Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram, located about 40 miles southwest
of Madras (Chennai), is one of the seven sacred
cities of India. It has been an important South
Indian religious and cultural center since well
before the Pallava dynasty of the sixth to eighth
centuries, when it served as the capital city. It also
served as one of the Chola capitals in the ninth to
13th centuries and as a secondary Pandyan capital
around 1000.
The city has been influenced by VAISHNAVISM,
SHAIVISM, and JAINISM. Between the fourth and sev-
enth centuries Kanchipuram was also known as
one of the great centers for Buddhism, and there
are still vestiges there of the Buddhist presence.
SHANKARA (c. seventh century) established one
of his five original Mathas or site for monks in
Kanchipuram. The city has a sizable Jain popula-
tion today concentrated in an area known as Jain
Kanchi, where there are many Jain shrines and a
few quite remarkable ancient Jain temples.
The oldest Hindu temples in Kanchipuram,
dating from the seventh and eighth centuries, are
the Kailasanatha temple devoted to SHIVA, and the
VAIKUNTHA Perumal temple devoted to VISHNU, both
built by the Pallavas. Additionally, the Kamakshi
Temple, dedicated to the goddess Kamakshi, dates
from the same period. Notable also are two temples
in the later VIJAYANAGARA style (circa 14th through
16th centuries): one of them dedicated to Varadara-
raja (Vaishnavite) and also to Shiva in LINGAM form,
and the other known as the Ekambaranatha temple,
which has an ancient mango tree on its grounds.
Kanchipuram is also famous for its beautiful saris.
Further reading: T. V. Mahalingam, Kanchipuram in
Early South Indian History (London: Asia Publishing
House, 1969).
Kanya Kumari
Kanya Kumari (Virgin maiden) is a town of
approximately 200,000 people at the tip of India
at the meeting place of the Arabian Sea, the Indian
Ocean, and the Bay of Bengal. The local goddess
Kanya Kumari is considered by some to be a form
of DURGA.
The story goes that the god of Suchindram,
a nearby town, was going to marry the goddess.
The gods did not like this—if she married she
would lose her powers to fight demonic forces.
They asked the RISHI NARADA to solve the prob-
lem. When Suchindram was on the way to the
ceremony, Narada made the call of a rooster.
Thinking that he had departed too late for the
ceremony Suchindram returned home and left
the goddess in her virgin state. Because of this
she was able to kill the demon Bana and protect
her land.
The seashore temple of Kanya Kumari is one
of the most visited PILGRIMAGE sites in India today.
Offshore, a newer temple to memorialize Swami
VIVEKANANDA has also been created. The town has
been a pilgrimage site since very ancient times,
since it is mentioned in the aranyaka parvan of
the MAHABHARATA, which took its current form by
the second century C.E. (with some sections going
back to perhaps the fifth century B.C.E.).Further reading: Francis X. Clooney, Divine Mother,
Blessed Mother: Hindu Goddess and the Virgin Mary (New
York: Oxford University Press, 2005).Kapila (c. 100 C.E.) philosopher
The sage Kapila is the legendary founder of
SAMKHYA tradition, and thus a key figure in the
history of yoga. He is said to have passed on his
knowledge to Asuri, who in turn passed it on to
Panchashikha. According to the oldest commen-
tary on the samkhya karika, a later text, Kapila
was a “wise ascetic,... born of heaven,... and
innately endowed with the four fundamental dis-
positions of virtue, knowledge, renunciation, and
supernatural power.”
The story is told that Kapila, out of pity for suf-
fering humanity, selected a BRAHMIN householder,
Asuri, as an appropriate person to whom to revealKapila 227 J