This book traces the emergence of the South Indian city of Kanchi as a major royal capital and multireligious pilgrimage destination during the era of the Pallava and Chola dynasties (circa seventh through thirteenth centuries). It presents the first-ever comprehensive picture of historical Kanchi, locating the city and its more than 100 spectacular Hindu temples at the heart of commercial and artistic exchange that spanned India, Southeast Asia, and China. The author demonstrates that Kanchi was structured with a hidden urban plan, which determined the placement and orientation of temples around a central thoroughfare that was also a burgeoning pilgrimage route. Moving outwards from the city, she shows how the transportation networks, river systems, residential enclaves, and agrarian estates all contributed to the vibrancy of Kanchi’s temple life. The construction and ongoing renovation of temples in and around the city, she concludes, has enabled Kanchi to thrive continuously from at least the eighth century, through the colonial period, and up until the present.
- Cover
- Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- List of Illustrations
- Note on Transliteration, Translation, and Illustrations
- Introduction
- All Streets Lead to Temples
- An Ancient City
- Layers of Time
- Kanchi Known and Unknown
- 1. Sandstone and the City
- Building Pallava-Kanchi (ca. seventh through ninth century)
- From Brick to Stone (the Seventh Century)
- Sandstone Temples in the City (the Eighth Century)
- The Temples of Pallava-Kanchi
- Everywhere but Kanchi (the Ninth Century)
- Conclusion: Foundations Laid
- 2. Realignment
- Kanchi in the Chola Era (ca. tenth through thirteenth century)
- Orienting the Gods
- Pilgrimage and Processions
- From Ancient Village to Temple Town
- Local Style
- Conclusion: Urban Logic
- 3. The City and its Ports
- Part 1: KṢETRA
- Over the Hills
- The Coast
- Part II: KṢATRA
- Kanchi in a Buddhist World
- The City and its Mirrors
- Conclusion: From Kanchi to the Sea
- 4. Kanchi Under Colonialism
- What Happened in Kanchi while those Towering Gateways Arose?
- Embattled Territory
- William Daniell’s Most Considerable Temple
- James Wathen’s Soaring View
- Henrietta Clive’s ‘Hindoo Gods and Monsters’
- Colonel Colin Mackenzie’s Search for the Jains
- Surgeon George Russell Dartnell
- James Fergusson’s Downward Spiral
- Prince Alexis Soltykoff’s ‘City of Infinite Temples’
- Conclusion: Plastered Pasts
- Epilogue
- The Living Temple
- Expansion
- Continuation
- Bibliography
- Abbreviations
- Primary Sources
- Epigraphic and Archaeological Sources
- Secondary Sources
- Index
- List of Illustrations
- Illustration 1 Ekāmbaranātha Temple and Sannathi Street, Kanchi, seventh
century – the present
- Illustration 2 Map of Kanchi Temples (map by Emma Natalya Stein and Daniel Cole, Smithsonian Institution)
- Illustration 3 Kailāsanātha Temple, Kanchi, ca. 700-725 CE
- Illustration 4 Buddha, Kanchi Police Station, twelfth century
- Illustration 5 Sīteśvara Temple, Kanchi, tenth century
- Illustration 6 Festival at Kāmākṣī Ammaṉ Temple, Kanchi (July 2014)
- Illustration 7 Panel 4, Tāṉtōṉṟīśvara Temple, Kanchi, seventh century
- Illustration 8 Lakṣita cave-temple, Maṇṭakappaṭṭu, ca. 580-630 CE
- Illustration 9 Brick shrine in quarry area, Ārpākkam
- Illustration 10 kāmbaranātha Temple, Kanchi, Left to right: Roof of Kacci Mayāṉam shrine (tenth century), Pillared Hall (twentieth century), Gateway (seventeenth century), Vṛṣabheśvara Shrine (ninth century), Gateway (sixteenth century)
