Sri kamakoti peeta vashini-kamakshi According to the puranas, Goddess Parasakhi,

with the name of Goddess Kamaks hi showering Her blessings on her devotees, is the
presiding deity of the city o f Kanchi. The glory of Kamakshi is found described in
Devi Mahatmya Adyaya of Ma rkandeya Purana, Lalithopakyanam of Brahmanda Purana,
Sanathkumara Samhita of Sk anda Purana and Kanchi Purana. Among the idols of
Sakthi, Sri Kanchi Kamakshi al one is believed to be replete with all the
characteristic attributes of Sri Lali tha Tripura Sundari, worshipped by Sri Vidya
hymns. Among the 64 Sakthi Peetas, Jagannatham is regarded as Odyana or Girdle
Peeta. Jwalamuki as Jalandara Peeta and Kancheepuram as Kamaraja Peeta. Even among
these three, Kancheepuram, regard ed as the navel of the earth, is considered most
sacred. Goddess Kamakshi is so called for two reasons: (1) She fulfils the desires
o f the devotees by just a glance of Her gracious eyes. (2) The letters 'Ka' and '
Ma' refer to Goddesses Saraswathi and Laxmi. She graced through her gracious gla
nces of her right and left eyes on Brahma and Lord Vishnu respectively and bless ed
them with Saraswathi and Lakshmi to become their consorts. As a mark of showi ng
their respect and gratitude to the Goddess Sri Kamakshi, Sri Lakshmi and Sara
swati, each with a chowrie, stand on her two sides doing the sacred service of f
anning. Sri Kamakshi is enthroned in Sri Kamakoti Peetam. This signifies two thi
ngs: (1) She fulfills the desires of her devotees who worship her with a view to
attain material prosperity by granting wealth and boons in crores or in plenty. (2)
The four principal objects of human life, called Purusharthas, are Dharma A rtha,
Kama and Moksha. She grants not only the first three needed for life on ea rth but
also the ultimate Purushartha Viz., Moksha or liberation leading to eter nal bliss.
The explanations follow from the meanings of the words "Kama" and "Ko ti". Kama
means desire to object, 'Koti' means a crore or the end denoting the s aturation
point or the ultimate. There are a number of temples for Goddess Kamakshi in India.
The temples of kamakya in Assam, Kamachcha in Sri Kasikameswara temple in Varanasi,
Jonnavada K amakshion the banks of the river Pinakini near Buchireddipalayam in
Kovur Taluk, Nellore District of Andhara Pradesh, Kamakshi Amman in Sri
Ekambareswarar templ e in the Thanga Salai Street at Madras, Mangadu Kamakshi in
penance in Mangadu V illage near Poondamalli, Sri Kamakshi Devi enthroned in Sri
Kamakoti Peetam in K anchi and Swarna Kamakshi called Bangaru Kamakshi in Thanjavur
are all very famo us. Besides these, there are temples for Kamakshi in Chingleput,
Puducherry, Vil lupuram, Vishnampatti, Kallaperambur, Chettikulam, Cuddalore,
Karuvazhakkarai ne ar Mayuram, Edayatrumangalam near Pattukottai, Negeswarar
Sannidhi in Kumbakonam , Trichy Tuticorin and Rameswaram. But the moment the name
of Kamakshi is though t of only Kamakshi of Kanchi comes before our eyes. The glory
of Sri Kanchi Kamakshi has been extolled in 2000 slokas by Saint D urvasa in
Kritayuga, in 500 slokas by Parasurama in Threthayuga and in 500 sloka s by Mooka
Sankara in Kaliyuga. She has been eulogized as the one responsible fo r the
creation, protection and destruction of the universe, evincing an innate c
ompassion to take care of the welfare or yogakshema of the devotees, confering a ll
the purusharthas. She chooses to dwell in the pure hearts of the devotees. Sh e is
the underlying theme of the Vedas.Agamas and Puranas helping her Bakthas to cross
of the ocean of Samsara. The Trinity of Music, Saint Sri Thyagaraja, Sri Muthuswamy
Dikshitar and Sri Syama Sastri have composed krithis in praise of God dess Sri
Kamakshi. It is said that Goddess Kamakshi sanctifies the shrine in Kan chi in the
form of Cosmic space caned Bilakasa and in the Sri Chakra installed b y Sri Adi
Sankara and dwells in the Gayatri Mandapam with 24 pillars representin g the 24
letters of Gayatri Mantra with padmasana, in a sitting posture with fou r arms,
adorned with Ankusam and Pushpa Banam in the arms on the right and with
Ankusam and Ikshukodandam or the Sugarcane bow in the arms on the left. Puranic
Origin: Once upon a time, an asura called Bandakasura secured several boons from Lo
rd Brahma by performing severe penances. Puffed up with pride, he tormented the
devas and sages who sought refuge under Lord Siva. Realising that only Goddess P
arasakthi could save them by destroying the Rakshasa, Lord Siva advised them to
enter a chasm in the shrine Gomukha, situated to the north of Kailas and to come
out through another chasm, called Kamakoti Peetam, in Kancheepuram and worship
Parasakthi who dwells there in the form of Bilakasa. He further told them that f or
the earth, usually visualised as cow, Sripuram is its head, Himalayas its nec k,
Kedaram its belly, Benaras its back, Kanchi its hip and the chasm, Kamakoti P
eetam, its navel. Learning this from Lord Siva, the Devas came to Kanchi and
remained there ta king the form of parrots and prayed to Goddess Kamakshi for the
redemption of th eir sufferings at the Hands of Bandakasura. Showing mercy on them,
She took the frightful form of Bhairavi, like the fire of Deluge, with 18 arms and
18 celesti al weapons, came out of the chasm, reached Kailas, where the asura was
sleeping, kept one foot on his neck and the other on his breast, killed him and
returned to Kanchi through Bilakasa with his head, holding his flocks of hair, as a
5 yea r old girl. Seeing her ferocious form, the Devas swooned. To remove their
fear, she then assumed a lovely form wearing silk garments and adorned with all
orname nts. Recovering their consciousness and seeing her dazzling form, the Devas
rema ined spellbound unable to comprehend her amazing powers. She then directed
them to bury the body of Bandakasura there and erect a victory-staff, called
Jayastha mbam, as a mark of victory. While the Devas were digging the ground to
bury his head, they found another Asura called Mallaka, performing penance beneath
the earth. Sensing that he was invincible, they prayed to Lord Vishnu to kill him.
Lord Vishnu attacked Mallak a but every drop of blood shed from his body was
tansformed into a demon in the same form and soon there was an army of demons to
fight with Lord Vishnu. Each d emon in the huge army so produced was killed by
Vishnu in that battle, only to s ee more and more demons emerge from the spilt
blood-drops. Unable to vanquish th em, Lord Vishnu prayed to Lord Siva to come to
his rescue. At once, Lord Siva un locked his long matted hair and struck it on the
ground to produce two ghosts wh ich drank all the drops of blood preventing the
multiplication of demons. Then L ord Vishnu was able to annihilate all the demons
with their aid. The ghosts intoxicated by excessive drinking of blood began to
attack Lord V ishnu Himself for whose assistance they were created. Lord Vishnu
pushed them do wn and stood upon them. Showing resistance, they rose up. Again he
pushed them d own and sat upon them. Seeing them still resisting, He lay down upon
their bodie s and suppressed their arrogance. Hence his name "Bhootha Bandhana".
