Ekambaranatha Temple

Covering an area of 20 acres, the Ekambaranath Temple is the largest temple of Kanchipuram which has a great legend attached to it. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The Pallavas, the Cholas and the Rayas made wondrous contributions to give the temple its present form. It is believed that if a woman who does not have a child offers earnest prayer at this temple, her prayer never goes unanswered. One of the most striking features of the temple is its 1000 Lingas which have been flawlessly carved out from a single stone. You will be astonished to see thousands of pillars decorated beautifully inside the hall of the temple. One of the attractions is outside the temple – a 3500 years old mango tree. The four branches of the tree represent the four Vedas of Hindu. They Are Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana. The surprising fact about the tree is that the fruits of all the four branches tastes differently. The tree is an abode of the lord Eka-Amra-Nath which means the 'lord of the Mango tree'. Taking circles around the tree in a clockwise direction is considered auspicious.

The Raja Gopuram of the temple towers to a hight of 188 feet. The towers of the temple are built in such a style that no two towers stand opposite to each other. Also no two walls are parallel to one another.The story attached to the temple is : Once lord Shiva was in deep meditation and goddess Parvati jokingly closed his eyes for a moment which resulted in the long spell of darkness on the earth. This act of the goddess invited the ire of Lord Shiva. As a result he ordered her to go to the earth and do penance. She came down to the earth and created the Earth Linga. She would worship it wholeheartedly under the Mango tree at Kanchipuram.