- Illustration 11 (Vṛṣabheśvara Shrine at far right) Archaeological Survey of India, A view of the tank from the east, Ekambreswaraswami Temple, Conjeevaram, 1897, photographic print, 21.1 × 25.6 cm, British Library, Photo1008/3(325)
- Illustration 12 Panel 1-4 (and see Illustration 7), Tāṉtōṉṟīśvara Temple, Kanchi, panels seventh century
- Illustration 13 Pillar base with dancing figures, Vīraṭṭāṉeśvara Temple, Kanchi, seventh century
- Illustration 14 Kailāsanātha Temple, Kanchi, ca. 700-725 CE
- Illustration 15 Lion-based pillars in prākāra, Vaikuṇṭha Perumāḷ Temple, Kanchi, ca. 730-795 CE
- Illustration 16 Kinnara and Kinnarī, Kailāsanātha Temple, Kanchi, ca. 700-725 CE
- Illustration 17 Mackenzie Collector, Plan of the Kailasanath Temple, Conjeeveram, ca. 1800, watercolor with pen and ink, 65.6 × 37.5 cm, British Library, WD754
- Illustration 18 Sluice, Māmaṇṭūr, seventh century
- Illustration 19 Coronation scene, Vaikuṇṭha Perumāḷ Temple, Kanchi, ca. 730-795 CE
- Illustration 20 Reclining Vishnu among nāga stones, Vaikuṇṭha Perumāḷ Temple, Kanchi
- Illustration 21 Dharmarāja Ratha, Māmallapuram, seventh century
- Illustration 22 Piṟavāttāṉeśvara Temple, Kanchi, ca. 700-725 CE
- Illustration 23 Mukteśvara Temple, Kanchi, eighth/ninth century
- Illustration 24 Map of Pallava sites, ninth century (map by Emma Natalya Stein and Daniel Cole, Smithsonian Institution)
- Illustration 25 Sundaravarada Perumāḷ Temple, Uttiramērūr, ninth century
- Illustration 26 Sabhā, Uttiramērūr, base ninth century
- Illustration 27 Kanchi District Geological Map, blue showing sandstone below ground Courtesy GSI, Chennai
- Illustration 28 Quarry field, Ārpākkam
- Illustration 29 The Axis of Access, Kamarajar Salai, Kanchi, from North
- Illustration 30 Map of temple orientations, Kanchi (map by Emma Natalya Stein and Daniel Cole, Smithsonian Institution)
- Illustration 31 Aruṇācaleśvara Temple, Tiruvannamalai
- Illustration 32 Procession for the Goddess, Kamarajar Salai, Kanchi
- Illustration 33 Map of maṇḍapa locations in central Kanchi
- Illustration 34 Maṇḍapas, juncture of Kamarajar Salai and South Raja Veedhi
- Illustration 35 Bṛhadēśvara Temple, Thanjavur, ca. 1010 CE
- Illustration 36 Durgā Shrine at Kacchapeśvara Temple, Kanchi, tenth century
- Illustration 37 Jvarahareśvara Temple, Kanchi, twelfth century
- Illustration 38 Map of old and new main roads (map by Emma Natalya Stein and Daniel Cole, Smithsonian Institution)
- Illustration 39 Map of temple locations, road from Uttiramērūr to Tirupati (Map by Emma Natalya Stein and Daniel Cole, Smithsonian Institution)
- Illustration 40 Vyāghrapureśvara Temple, Tiruppulivaṉam, eleventh century
- Illustration 41 Goddess buried near Agnīśvara and Mātṛkā Temples, Kaḷakkāṭṭūr
- Illustration 42 Veṅkaṭeśvara Temple, Tirupati
- Illustration 43 Procession at Varadarāja Perumāḷ Temple, Kanchi
- Illustration 44 Pillar, Gandhi Road, Kanchi, sixteenth century
- Illustration 45 Map of a processional route, Kanchi (map by Emma Natalya Stein and Daniel Cole, Smithsonian Institution)
- Illustration 46 Chola bronzes at Gōmuktēśvara Temple, Tiruvāvaṭutuṟai, tenth century
- Illustration 47 Map of sites in Ārpākkam Village (map by Emma Natalya Stein and Daniel Cole, Smithsonian Institution)
- Illustration 48 Ayyaṉār, Tiruvālīśvara Temple, Ārpākkam, eleventh century