Coming back to their senses, the ghosts prayed Lord Vishnu, to pardon them. In turn
Lord Vishnu also felt sorry for having been forced to inflict pain on th e Bhoothas
which were sent by Lord Siva to assist him in battle with Mallaka. At this
juncture, Lord Siva appeared on the scene, released Ganges from his matted hair,
created a sacred tank called Pancha Theertham and asked Lord Vishnu and the ghosts
to have their ablutions in it as atonement for their actions. Lord Vishnu
consecrated the male and femal ghosts as guards for the Panch. T heertham and he
himself began to dwell in their midst at a higher plane in stand ing, sitting, and
reposing postures in commemoration of his fight with them, and proclaimed that
those who are desirous of having progency, would cherish their
desire by taking a holy dip in the Pancha Theertham. The Pancha Theertha tank is so
counstructed that the Abhishekha Theertham of Goddess Sri Kamakshi falls int o this
tank adding sanctity to the holy waters of this sacred tank. In deference to the
command of the Goddess Sri Kamakshi the Devas then burie d Bandakasura, installed a
Jayasthamba and constructed a passage from there lead ing to Bilakasa. They also
constructued a mandapam with 24 pillars symbolising t he 24 letters of the sacred
hymn "Gayatri" and named it Gayatri Mandapam. They m ade an idol of the Goddess,
resembling the form of which they were fortunate to have darshan and consecrated
the same on a gembedecked throne symbolising the Pr anava Mantra and worshipped her
with great devotion. Then they closed the door, came out and spent that night
chanting mantras in her prayer. The next day, just before dawn, they opened the
door in deep reverence to find to their great asto nishment, Goddess Rajarajeswari
in her real from instead of that idol. It was on an auspicious Friday in the
asterism Pooram in Krishna Pakhsa Prathama thidi in the month of Panguni in
Srimukha Varsha in Krithyuga in Savitri Swayambu Manava nthara that Rajarajeswarai
Sri Lalitha Thripurasundari manifested herself as God dess Sri Kamakshi in
Kamakottam of Kancheepuram. To celebrate the coronation of Goddess Sri Kamakshi, in
the Gayatri Mandapam in the Kamakottam of Kanchi, Viswakarma, the Chief architect
of the Devas prese nted a palanquin, while Lord Brahma offered a hair clip made of
Pearls, Lord Vis hnu a crown studded with the nine gems, and Lord Siva a necklace
called Sri Chak ra. They decorated the idol of Sri Kamakshi with all ornaments,
worshipped her a nd prayed to her to sanctify this shrine in Kanchi and continue to
shower her Gr ace on the devotees for all times to come. Illustrious Recipents of
the Lord's Grace: For anihilating Tarakasura, the Devas felt the pressing need for
Lord Subra mnya's incarnation as the son of Lord Siva. To distract Prameswara from
his pena nce and divert his attention towards Goddess Gowri, the Devas deployed
Cupid for the job. When Lord Siva was sturck by his flower arrows, his penance was
distur bed. Getting angry, he burnt Cupid to ashes by the fire of the third eye on
his forehead. Having lost his physical frame, Cupid not only wanted to regain it
but also register a victory over Lord Siva. With these objectives, he prayed to God
dess Kamakshi and regained his lovely form. He expressed to her, his desire to s
core a victory over Lord Siva. Assuring him of her full support, Sri Kamakshi di
rected Cupid to go to Kailash again and shower his flower arrows on Lord Siva. H e
did so; but this time, the fire of Lord Siva's third eye, could do no harm to
Cupid. Not only was it unable to reduce him to ashes, but it began to shine like a
gem on his head as an ornament. Then Lord Siva, infatuated with love, went into the
harem to meet Goddess Go wri but she was not found there. This was because Goddess
Kamakshi had imbibed t he powers of all manifestations of Sakthi in all the holy
places throughout and remained as a single store-house of power in Kanchi to save
Cupid. Greatly disap pointed Lord Siva visited all places and sacred shrines for
his consort Gowri bu t to no purpose. Finally he came to Kanchi where he saw
Goddess Kamakshi, the ve ry personification of grace and expressed his love for her
mistaking her to be t he Gowri. But Goddess Kamakshi told him that she was not his
consort, Gowri to a ppease his love and asked himto seek the assistance of cupid
for the extinction of the fire of love from him. Lord Siva took it as a prestige
issue, rejected her suggestion and was about to seize her hand forcibly. But
Goddess Kamakshi foiled his attempt by generati ng, just by her looks a crore of
cupids for attacking him. Lord Siva in turn gen eratd a crore of Rudras to fight
with the cupids, but they were all defeated. Cu pid, who emerged as a victor with
the grace of the Goddess, made Lord Siva surre
nder unto her. Goddess Kamakshi then transformed these cupids into stars just ab
ove the Kamakoti Peetam and then, to facilitate the various manifestations of pa
rasakthi so as to allow them to get back to their respective shrines as the cons
orts of Lord Siva in those forms. Goddess Kamakshi in Kanchi is seen bearing a
sugarcanebow and five flower-ar rows of red-lotus, Asoska Mango, Jasmine and Blue-
lotus in her arms. Jagadguru, His Holiness Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Swami
of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peeta m once pointed out that Goddess Kamakshi seized these
weapons of the cupid so th at he might not exercise his influence over Her devotees
and the gnanis. Bandakasura and Cupid, endowed with Tamoguna and Rajoguna
respectively, are personifications of anger and lust. Unfulfilled lust leads to
anger and Desire i s the root cause of misery. One should strive to overcome these
two qualities. T hough both anger and desire cannot be completely effacted, they
can be kept unde r proper check with out causing any hindrance to the practice of
Dharma with the grace of Goddess Sri Kamakshi. The three gunas namely Sathvaguna,
Rajoguna and Thamoguna signify judicious action, indiscriminate action, and
inaction respectively. By vanquishing Bandaka sura and subduing Cupid, Goddess Sri
Kamakshi demonstrated to the entire world t he futility of inaction the need for
careful avoidance of indiscretection and th e importance of inculdence in
judulgence action. As Sri Lalitha Turipusundari, the Parasakthi herself has
sanctified the Kama kottam in Kanchi the presiding Deity of Kancheepuram, and hence
there is no sepa rate sannidhi for Gowri the manifestation of Parasakthi in the
temples of Siva i n Kanchi. This is because the powers of the various
manifestations of Parasakthi , who ought to find a place in these temples, are
merged in Goddess Sri Kamakshi alone. Once Lord Brahma desired to perform the
Tirukalayananotsavam, of the Goddess Gowri with Sri Ekamreswara. To fulfill his
desire, Sri Kamakshi generated from the eye of her forehead a manifestation of
Sakthi and directed Brahma to get a g olden idol made in the form of that
manifestation and perform the Kalyanotsavam of Sri Ekamreswara with that idol as
his consort and Brahma acted accordingly. To make the celebration of
Tirukkalyanotsavam a regular feature, He took a l otus used for worshipping Goddess
Kamakshi and threw it up in the sky. It blosso med, and came down to the earth
taking a human form and stood before him with fo lded hands. Brahma named him
"Akasa Bhoopathy" and made him the ruler of Kanchi and directed him to look after
the worship of Goddess Kamakshi on the same lines . Akasa Bhoopathi, his son
Thundeeran and his descendants continued the traditio n of celebrating daily,
fortnightly and monthly festivals and the Brahmotsavam i n the prescribed manner.
