Publisher's Synopsis
Kanchi Kamakshi temple is at the heart of Kanchipuram - in every possible sense. The city surrounds the temple. Even the Gods like Shiva and Vishnu surround her temple and extend outwards from this temple that is fondly called Kamakshi Amman Temple. On one side of the temple is Shiva Kanchi or big Kanchi where many Shiva temples are located along with a few Vishnu temples. On the other side is Vishnu Kanchi or small Kanchi where some of the big Vishnu temples and many Shiva temples too are located. As per beliefs, the Kanchi Kamakshi temple has existed since time immemorial. In the documented past, Adi Shankaracharya set up the Sri Chakra at this temple and depending on when you agree to place him in history, the dates could vary from 5th BCE to 8th CE. Archaeologically, the temple is about 1600 years old going back to the days when the Pallava dynasty ruled this region and Kanchipuram used to be their capital. Kamakshi comes from the conjunction of three words - Ka, Ma & Aksh. Ka means Saraswati, Ma means Lakshmi and Aksh means eyes. She is whose eyes are Lakshmi & Saraswati. Kamakshi Temple at Kanchi is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in the country, a very important Shakti Peeth.
