It was once again the time for our annual family trip and we zeroed upon Sri Lanka. Since, it was visa free for Indians and also having heard a lot about its beauty, we opted for Sri Lanka as our next travel destination.

The entire Sri Lankan trip will be covered in different posts based on the places we covered. We searched for different tour operators and finally booked our trip from travel triangle and steeple tours.

We booked our flight from Chennai and based on our leaves and flight timings; we were getting to spend an entire day in Chennai before starting to Colombo. So, this post will be covering the details about how we spent our day in Chennai.

The train we boarded was late by almost 3 hrs. and we reached Chennai at around 11 in the morning. Initially, we thought of spending our time in Chennai by covering the local places. However, on listening to one of my friends’ suggestions, we decided to go to Kanchipuram which is around 72 kms away from Chennai.

So, as soon as we reached Chennai, we had our breakfast and got ready. To save time, we booked a taxi from the hotel itself and proceeded to Kanchipuram. Based on one’s bargaining skills, the price of the taxi can be varied. Since, our ride was booked from the hotel itself and also as we were short on time, we went with their quoted price of 4k.

The temples in Kanchipuram are usually closed around 12:30 in the afternoon and are opened after 3:30. By the time we reached Kanchi, the temples were not yet opened. We were first taken to a handloom house where handwoven textiles are made and sold. If anyone is not familiar, Kanchi is famous for its silk sarees. A saree from Kanchi is considered to be auspicious and many people prefer these sarees for their special occasions, especially weddings. We too were interested to see their huge collection of sarees and did some shopping.

Later, we proceeded to visit our first temple in Kanchi i.e. Ekambareswarar temple.

Ekambareswarar temple:

This temple is dedicated to lord shiva and is one of the must visit temples in Kanchipuram. The word Ekambareswar stands for ek= one, Aam=mango and Eswar= God (lord of the mango tree).

Various dynasties like the Pallavas, Cholas and Vijayanagar kings have made significant contributions in the construction and expansion of this majestic temple. The temple complex is one of the largest in the country covering around 25 acres. The significance of this temple is that it is one of the Pancha bootha sthalams dedicated to lord shiva and is associated with the element of Prithvi. The pillared halls and the richly carved sculptures offer a holistic spiritual experience to the devotees. The Sahasra lingam made out of 1008 lingams is a notable feature of this temple. An annual festival named Panguni Uthiram takes place here in the months of March-April for around 13 days and is the most prominent festival of the temple. Another must see attraction here is the 3500-year-old mango tree under which goddess Parvathi did the penance. It is said that this temple tree yields four different types of mangoes from its four branches.

Kamakshi Amman temple:

Our next stop was at the famous Kamakshi Amman temple. The temple is one of the most important centers of Shaktism and is one of the 18 shakti peethams. It is believed that the navel part of the goddess Sati fell here in Kanchipuram. The darshan at the temple took us around one hour and the crowd was moderate. The deity here is seated on a throne in padmasana and the moment one sees the Kamatchi Amman; it instills a sense of reverence in one’s hearts. The smile of the Amman, beautifully enhanced by the light of lamps offers a surreal experience. A Shree chakram installed by Adi Shankaracharya is present here in front of the main idol. While visiting Kanchi, one should never forget to seek the divine blessings of Kamatchi Amman. We felt fortunate to have visited the temple and were awestruck by the beauty of Kamatchi Amman.

Varadaraja Perumal temple:

It is said that a visit to Kanchi is incomplete without seeing and touching the Bangaru Balli (Golden lizard) and this is located in Varadaraja Perumal temple. Perumal temple is around 7kms away from Kamakshi Amman temple. This temple is dedicated to lord Vishnu and is one among the 108 Divya Desams. Divya Desams are the temples of lord Vishnu and Lakshmi mentioned in the works of Alvars. The presiding deity is located on a small hillock named as hastagiri and the view of Perumal captivates the beholder. After visiting Perumal, there is a separate line for visiting the Bangaru Balli. It is said that touching this Bangaru balli would relieve one from any doshas or chronic diseases. The darshan of the Perumal was completed in a short span but there was a huge crowd near the bangaru balli. The line to the bangaru balli ends with a small ramp and by standing on this, the devotees get to touch the bangaru balli along with vendi balli (Silver Lizard). Overall, our visit to the temple went smoothly.

Another important temple is the Kailasanatha temple dedicated to lord shiva. It is considered as one of the most beautiful temples of Kanchipuram. However, due to the shortage of time, we couldn’t visit this significant temple and started our return journey to Chennai. We reached our hotel at around 10:30 PM, had our dinner and ended our day; waiting for our Sri Lankan adventure to begin.

The experiences in Sri Lanka will be shared in the upcoming posts.

Points to note:

• Temples have a dress code which must be followed.
• Most temples close around 12:30 PM and reopen after 4 PM and this must be considered while planning the visits.
• Photography of the idols inside the temple is prohibited.
• Fridays see a high influx of devotees at Kamakshi Amman Temple, as it is considered a sacred day.
• There is a separate queue for the darshan of Bangaru Balli, the price of which is 50 Rs and can be availed by those who are short on time.