There is a sanctum of Lord Vishnu called as 'Kalvar' within the inner prakar a of
the shrine of Sri Kamakshi in the Gayatri Mandapam. During the churning of the
milky-ocean, Lord Vishnu with Svetavarna, bearing mountain the mandara onhis back
in the form of tortoise was oppressed by the scorching radiation of Halaha la which
darkened his body. The Devas offered the hand of Goddess Lakshmi in mar riage to
Lord Vishnu. Goddess Lakshmi, renowned for her shining golden complexio n, scoffed
once at Vishnu saying for fun that he was no match for her because of his dark
complexion. Irritated by her proud attitude caused by the thought of h er lovely
complexion, Lord Vishnu cursed her to lose her beauty forthwith. This is an
instance to show to the world that playfulness may turn to misery at times and that
one should be cautios while talking to people even if they are very ne ar and dear.
Lakshmi was very much distressed at this and prayed to Goddess Sri Kamakshi to
grace her with the lost beauty. Sri Kamakshi consoled her and asked her to remain
to the left of her sannidhi situated in Gayathri Mandapam of Kamak
ottam in Kancheepuram so that her devotees would receive her kumkuma prasadam an d
offer it to her and by its efficacy she would regain her lovely form. She aske d
Lakshmi that in return, she would bestow all prosperity on them. Goddess Laksh mi
submitted to her will and regained her lovely form. Thus the Aroopa Lakshmi b ecame
Soundarya Lakshmi. Lord Vishnu, also realised his mistake in cursing His consort
Sri Lakshmi in haste and came to Kanchi to appease her. He was delighted to see her
in Gayatri Mandapam in her original beauty. But he wanted to look at Lakshmi
without being noticed by her. Though he approached her stealthily, she took notice
of him. Bo ld of being under the shelter of Goddess Kamakshi she even ventured to
call Vish nu who was stealing a look at her as "Kalva" meaning 'a thief. Hence Lord
Vishnu , dwelling adjacent to Soundarya Lakshmi in Gayatri Mandapam, came to be
called "Kalvar". Kalvar's sannidhi is one of the 108 Sri Vaishnavite shrines and
Tiruma ngai Azhwar has sung in praise of this deity. When Akasa Bhoopathy ruled
over Kanchi, the city had once to face a severe d rought and famine. The King under
took a fast praying of Goddess Kamakshi to cau se rains, for cultivation, relieve
his subjects from hunger and thirst and also blessing him with progeny. With her
grace, he got a son named Thundeera, who was Lord Vinayaka incarnate. There were
also rains and the city of Kanchi turned pr osperous. Filled with immense joy, the
King arranged for mass-feeding. Goddess K amakshi in the guise of a Sumangali - old
married lady-sat in the row and began to take food. Immediately there were showers
of gold outside the pandal. While a ll were wondering how this happened, they were
further amazed to hear the child, Thundeera, coming out with an explanation that
while the queen, his mohter, was herself winnowing the grains meant for the mass-
feeding, a pearl of gold, getti ng detached from her golden ring got mixed with the
food grains. This golden pearl entered into the stomach of Goddess Kamakshi when
she cons umed the food in the guise of a sumangali and in token of her
gratification caus ed showers of gold in that region, the corns of paddy grown
there also assumed a golden lustre. This place is now called "Pon Vilianda
Kalathoor", King Thundeer a spent his entire life in the service of Goddess
Kamakshi. There is an image of King Thundeera in the temple of Sri Kamakshi seen
with folded hands in deep med itation opposite to the sannidhi of the processional
deity of Kamakshi. While ci rcumambulating the mantap it is a custom of the
devotees to keep silent and rema in with folded hands as they pass by the idol as a
mark of respect to King Thund eera. Goddess Sri Kamakshi also blessed many devotees
with erudition and poetic-ta lent from time to time, the most promiment among them
being Sage Durvasa, Parasu rama Dhowmya, Adi Sankara and Mooka Sankara. Shri
Sankara attained Videha Mukthi in the sanctum sanctorium of Goddess Kam akshi. To
commenmorate this event, there is a sannidhi built for Sankara in the Kamakshi
Temple. The fact that Adi Sankara incorporated the name of Sri Kamakoti Peeta in
the name of Sri Kanchi Mutt throws light on the inseparable link betwe en Goddess
Sri Kamakshi and Sri Sankara Mutt. Sri Sankara not only consecrated S ri Chakra,
but also renovated the Kamakshi temple which iteself is in the form o f Sri Chakra.
The ruler of Kanchi, Rajasena, under instructions from Adi Sankara , changed the
modalities of town-planning so as to make the city itself resemble the form of Sri
Chakra, with Kamakotta Garbagriha as its Bindu or pivotal point . Sankara then
established the Sarvagna Peeta there and ascended the same. The 20th Acharya in the
Guru Parampara of His Holiness Sri Kanchi Kamakoti P eetadipathy J agadguru Sri
Sankaracharya Swami, called Sri Mooka Sankara, compos ed 500 tilting verses in
praise of Goddess Kamakshi. The word 'Mooka' in Sankrit means a mute. In his
poorvasrama he was a dull mute. He used to come and sit in the sannidhi of Goddess
Kamakshi every day. Another devotee, Sri Vidya Upasaka,
also used to come there praying for scholarship and eloquence. One day Goddess
Kamakshi intending to bless that devotee, appeared before him in the guise of a
damsel and asked him to open his mouth. Not knowing her identity, that devotee u
nfortunately drove her away in anger. At that time, by a stroke of good fortune,
the dumb bachelor, sitting by his side, opened his mouth fortuitously when Godd ess
Kamakshi transferred her Tamboola Rasa into it. Immediately, he was transfor med
into a gifted poet who reeled off verses in praise of Goddess Kamakshi ! The 62nd
Acharya of Sri Kamakoti Peeta, his Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswa thi
Swamigal, has composed a work called "Siva Geetha Malika" giving an acount o f the
devine sports of Goddess Kamakshi and Lord Ekamreswara. Description of the Temple:
The Temple has 4 big towers on the four sides, tall walled enclosures and ar tistic
sculptures. A peculiarity of this temple is that on crossing the walled-e nclosure
and entering the temple we are unable to identify the 4 directions! On crossing the
walled enclosure through the Rajagopuram, we see the flag-st aff and an altar.
Opposite to the flag staff, there is a stone-window in the san nidhi Parkara.
Looking through this, we can have darashan of Goddess Kamakshi in Gayatri Mandapam
even from outside. Opposite to the flag-staff there is an idol of Sri Vinayaka
renowed as a giver of boons. Crossing the door-way of the tower and going in we
come across the Sukravara Mandapam where the processional idol of Goddess Kamakshi
is brought every Friday. Sri Anjaneya in a captivating form is portrayed in one of
the pillars of this Friday mandapam. When we go in through the main door-way after
the Sukaravara mandapam, we se e a victory-staff called Jayasthambam. Going in
through the entrance opposite to Jayasthamba and turning to the left we have
darshan of Vigna Nivarana Ganapathi . Though the prakara is constructed
circumambulating the Utsava Mandapam contain ing the processional-deity of
Kamakshi, have dharshan of Saraswathi, Bangaru Kam akshi and Annapoorani and then
reach the sannidhi of Goddess Kamakshi. Climbing up the steps leading to the Utsava
Mandapam, we have dharshan of sage Durvasa. The sage Atri and his wife Anasuya had
three sons, the Moon, sage Dattatreya and sage Durvasa who were glorified with the
characteristics of Lord Brahma, Lo rd Vishnu and Lord Siva respectively. All of
them were devotees of Parasakthi th e Devine Mother and were recipients of her
grace. The Moon got the rare privileg e of adoring her crown. Hence her name
Chandramowleeswari. The sage Dattatreya w ho devised a method for his personal
worship guided the entire humanity to worsh ip her as the foremost in the Guru
Pramapara with a view to attain mental sublim ity essential for an understanding of
the doctrine of Advaita. For enabling mank ind to worship her according to Agama
Sastras not only in private but in public and outlining the procedure for the same,
the sage Durvasa wrote a treatise call ed Sowbagya Chintamani. Even today, the
worship of Kamakshi is followed on the l ines laid down by Durvasa. While
circumambulating the Utsava Mandapam we see the Palliarai and the idol of
Ishtasiddhi Vinayagar. Then we come to the Asthana ma ndapam containing the
processional deity of Sri Kamakshi. Goddess Saraswati and Goddess Lakshmi, with
chowries in their hands, are seen engaged in rendering her fanning service.
