudumbakam has, is and will be our motto. Religious tolerance has been our theme and if few extremist outfits think they can rewrite history by changing names of cities and spreading fake news- they are thoroughly mistaken. As they say " The time for action is now. It's never too late to do something".
Food for Thought.......
RC
Merriam Webster Dictionary defines a travelogue as a piece of writing about travel ; a talk or lecture on travel usually accompanied by a film or slides; a narrated motion picture about travel. My idea for this article is the first one.
Cherished moments are blessings that come by and one such moment was my recent trip to Chennai, Kanchipuram to be exact. Kanchipuram at a distance of 70 odd kilometres from Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu is a city that holds years of history.
Kanchipuram or Kanchi is the headquarters of the Kanchi Mutt, monastic institution founded by the saint Adi Shankaracharya. This city has been ruled by Pallavas ( was the capital between 4th and 9th Century ), Medivial and Later Cholas, Later Pandyas, Vijayanagara Empire, the Carnatic Kingdom and the British who called the city Conjeevaram.
Kanchipuram in Sanskrit means place from where Lord Brahma worshipped Lord Shiva. It is located in the banks of Vegavathi river, a tributary of the Palar River.
Buddhism flourished in Kanchipuram between 1st and 5th century. According to folklore, Bodhidharma a 5th Century Buddhist monk and founder of Shaolin Kung Fu was the third son of a Pallava King from Kanchipuram. Buddhist institutions from Kanchipuram spread Theravada Buddhism to the people of Myanmar and Thailand who in return spread the religion to incoming Burmese and Thai people.
Jainism was introduced to Kanchipuram by Kunda Kundacharya in 1st century and spread by Akalanka and Kalbhras, the rulers of Kanchi before the Pallavas. Trilokanatha/Chandraprabha temple is a twin Jain temple and has inscriptions from Pallava and Chola Kings.
Hindus consider Kanchipuram to be one of the seven holiest cities in India, the Sapta Puri.
Sapta Puri temples----
1) Ayodhya ( Vishnu as Rama )
2) Mathura ( Vishnu as Krishna )
3) Haridwar ( Shiva as Gangadhar )
4) Varanasi ( Shiva as Vishwanath )
5) Kanchipuram ( Durga as Parvati )
6) Ujjain ( Shiva as Mahakaleshwar )
7) Dwarka ( Vishnu as Krishna )
Kanchipuram has 108 Shaiva and 18 Vaishnava temples. Ramanujacharya, the Hindu philosopher who propagated Vishishtadvaita philosophy studied here. Kamakshi Amman temple is the most famous in the city. It is associated with Adi Shankara and ledgend has it that Kamakshi offered worship to a Shivaling made out of sand and gained Lord Shiva's hand in marriage. Ekambareshwarar temple, dedicated to one of the five elements, the Pancha Bhootha Sthalas, and specifically the element of Earth or Prithvi.
Legend has it that Parvati was cursed to become dark like Kali. She did penance under the temple Mango tree. In order to test her devotion, Shiva set fire upon her. Hence, Lord Shiva here is called Ekambareshwar ( Lord of Mango tree ). Other legend says Prithvi Lingam made of sand was worshipped by Parvati or Kamakshi. River Vegavathi threatened to overflow the sand Shiva lingam. Parvati embraced the Shivalingam to protect it from harm and touched by the gesture, Shiva came in person to marry Parvati.
Varadaraja Perumal temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu is the largest Vishnu temple in Kanchipuram. Built by the Cholas, it is one of the divyadeshams, the 108 holy abodes of Vishnu. Robert Clive is said to have presented an emerald necklace to the temple and is still used to decorate the deity, called the Clive Makarakandi.
The city has two mosques one near Ekambareshwar temple built by the Navab of Arcot in the 17th Century and another near Vaikuntha Perumal Temple, with which it shares a common tank. Muslims take part in festival of Varadarajaswamy temple.
Christ church, is the oldest church in the city built by the British in Scottish style brick architecture with arches and pillars.
Such examples of Religious tolerance and intermingling of society is something which was heartening to see. I still believe all communal hatred spread through fake news and propaganda building can be eliminated through community effort and partnership. Governments of our times can play a major role in developing mutual respect and sense of brotherhood among people belonging to different religions and within religions. It is imperative upon the Secular forces of our country to highlight such examples to counter the divisive Right wing forces in our country.
Any travelogue on Kanchipuram would be incomplete without mentioning about the silk weaving and handloom industry producing Kanchipuram Sarees. Worth ₹100 crores the industry received the Geographical Indication tag in 2005, the first product to receive the label in our country.
The silk trade began during the times of Raja Raja Chola I who invited weavers to migrate to Kanchi. Mass migration happened from Andhra Pradesh during the Vijayanagara rule.
According to Hindu mythology, Kanchi silk weavers are the descendants of the Sage Markanda, the master weaver of a Gods who is supposed to have woven tissue from lotus fibre. While cotton is considered the favourite fabric of Lord Shiva, silk is preferred by Lord Vishnu.
Kanchipuram sarees are depicted in paintings of a Raja Ravi Verma and epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana.
As a traveller and an outsider I watched history flash before my eyes as I visited these places. Such rich culture and heritage of our country so near yet so far was something hard to digest. The realisation that Chola and Vijayanagara kings had walked the same sanctum sanctorum of the temple was mind blowing.
To know such rich heritage and religious tolerance of olden times made me ponder over the futility of what is happening in our times. Whether it be Ayodhya issues or Sabarimala women entry issue, divisive forces trying to polarise our society is saddening. Our country has the history of accepting guests as our own. Vasudeva Kudumbakam has, is and will be our motto. Religious tolerance has been our theme and if few extremist outfits think they can rewrite history by changing names of cities and spreading fake news- they are thoroughly mistaken. As they say " The time for action is now. It's never too late to do something".
Food for Thought.......
RC
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