- Illustration 49 Festival at Ekāmbaranātha Temple, Kanchi (October 2013)
- Illustration 50 Inscriptions, Ulakaḷanta Perumāḷ Temple, Kanchi, eleventh century
- Illustration 51 Anēkataṅkāvatīśvara Temple, Kanchi, ca. 1070 CE
- Illustration 52 Interlocked chain motif, Anēkataṅkāvatīśvara Temple, Kanchi, ca. 1070 CE
- Illustration 53 Map of temple-sites from Kanchi to the sea (map by Emma Natalya Stein and Daniel Cole, Smithsonian Institution)
- Illustration 54 Veṅkateśa Perumāḷ Temple, Tirumukkūṭal, ninth century
- Illustration 55 Lion-based pillar, Veṅkateśa Perumāḷ Temple, Tirumukkūṭal, ninth century
- Illustration 56 Sculptures near pond, Kumaravāṭi, ninth century and later
- Illustration 57 Durgā, Kumaravāṭi, ninth century
- Illustration 58 Ceṇpakeśvara Temple, Nattam-Paramēsvaramaṅkaḷam, tenth century
- Illustration 59 Vedagirīśvara and Bhaktavatsaleśvara Temples, Tirukkaḻukuṉṟam
- Illustration 60 Caṅku Tīrtham from Vedagirīśvara Temple, Tirukkaḻukuṉṟam
- Illustration 61 Vīṇādhara-Ardhanārīśvara, Vedagirīśvara Temple, Tirukkaḻukuṉṟam, seventh century
- Illustration 62 Bhaktavatsaleśvara Temple, Tirukkaḻukuṉṟam, ninth century and later
- Illustration 63 Dakṣiṇāmūrti, Bhaktavatsaleśvara Temple, Tirukkaḻukuṉṟam, ninth century
- Illustration 64 Henry Salt, Pagodas at Trinchicunum, Plate 11 in ‘Twenty-Four Views in St. Helena, the Cape, India, Ceylon, the Red Sea, Abyssinia and Egypt’, 1804, wash, 46.8 × 62.2 cm, British Library (BL_WD1305)
- Illustration 65 Coastal Māmallapuram at sunrise, Shore Temple, ca. 700-725 CE
- Illustration 66 Great Relief during 2015 flooding, Māmallapuram (photo by Mallai Dilip)
- Illustration 67 Shore Temple, Māmallapuram, ca. 700-725 CE
- Illustration 68 Quarried Boulders, Māmallapuram
- Illustration 69 Ascetic and the Birth of Pallava Relief, Vaikuṇṭha Perumāḷ Temple, Kanchi, ca. 730-795 CE
- Illustration 70 Three Buddhas, Paḷḷūr, eleventh/twelfth century
- Illustration 71 Map of Buddhas and Buddhist remains in Kanchi (map by Emma Natalya Stein and Daniel Cole, Smithsonian Institution)
- Illustration 72 Buddha, Karukkiṉil Amarntavaḷ Ammaṉ Temple, Kanchi, eleventh/twelfth century
- Illustration 73 Buddha, formerly in Kāmākṣī Ammaṉ Temple, Kanchi, sixth century (present location: Government Museum, Madras)
- Illustration 74 Temple-cities that flourished ca. eighth through thirteenth century
- Illustration 75 Bagan, Myanmar
- Illustration 76 Sir Joshua Reynolds, Lady Henrietta Antonia Herbert, Countess of Powis (1758-1830), 1777-78, oil on canvas, 55¼ x 44¼ in, Powis Castle, National Trust, 1181064
- Illustration 77 Henry Dixon, View Looking Towards an Unidentified Mandapa, Probably at Kanchi (Thousand-Pillared Hall, Ekāmbaranātha Temple, Kanchi), 1868, photographic print, 20.2 × 27.3 cm, British Library, Photo 1000/26(2559)
- Illustration 78 Anonymous, Rough Sketch of the Fortified Pagoda of Great Cangivaram, 1872, pen and ink on paper, Archives nationales d’Outre-mer, Aix-en- Provence, FR ANOM 25DFC 260B, Image courtesy: EFEO/Jean Deloche
- Illustration 79 Archaeological Survey of India, The Amman shrine, Ekambreswaraswami Temple, Conjeevaram, 1897, photographic print, 21.1 × 25.5 cm, British Library, Photo 1008/3(323)
- Illustration 80 Battle of Puḷḷalūr 1780, in Four Plans of engagements between the British forces and those of Hyder Ally and Tippo Sahib [at] Congeveram, Sholangur, Vellore [and] Veracundaloor [in the Presidency of Madras], 1780-1782, British Library, MA