Standing in this mandapam, we can also have darshan of the pre siding-deity of
Kamakshi and Sri Chakra through a grill gate. After worshiping t he processional
deity and continuing through the mandapam, we see Thundeera Maha raja with folded
hands in one of the pillars. On the other side of this mandapam , there are
sannidhis of Saraswati and Swarna Kamakshi. At the entrance to these sannidhis
there are the idols of Sowbagya Ganapati and Lord Subramanya on eithe r side. The
Swarnakamakshi, also called Bangaru Kamakshi which was consecrated b y Lord Brahma
in Kanchi, was later taken to Thanjavur via Gingee, Udayarpalayam and Tiruvarur by
the ancestors of Sri Syamasastri one among the Music Trinity, d uring an invasion
by foreigners. This golden idol is now worshipped as Sri Banga
ru Kamakshi at Thanjavur. At the place where she once dwelt here, we now see a
pedestal adorned with h er foot prints. Descending down the Utsava Mandapam, we
have the sannidhi of Ann apoorani, opposite to the entrance of the Moolasthana. In
the Moolasthana, Goddess Kamakshi is sanctifying the Gayatri Mandapam wit h 24
pillars signifying 24 letters of Gayatri Mahamantra. While going to her san nidhi,
we see the Kalvar and Soundaryalakshmi. In the Moolasthana Sri Vidya Lali tha
Tripurasundari dwells as Goddes Kamakshi in the form of cosmic space and in a
penance performing posture. A third form of her in the Moolasthana is seen wit h
four hands. The upper left and right hands are emblished by Pasa and Anhusa re
spectively. In the lower left and right hands, she has a sugarcane bow and flowe r-
arrows respectively. Words will not be adequate to describe the captivating fo rm
of Sri Kamakshi. It is something to be experienced in person by every devotee . In
front of Goddess Kamakshi, we see Sri Chakra consecrated by Sri Adi Sanka ra. Sri
Chakra is the abode of Lalitha Tripurasundari who is also called 'Sri Vi dya
Swaroopini;. The word Sri refers to Srividya and the word 'Chakra' refers to a
wheel shaped device called yantra. In the word 'Sri Vidya', 'Sri' means Paras akthi
and 'Vidya' means knowledge. Hence Sri Chakra is a device to get enlighten ed about
Goddess Parasakthi. Worship of Sri Chakra is equivalent to the worship of
Parasakthi. In Kamakshi temple, Archanas are performed only to this Sri Chakr a. In
the Kavacham surrounding Sri Chakra, Goddess Lakshmi dwells in her eight f orms
called the 'Ashta Lakshmis'. It is customary for devotees to receive Kamaks hi's
kumkuma prasadam, offer it at the feet of Goddess 'Aroopa Lakshmi' remainin g to
the left of Sri Kamakshi in the walls of the Prakara of the Moolasthanam an d then
take the kumkumam from there to have it as thilakam on the forehead. Vara hi and
Santhana Ganapati are also seen in the Moolasthana Prakara. Coming out of the
Gayatri Mandapam, we have darshan of Sri Sastha with his c onsrots Poorna and
Pushkala. Adjoining to this sannidhi we have the sannidhi of Sri Adi Sankara. It is
said that Adi Sankara ascended the Sarvagana Peeta here. In the mandapam, next to
this sannidhi, we see pictures cut on black marble slab s depicting the life-
history of Sri Adi Sankara. Coming out we have darshan of V arasiddhi Vinayakar
near the Jayasthambam. Then coming out of the temple, we see in the eastern tower,
sannidhis of Bairava and Durga. Circumambulating the Prak ara, we come to
Kasiviswanatha sannidhi, the sacred tank, Navarathri Mandapam. O n its bank we see
the Kanchi Vriksha which is the Sthala Viruksha. The outlet th rough which the
sacred Abhisheka theertha of the Goddess falls into this sacred tank is known as
"Karumuri Paichal". It is here that we come across the sannidhi of Lord Vishnu in
standing, sitting and reposing postures, a Yagna mandapam and yagasala. There is a
aslo a separate temple of Sri Adipeeta Parameswari Kali kambal ju st behind the
prakaram of Sri Kamakshi Temple. By the side of this temple there is a Separate
temple of Sri Kaleshwar, where special poojas are performed for Ra hu preethi. It
is worth mentioning that all the temples in Kanchi face the Kamakshi Amma n temple.
Whenever any festival is celebrated these deities are taken out inproc ession round
the Kamakshi temple. Festivals: The Acharyas of Sri Kamakoti Peetam who are the
hereditary trustees of Sri K amakshi Ambal temple have renovated the temple
whenever necessary. There are ins criptions which indicate that renovation was
undertaken in 1761 at the instance
of His Holiness Sri Chandra Sekharendra Saraswathi Swamigal of Sri Kamakoti Mutt .
