Kamakshi Amman Temple

Kamakshi Amman Temple is an ancient shrine dedicated to Goddess Kamakshi ,located at Kanchipuram . The Goddess Kamakshi prevails in the form of Shakti. There are 51 Shakti Peetas across the country. The goddess residing place in Kanchipuram is called as "Nabisthana Ottiyana Peetam". The Goddess is called as "Sri Kamakshi. The word is derived from the heritage "Ka" means Goddess Saraswati (God of Education), "Ma" means Goddess Lakshmi (God of Wealth), "Akshi" means Eye. The name kamakshi as a whole refers as the god lives in Kanchi with Goddess Saraswati and Goddess Lakshmi as her both eyes.

Kamakshi Amman sanctum faces south-east in the middle of the Gayatri Mandapa. The beautiful deity of the Devi is in the Padmaasana posture, holding a bow of sugarcane and five arrows (pancha paana) of flowers. She is worshipped as Rajarajeshwari, Maha Tripurasundari, Lalitha and Kameshwari.The Kamakoti Peeta or Sri Chakra is in front of the Goddess and all pujas are offered to this.

Pujas are performed according to Chintamani Tantra, prescribed by sage Durvasa. There are separate shrines for sage Durvasa, a Devi Upasaka, Thundira Ganapathi, Goddess Annapurni and Adi Shankara.

During festival processions, the Devis idol is taken out only after formally seeking Adi Shankaras permission. This is in fulfillment of a divine promise. The original processional deity in gold, Swarna Kamakshi, was taken to a shrine in Thanjavur in the year 1767 at the time of Muslim invasion. There She is worshipped as Bangaru Kamakshi. In its place in Kanchipuram, Her golden Paadukaas (holy feet), consecreted by Kanchi Paramacharya Sri Chandrashekharendra Saraswathi, are worshipped.

There are four entrances to the temple, but the eastern entrance is considered the main gateway. A beautiful Gopura adorns this gate. The sacred tank in the temple is known as Pancha Ganga Theertha.

Southern India

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