In 1942, his Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal the 68th Achar ya,
performed the Mahakumbabishekam of the temple and also got a silver car manu
factured modelled after Sri Chakra and offered to the Goddess a golden Sahasrana ma
mala, a garland of golden coins on which the one thousand names of the Goddes s are
inscribed. The Rajagopuram, constructed by Sri Krishna Devaraya was develo ped by
Pallava Kings. Prakara Gopurams and Vimanas were renovated and Mahakumaba bishekam
performed by His Holiness Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam Jagadguru Sri Jaye ndra
Saraswati Swami on the 5th April 1976 and in that connection, 75 music conc erts
were arranged speread over 48 days and a three-day Hindu Religious conferen ce and
a Vidwat sadas were also held. The Vimana of Sri Kamakshi sannidhi was go ld-plated
and Kumbabishekam performed on 1st Febraury in 1979 by His Holiness Ja gadguru Sri
Sankaracharya Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swami of Sri Kamakoti Peetam. Every Friday,
Special Abishekams are performed to Goddess Sri Kamakshi. The devotees throng the
temple on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. On every full-moon day, Navarana Pooja is
performed. Brahmotsavam and Navarathri Festival are celeb rated in the months of
Masi and Purattasi respectively on a very grand scale. Du ring Navarathri festival,
the processional deity is brought to Navarathri Mandap am where music concerts are
held for 9 days. Kanchi - A Brief Sketch Introduction: Kancheepuram, popularly
known as 'Kanchi' is one of the ancient cities of So uth India. This historic city
is famous for its lovely temples and prominent for its silk industry. It is one of
the important pilgrim centers in the Thondainad u region of Tamilnadu located 65
Kms. southwest of Madras. It is considered to b e one of the seven Mukthi
Kshethras, the sacred places of worship where the devo tees are believed to attain
salvation. Poet Kalidasa's words 'Nagareshu Kanchi' and the saying 'Mukthi Tharum
Nagaramezhul Mukkiyamam Kanchi' of the great Vaish navite Acharya 'Swami Nigamantha
Maha Desika' are said in praise of this sacred city. It is described in the puranas
as Sathyavratha Kshethra, meaning a holy ce ntre, the residents of which had built
up a high reputation for speaking the tru th, as Sathyavachana, speaking truth
alone was their varatha or walk of life. It is said that all austerities performed
in this city will bear fruits in plenty. A number of religions flourished here at
different times. The large number of t emples here stand to show that Saivism and
Vaishnavism hold their sway in this s acred city. The city Kanchi is divided into
two parts viz. 'Vishnu Kanchi' or 'Little Ka nchi' and 'Siva Kanchi' or 'Big
Kanchi'. That part of the town situated on the l eft of the central bus stand of
Kanchepuram is called 'Vishnu Kanchi' while that on the right is called 'Siva
Kanchi'. The temples of Lord Varadaraja, Yadokthak ari, Deepaprakasar and Ashtabuja
Perumal embellish 'Vishnu Kanchi' while the shr ines of Sri Vaikunta Perumal, Sri
Ulagalantha Perumal, Sri Ekamreswarar, Sri Kac hapeswarar, Sri Kailasanathar,
Goddess Sri Kamakshi, Sri Kumarakottam and Sri Sa nkara Mutt of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti
Peetam adorn the 'Siva Kanchi'. It is said tha t 108 sanctums of Lord Siva and 18
sanctums of Lord Vishnu are situated in this holy city. The sky scraping towers and
huge walled enclosures of the temples on all sides of the city attract pilgrims and
immerse them in a sense of deep devot ion. Words are not adequate to describe the
artistic beauty of the sculptures on the towers and the pillars of the mandapas in
the temples, standing in proof of the high level of advancement of this art in
ancient times. Thus, the city of K anchi is a big treasure of art and architecture
and is therefore fittingly calle d 'The city of Temples'. Puranic Origin:
Kanchi is described as the naval of our motherland 'Bharath' and the girdle of
Mother Goddess Parasakthi manifesting in teh mono-syllable absoluted designa te
"Om". It is said that Lord Brahma worshipped Godess Parasakthi who adorns Sri
Kamakoti Peetam here. Again, it was here that Lord Vishnu emerged in a resplend ent
form with four arms bedecked with the celestial conch, wheel, cub and Abhaya hastha
from the ritual fire of Lord Brahma. The city of Kanchi is so called bec uase
Brahma performed worship here, - The word 'Ka' denotes 'Brahma' and 'Anchi' denotes
worship. It is here Brahma worshipped Lord Varadharaja and Goddess Sri Kamakshi.
The five primordial substances, Earth (Prithvi), Water (Aapaha), Light-fire
(Thejas), Air (Vayu) and Space (Aakasa) form part of the creations and the exist
ence of these five components is exhibited in every creation of this universe. T
hey are called the 'Panchabhootas' and reflect the truth that God is ominiscient .
Each of these panchabhoothas is associated with one among the five sacred pl aces
in our holy country, called Panchabhoothasthalas, of which Kanchi is one an d is
associated with Prithivi, the earth. Lord Siva manifests Himself here in th e form
of Prithivilinga and is worshipped as Sri Ekamreswara. Similarly, among t he
shrines where Satkthi is worshipped as 'Jagathkarani' Goddess Prasakthi is wo
rshipped at Kanchi as Kamakshi who is associated with space or Akasa. Here the G
oddess is said to have manifested herself in the form of cosmic space Or Akasa.
Here the Goddess is said to have manifested herself in the form of cosmic space
glorified as Bilakasa. It is here that Lord Vishnu gave dharshan in the form of an
Archamoorthi and is worshipped as 'Varadaraja' fulfilling the ambitions of th e
devotees. Lord Ekamreswara, Goddess Kamakshi and Lord Varadaraja are said to
sanctify the shrines dwelling under Rudrakoti, Kamakoti and Punyakoti Vimanas
respectivel y. Another famous temple in this sacred city is "Kumarakottam" the
shrine of Siv akumara "Sri Subhrahmanya". It is with the grace of this Lord Sri
Kumaraswami th at Sri Kachchiappa Sivacharya, the priest of this temple wrote the
famous work i n Tamil 'Kandapurana", which narrates the story and glory of the
Sivakumara. The glory of the temples of Kanchi was sung by Nayanmars, Alwars,
Acharyas, Saints and spiritual guides. It is here that Sri Adi Sankara installed
"Srichakr a" in the shrine of "Sri Kamakshi" and instituted" Sri Kamakoti Peetam".
Besides , Kanchi was also described by the famous, Chinese pilgrim Heiun-Chuwang
. Kanchi - A MUKTHI KSHETRA: Temples are the sacred spots where we have the
privilege of worshipping the Almighty in a form appealing to our thought and heart.
The omniscient and omnip otent God descends on to the earth to uphold 'Dharma' and
to protect the virtuou s from the wicked whenever excigenicies arise.It is
discribed as Avathar or inca rnation. In these incarnations, the Lord performs many
a miracle to manifest His greatness and to establish faith in the hearts of His
devotees. Our ancestors h ave constructed temples to commemorate these incarnations
and also to perpetuate the faith in God. The Deity is installed in the temple to
enable devotees to th ink of the greatness of God with undaunted faith that the
deity installed there sanctifies the place to shower blessings on the devotees for
all times to come. These temples are the sacred spots of worship by means of which
our thoughts are purified. Purification of thought is the sure way to get rid of
our sins, egois m, and wordly worries. Purity of thought is the path for peace and
worship ensur es purity of thought. Prayer protects us from falling a prey to the
impluses of 'Maya' and makes us worthy of seeking liberation. Our ancestors, have,
therefore
laid stress on the importance of temple worship as a means of mental peace. It is
no exaggeration to say that the pilgrims who visit Kanchi will carry the impr
ession that those who have a glimpse of the glorious temples of Kanchi and offer
prayers in this Mukthi Kshetra are indeed the blessed and are well on their way to
reach the goal of life. Sri Adi Sankara and Sri Kamakoti Peetam (Sri Kanchi
Kamakoti Peetam) Introduction: Sri Sankaracharya, reverentially called Sri
Sankaracharya, Sri Sankara Bhag avathpadacharya, and Sri Adi Sankara is renowned
for establishing the doctrine o f Advaita and is considered as a paragon amongst
the Spiritual guides of Hinduis m. The recognition that all living beings in the
universe are the reflected imag es of the Paramathman the Supreme being and the
realisation of the oneness of th e Athman and the Paramathman is the essence of
Advaitha Siddhantha.This realisat ion, is called the realisation of the 'soul' or
the 'self' or Athmagnana and the person attaining this Athmagnana is called the
Athmagnani or the jeevanmuktha. The Athmagnani is the jeevanmuktha who has attained
the state of mind which enab les him to extricate himself from the harmful
influence of the feeling of 'I' an d 'Mine' and is thus enabled to free himself
from egoism and attachment and get released from the net of illusion or Maya. The
guidance of a guru or Preceptor, who is in the state of Jeevanmuktha, is essential
for a spiritual aspirant to be in the right path. The most important teaching of
the Veda is the oneness of th e Supreme-being, called Brahma, whose three
characteristics are Sath (eternally existing entity), Chit (True Knowledge) and
Ananda (Bliss). Hence the form of Br ahma is aptly described as "Sachithananda".
Our scriptures enunciate a number of great propositions called Mahavakyas. O ne of
them is "Tat Tvam Asi". The word 'Tat' refers to the immanent Supreme-Bein g
without any limiting characteristics such as form, colour etc. Further the ver y
definition 'Tat' as an eternal entity leads to the logical conclusion that it
should be unique without a second one. In other words 'Tat' refers to Pramatma a
lso called Nirguna Brahmam. When we say that the Superme-Being is immanent, it goes
without saying that all living-beings, called Jeevatmas are only manifestations of
the Pramatma. The word, "Tvam" refers to the Jeevatma. So the import of the
Mahavakya is "That Th ou Art" or in other words "You are Thatself-the Paramatman".
There is no distinc tion between Jeevatma and Paramatma as between a water bubble
and water. The for mer owes its origin to temporary survival, dissolution and final
union with wate r itself. In the same way, Jeevatma and Paramatma are inter
ralated. The basic p ostulate of Advaita Philosophy is "Brahma satyam Jagath Midya"
which means "Brah man alone is real and enternal while the universe is illusory".
But the influenc e of Maya or illusion, giving rise to ignorance, creates a
misconception that Je evatma is different from Paramatma. As a result, one begins
to identify his body and the world as somthing real. This leads to egoism, feelings
of 'I' and 'Mine ', indulgence in wordly actions with a view to attain their
fruition and get sub jected to bondage which results in a cycle of births and
deaths, called "Janana Marana Valaya" with fruits of actions which result in a
cycle of births and deat hs without liberation. On the other hand, a person
initiated into the right path by a guru, gets th e realisation "Aham Brahmasmi"
meaning "I am Paramatma myself". Such an Atmagnan i overcomes the influence of
Maya, realises the temporal nature of worldly thing s; controls the mind and
sensory organs by spiritual exercises, checks anger and lust, looks upon others as
his own self, performs all actions without expecting any fruit, becomes free from
bondage of fruits of action and secures liberation .
The spiritual guides preach and practise Dharma and by their righteous condu ct set
an example to all generations, to follow their foot-steps. They are thus
responsible for the evolution and sustenance of an ordered society. Sri Adi Sank
ara is one among such Gurus or Acharyas who stayed in Kancheepuram.

There arose an occasion centuries ago, when there was almost a complete spir itual
bankruptcy. People began to forget vedic injuctions. Hindu tenets were att acked
and as many as 72 sects raised their banners. It is a matter for concern that in
KaIiyuga even learned people who are to i nterpret dharma and who are supposed to
tread the path of dharma and lead the po eple the right path unfortunately do not
interpret the principals of dharma in t he proper perspection and cause so much of
confusion, complicate the issues in s uch a way that at all most becomes impossible
to distinguished between the real and the falsehood, good and the bad and thereby
leading to the abuse of dharma a nd giving rise to a graves situation of
detoriating dharma and the urgency to re store and uphold dharma. Saints and seers
appear time to time to corret this dis order and impart true knowledge as
Jagadgurus. Guru is an exclusive concept in o ur religion, literally meaning the
remove of ignorance, showing the disaples the right path, impart true knowledge,
guiding the disciples to the path of realisa tion. Vedas are eternal. They are the
truth. The religions based and vedic princ iples or are in confirmity to the
realities laid down in vedas and are considere d to advocate the sanathana dharma.
The religions that are not in confirmity to vedas are considered to be non v edic,
veda bahya or avaidika matas. The world' Matham indicates the perception b y the
mind and vaidika matam means disciplinig the mind to on the lines of vedas . It is
believed that Lord Siva Himself incarnated as Sri Adi Sankara then to st em the
crisis and to restore Hinduism to its high position and established the s anatana
dharma. Even before the advant of Sri Sankara, there were many Acharyas who taught
t he doctrine of Advaita, notable among them being Brahmanandi, Dravidacharyar, Sa
int Patanjali, Gowdapadacharya and Sri Govinda Bhagavatpadacharya. Still it was Adi
Sankara who popularised it far and wide so much that the has come to be reck oned
as the founder of Advaita Philosophy. Sri Sankara's Life and Achievements: Sri
Sankara, was born in the sacred village of 'Kaladi' in Kerala on the va isakha,
sukla, panchami in the year Nandana corresponding to the year 509 B.c., the date as
well established by the researchers with reference to a number of in sriptions,
epigraphs, literature and astrological calculations. His mother was Aryamba and his
father Sivaguru. The purpose of his incarnati on was to stabilise the vedic
religion. At the tender age of five, he began his vedic studies. Even while young,
he had mastered the vedas, vedanta, puranas, ep ics and kavyas to become an eminent
scholar. While in his gurukula, according to the custom in vogue, he used to go
round seeking biksha. Once on an auspicious Dwadasi day, he went to a house of a
poor Brahmin. Seeing the boy Sankara at the door-step and finding nothing available
to be given to him, the poor woman sear ched her house thoroughly and found just
two amla fruits kept by her husband for breaking the Ekadasi-fast on that day. With
tears rolling down her cheeks, she put her share of just one amla fruit into his
almsbowl and went inside the house ashamed at her inability to do something more.
Sankara, deeply moved by her gen erosity even in abject punury, extolled Goddess
Mahalakshmi to shower Her grace
on that poor house. In response to his prayers, there was a heavy shower of gold en
berries in their house immediately. The collection of slokas rendered by Sri
Sankara then in praise of Goddess Sri Mahalakshmi came to be called as 'Kanakadh
ara Sthothram'. On return from the Gurukulam, Sri Sankara managed to get the
permission of h is mother to become a sanyasi and left Kaladi. He trod the entire
distance from there upto the banks of the river Narmada at Omkarnath where he met
Sri Govinda Bhagavatpadacharya doing penance in a cave. Seeing the lad's rare
dispassionate nature (Vairagya), Guru Sri Govindabhagavatpadacharya initiated Sri
Sankara into sanyasa and taught him the import of the Mahavakyas and the doctrine
of Advaita contained in Vedas, Upanishads, Brahmasutra and Bhagavat Gita and
expounded the theory of Advaita Adi Sankara travelled the entired country by put
and vanquish ed 72 non vedic and irreligious cults. Adi Sankara wrote his elaborate
commentaries for Brahma Sutra, Isa, Kena, Ka ta, Munda, Mandookaya, Taithireeya,
Chandokya and Brihadaranyaka Upanishads, Bha gavat Gita, Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra
and Lalita Trisyathi. To enable readers to follow their import, he wrote 35
explanatory works, called Prakaranas of which Vivekachoodamani, Atmabhodam Praboda
Sudhakaram and Satasloki are noteworthy. Re alising that worship of the formless
abstract viz., Nirguna Brahmam is difficult for laymen, he also advocated the
worship of Saguna Brahman. The regularised th e methods of worship both indivisual
and temple worship by streamlining worshipi ng methods and the six major orders
known as shanmathas. Thus he came to be know n as shanmatha sthapakacharya - the
founder of shan matas, the six schools of re ligion advocating worship of Siva,
Vishnu, Sakti, Kumara (Subramanya), Ganapti a nd Soorya. these are called Saivam,
Vaishnavam, Saktam, Kaumaram, Ganapatyam and Sowram. He also composed as many as 67
stotras in praise of these dieties to fa cilitate recitation by way of worship by
the common man to develop devotion towa rds the Almighty which would kindle the
thirst to know the Supreme. Sivanandalah ari, Sowndaryalahari, Anandalahari,
Dakshinamoorthy Sthotram, Bhajagovindam etc. , are among them. There were fiftysix
kingdoms in our country at that time and y et all people were bound together by
sanathana dharam and sanskrit was the commo ng language in usage and were able to
presere the unity and integrity of the cou ntry. In Bhajagovindam, he commends the
association of fullevolved souls for dev eloping a dispassionate nature and mental
equanimity free of tribulations and de sires. It is set there are several episodes
to mention about the miracles performed by Sri Adi Sankaracharya. When Sri Adi
Sankaracharya was bathing in the Ganges, his disciple was on th e other bank. Sri
Adi Sankaracharya called the disciple to bring the clothes. Th e Ganges was in full
floods. Unmindful of the ferocious flow of water with curre nts, the disciple
walked across the Ganges to handover the clothes to the Guru. Sri Sankara asked
disciple as to how he crossed the river. The disciple replied that he didnot notice
anything except to fix his dhyan on Gurucharan. Sri Sankar a asked the disciple to
look back. To his astonishment, the disciple noticed a s trech of lotus flowers on
which he walked over to cross the Ganges. The disciple was named as Sri Padmapada
after the incident. When Sri Adi Sankara was camping in Karnataka a couple brought
a dumb boy an d pray to Acharya to bless the boy with speaking power. The Acharya
made the boy to speak. The boy not only began to speak but also to speak vedanta.
After this miracle the boy became his disciple and came to be called as
Hasthamalaka. Sri Adi Sankara retrieved the idol of Sri Badrinarayan and
reinstalled at Badrin arayan Kshethra. Sri Adi Sankara visited Kedarnath on way to
Kailas and had Darshan of Lord S
iva and was blessed with five spatika lingas. These spatika lingas was installed at
five kshethras. Mukthi Linga at Kedarnath Vara linga at Neelkanth kshethra i n
Nepal, Bhoga Linga at Sarata Peetam, Sringeri, Moksha Linga, Chidambaram and r
etained Yoga Linga for his worship at Kanchipuram. This Yoga Linga is being wors
hiped even today by the Sankaracharyas of Sri Kanchi Kama Koti Peetam. He travelled
throughout India preaching Advaita and came to Kanchipuram, whe re he consecrated
Goddess Kamakshi in Sri Chakra Peetam and worshipped her. Of t he five crystal
Lingas brought by him from Kailasa, he kept the Yogalingam for h is private
worship. He later installed it in Sri Kamakoti Peetam of Kanchi with the name Sri
Chandra Mouleeswara. It was in Kanchi that Sri Adi Sankara Bhagavat padacharya
celebrated the" Sarvagna Peetarohanam". Sri Adi Sankara Bhagavatpadacharya
established four peetams in the four dire ctions headed by is four principal
disciples: Sri Padmapada at Sringeri, Sri Has taamalakar at Dwaraka, Sri
Totakacharya at Puri and Sri Sureshwaracharya at Badr inath. Sri Adi
Sankarabagavatpadcharya established Sri Kanchi Kama koti peetam a t Kanchipuram and
the lineage of disciples who took over the reins of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam in
succession after him came to be called in general as "His Ho liness Sri Kanchi
Kamakoti Peetadhipathi Jagadguru Sri Shankaracharya Swami". Th eir Sanyasa Asrama
names are embellished by the ending "Indra Saraswati". These Acharyas Continue in
the tradition of Sri Sankara worshipping Sri Chandra Moulee swara and Goddess
Kamakshi for the welfare of mankind. Among the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetadhipathis, who
adorned this mutt, Sri Mooka Sankara is well-known as the a uthor of "Mooka
Panchasathi", a collection of 500 verses in praise of Goddess Ka makshi, whose
grace transformed the author, an innate dumb person, into an illqs trious poet. Sri
Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam has reached the heights of glory during the perio d of His
Holiness Jagadguru Pujyasri Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Mahaswami gal the
68th pontiff who was glorified as the incarranation of Sri Dakshinamoort hy, Sri
Adi Sankara's reincarrate and a living God moivng amongst us. The Porava shrama
name of Sri Mahaswami was Sri Swaminathan. He was born at Villupuram. On 28th May
1894. He came to Kalavai in is 13th year when he was studying at Tindiv anam.
Suddenly and to the universal bless Sri Swaminathan was initiated in to sa nyasa by
His Holiness Sri Mahadevendra Saraswathi (V) Swamigal in the year 1907 and was
given the dikshanamam Sri Chandrashekarendra Saraswathi swamigal. Sri
Chandrashekarendra Saraswathi Mahaswamigal adorned Sri Kanchi Kama Koti Peetam on
13th February 1907. His formost concern was preservation of Vedas, tra dition and
dharma. He advocated simplicity, and shunned pomp, ostentation and ex travagance.
His exposition of Vedanta, sastras and the dharmic duties attracted scholars and
laymen alike, from far and wide. Sri Kanchi Kama Koti Peetam has re ached its
hights during the period of Sri Mahaswamigal and flourished with inter national
reputation. Sri Mahaswamigal was noted for his patriotism and National sentiments.
Several sages like Sri Ramanamaharshi were shown the path of realisation by Sri
Mahaswamigal and were brought to light by grace of Sri Mahaswamigal. Descipl es
from all over the world use to have darshan of Sri Mahaswamigal and Cherised their
desires by His graceful sight. Even a common man who had the darshan of Sr i
Mahaswamigal use to carry a personal impression of being personally blessed. O ne
could only experienced the bliss of the darshan as a personal experience and no
words could explain the satisfaction and derival of peace. I take this opportunity
to express my heart felt gratefulness for having bee n benifited by the abundance
of the kindness and benign blessings and grace of S ri Swamigal. My Second daughter
Shanti was not speaking even at the age of Four. I took the baby to His Holiness
Sri Mahaswamigal and prayed His blessings. His Holiness showered His grace on the
baby and blessed the baby with power of speec
h. The Child started speaking at once to our astonishment and happiness. His Hol
iness has also showered His graced on this humble self by ordaining me to render
the Kainkaryam of organising cultural programmes at Sri Kamakshi Ambal Temple K
anchi and at Sri Bangaru Kamakshi Amman Temple, Thanjavur during the Navarathri
Festival, and at Sri Kanchi Sankara Matam from the year 1968. I could have the u
nique personal experience of the abundence of the grace and kindness of Sri Maha
swamigal on a number of occassions and scrores of devotees will be carrying with
them the experience bliss of the grace of His Holiness Sri Mahaswamigal. His
Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra Sarawathi Swamigal who assended as the 6 8th
Peetadhipathi in the year 1907 was leading the universe in the Path of Sanat hana
Dharma for nearly 87 years and was held in high esteem as Jagadguru Paramac harya
by all sections of people throughout the world. The Mahaswamiji attained e xternal
Bliss on 8th January 1994. It is our good fortune that the successors of this great
Acharya, the 69th a nd 70th Acharyas are of international reputation for Their
concern for the human ity and wolrd peace. His Holiness Sri Jayendra Saraswathi
Swamigal, the 69the Ac harya became the 69th peetadhipathi of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti
Peetam in the year 19 54 and His Holiness Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswathi
Swamigal became the 70th p ountiff in the year 1983. The peetam belongs to Rig Veda
Shaka. The Porvashrama name of His Holiness Pujya Sri Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swami
gal is Sri Subrahmanyam. He was born at lrulneekki In Thanjavur District on 18 J
uly 1935. He had is Veda Adyayanam at Kanchi and was initiated in to the Peetam on
22 March, 1954 by Sri Mahaswamigal with the Dikshanamam : Sri Jayendra Sarasw athi
Sankaracharya Swamigal. The reputation of Sri Kanchi Kama Koti Peetam has r eached
its hights by the abundance of kindness and the concern for the poor and down
trodden and several social welfare schemes run by Sri Kanchi Sankar Mutt an d
various Social Welfare Organizations and institutions established by Sri Jayen dra
Saraswathi Swamigal. He attracted people from every nook and corner and made
Kamakoti a household holy name. He intensified the activities of the Matam to c
over several social objectives like education, health, employment, rehabilitatio n
of he handicapped, uplift the women, along with the traditional temple renewat ion
and restoration of daily puja at the temples. His Holiness has travelled the
country intensively and also visited Nepal. The only Sankaracharya after Sri Ad i
Sankarabhagavatpadcharya to visit the sacred Manasarovar is Sri Jayendra Saras
wathi Swamigal in 1999. His Holiness Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswathi Swamigal was
drafted to Sri K anchi Kama Koti Peetam as 70th Peetadhipathi by His Holiness Sri
Jayendra Sarasw athi Swamigal on 29th May 1983 while he was studying Vedas at
Polur. His Poorvas hrama name was Sri Sankaranarayan. He had the rare the previlage
of having tutel age under is Guru Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal and His
Paramaguru His Holine ss Sri Chandra Sekharendra Saraswathi SwamigaI. He has also
travelled throughout the country including remote places and also meghalaya. He is
deeply concerned about the deteriorating moral ethical values in the youth and has
intiated a num ber of measures to draw the youth, train them in all these aspects
of our culcur al ethical values along with the modern education including the
developments in the field of Information Technology. He also taking keen interest
in preserving our hence ancient literature and bringing out a number of
publications through t he mutt and other associated organisations. The Acharyas are
taking immense interest and or taking untiring efforts to b ring the Kanchi
Ghatikasthan to its former ancient glory inspirational learning. The city of Kanchi
is renowned for its greatness of ancient culture. The city h as been a centre of
literary eminence with its Ghatikas i.e. the eminence as cen tres of educations
offering instructions in Vedas, Sastras and Arts since the fo urth century A.D. The
literary, religious and cultural advancement of Kanchi has been much enhanced by
its close connection with great spiritual preceptors, par
ticularly Sri Adi Sankara. The Acharyas of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam have resol
ved to establish a Ghatisthana as an all comprehensive educational centre and ha ve
established the Ghatisthanam adjacent to Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Ma
haswamigal Vishwa Mahavidyalaya (Deemed University) at Enathur. The Acharyas have
dedicated themselves for the preservation of Vedas, uphold ing Sanathana Dharma.
Their contribution towards consoliding Hindu Religion is v ery remarkable evoking
the feeling of universal brotherhood amongst us to enable us to live in harmony
understanding each other, leading the world towards unive rsal peace. These
Acharyas of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti peetam are reputed for their s ocial service and
are undertaking a number of social welfare schemes for the upl ift of the poor and
the needy. The Acharyas of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti peetam are he ld in high esteem and
devotees from all over the world carry the satisfaction of a unique experience of
contentment, peace of mind cherishing their desires by t he Benign Blessings of
Their Holiness Sri Sankaracharya Swamigal of Sri Kanchi K amakoti Peetam. As always
been in the four front in pioneering several social causes, beside s the protection
of Vedas, Dharma and Sastras. They have dedicated themselves fo r the proectection
of the cow. Besides running Goshalas by the mutt, they are al so advocating and
encouraging the establishement of Goshalas by other social org anisations. They are
also striving hard in enlightening public about the sacredn ess and importance to
proect the cow and to ban the slaughter of the cow. They a re also striving hard in
fostering unity among the people by organising various socio - cultural activities
even in the rural areas through the Janakalyan Organ isation. They are also
encouraging village artists by organising programmes of f olk arts. Their efforts
in concentrating for the promotion of community services like health care and
education is highly remarkable. They have established innu merable educational
institutions, running several Veda Pathsalas Oriental, prima ry, Higher Secondary
Schools, Ayurvedic colleges for science and arts for both b oys and girls and
engineering courses through Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Mahaswamigal
Mahavidyalaya. The role of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti peetam inconsolidating Hindu
Religion is re markable. The Math is running Vedic Patasalas at various places in
our country. Veda Dharma Paripalana Sabha, has been established in Kumbakonam.
Vedic conferen ces are held throughout the country by Sri Kanchi Kamakoti peetam
often. Sri Adi Sankara Advaita Research Institute in Madras has been established to
take up th e task of publication of Sri Adi Sankaracharya's works. A Kannikadana
trust has been formed to help poor families to celebrate marri ages according to
sastric guidelines by providing them new clothes and Tirumanga lyam. They also
advise the people to desist from demanding dowry. His Holiness has advised people
to save a handful of rice daily and handover the collections to temples needing
resources to help them prepare food, offer a s Nivedanam to the dieties and then
feed the poor. This scheme has received a gr eat deal of public support. Similarly
Kshetra Paripalana Sangam is providing ass istance to temples lacking in resources
to meet the expenses for lighting lamps twice a day and preparing Nivedanams.
Arrangements have also been made in select ed centres to provide free medical aid
through Hindu Mission Hospitals. A number of social welfare schemes are also being
implimented through Janakalyan organis ations thourghout the country. To bring
about the unification of Hindus the world over and spread the teach ings of the
Hindu religion, His Holiness Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal conven ced a World
Hindu Conference in 1976. With His blessings, a college for Hindu Dh arma has been
started in Gejjal Naickenpatti in Salem under the auspices of Geet a Charitable
Trust and an Ayurvedic College in Coimbatore. In Kanchi and Madras, Gosalas have
been formed to take care of old and unyielding cows and save them
from being cruelly sent to slaughter houses. In Kalahasti, Poonamalli and Kalava i
rehabilitation homes for the old age people have been started. They are provid ed
with shelter and free board with facilities for anushtana or prayer. In riviv ing
the past glory of Ghatika Sthanams, Their holiness Sri Kanchi Acharyas have
established Sri Shakara Arts & Science College, and the Sri Chandrasekharendra S
araswathi Vishwa Mahavidyalaya - a Deemed University providing qualitative highe r
education to the rural masses along with spiritual background. A number of edu
cational institutions, colleges, vedic patashalas and hospital for the poor are run
by Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam at number of places in the country. Sri. Kamakshi
Ambal Devasthanam in Kanchi, Sri Bangaru Kamakshi Ambal Devasthana m in Tanjore,
Sri Panchamukheswarar Temple in Tiruvanaikoil and Sri Viswanatha S wami Devasthanam
in Tiruvidaimarudur, are under the direct control of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam.
The temples of Sri Sankara Matha in Haridwar and Sri Adi Sanka ra, Jayadeva and
Chaitanya in Puri and Sri Adi Sankara Mandapam in Nepal, Rishik esh, Kurukshetra,
Badrinath and Tirupati, Mandapams containing Adi Sankara's hol y sandals in
Kanyakumari and Trivandrum, the house where Thirugnana Sambandar wa s born now
serving as his memorial in Sirgazhi and Sri Adi Sankarar's Keerti Sth ambam in his
birth-place Kaladi are also maintained by Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peeta m. Thiruppavai
- Thiruvempavai conferences and Religious Training classes are al so held under the
auspices of the Mutt to foster the Hindu religion. Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam is
encouraging Artists in Music, Dance and Drama by counducting cultural programmes at
Sri Kanchi Sankara Mutt., Sri Kamakshi Amb al Temple at Kancheepuram, Sri Bangaru
Kamakshi Temple, Thanjavur and at Tiravar ur. They are much concrned about the
welfare of the poor and backward and are ar ranging financial assistance for the
uplift of the Rural Poor masses aiming at t he overall progress of the socity
besides leading the world in the path of Sanat hana Dharama for world peace.