- Illustration 81 Thomas Colman Dibdin after James Fergusson, Sketch Map of India, 1847, lithograph, 38.2 × 29.4 cm, British Library, X472(35)
- Illustration 82 Henry Merke after James Hunter, A View from the Royal Artillery Encampment, Conjeveram, 1805, aquatint, British Library, X768/3(36)
- Illustration 83 Thomas Daniell, The entrance of an excavated Hindoo Temple, at Mavalipuram, on the coast of Coromandel, Plate 2 from Oriental Scenery, Part 5, 1799, aquatint, British Library, X432/5(2)
- Illustration 84 Thomas Fraser, Elevation of the Great Pagoda at Conjeveram, 1812, engraving, 68 × 50 cm, British Library, P250
- Illustration 85 J. Clark after James Wathen, Second View from the Great Pagoda near Conjeveram (Plate VI), 1814, hand-colored aquatint, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, DS412.W38
- Illustration 86 After Anna Tonelli, Palanquin Bearers and a Messenger Camel, in the Journal of Lady Charlotte Florentia Clive, London, 1857, British Library, WD4235
- Illustration 87 Mackenzie Collector, Conjeveram Before You Come to the Great Pagoda, 1804, wash, 32 × 50.2 cm, British Library, WD717
- Illustration 88 After Henry Salt, Pagoda in Conjeveram, Published: Valentia, 1811, opp. p. 437, British Library, W5289
- Illustration 89 Mackenzie Collector, Hindoo Architecture: Granite Pillars in a Choultry at Conjeveram, 14th June 1807, 1807, folio 26 in Album of 156 drawings chiefly of architecture and sculpture in S. India (1803-1808), pen and ink, British Library, WD
- Illustration 90 Mackenzie Collector, A Jain at Conjeveram, 16th March 1800, folio 4 in Album of 82 drawings depicting the costume of various castes in Balaghat, Carnatic, 1800, watercolor, British Library, WD1069
- Illustration 91 John Gould, Map of Conjeeveram, 23 April 1816, 1816, Pencil, pen-and-ink, and watercolor, 19 × 23 in, British Library, WD2701
- Illustration 92 George Russel Dartnell, Stone Pillar in a Choultree at Conjeveram–near Wallajabad–Jany 1829, Pencil and sepia ink wash, British Museum, 1997,1109,0.60 and .61
- Illustration 93 Pillar in Vasanta Maṇḍapa, Kāmākṣī Ammaṉ Temple, Kanchi, sixteenth century
- Illustration 94 Archaeological Survey of India, Southeast view, Kailasanatha Temple, Great Conjeeveram, Chingleput District, 1900, photographic print, 24.3 × 29.4 cm, British Library, Photo 1008/5(391)
- Illustration 95 Archaeological Survey of India, South-west view, Matangesvarasvami Temple, Great Conjeeveram, Chingleput District, (Mataṅgeśvara Temple, Kanchi), 1900, photographic print, 23.5 × 18.7 cm, British Library, Photo 1008/5(407)
- Illustration 96 Thomas Colman Dibdin after James Fergusson, Mahavellipore. The Five Raths, 1839, lithograph, 25.8 × 36.4 cm, British Library, X590
- Illustration 97 L.H. Rudder after Prince Alexis Soltykoff, Voyage en poste dans les plaines du Punjab, entre Loodiana et Omritsar, Fevrier 1842. [‘The artist in a palanquin in the plains of the Punjab, between Ludiana and Amritsar, February 1842’], 1848,
- Illustration 98 L.H. Rudder after Prince Alexis Soltykoff, Condgeveram, ville sainte dans le Carnatik aux environs de Madras, lieu de pélerinage des Hindoux [‘Conjeveram, sacred city in the Carnatic in the vicinity of Madras, a Hindu pilgrimage place’],
- Illustration 99 L.H. Rudder after Prince Alexis Soltykoff, Intérieur du couvent de Condgeveram, à 40 milles de Madras, Réunion journalière des Brames en l’honneur des deux divinités Conservatrice et Destructive, Juillet 1841 [‘Inside a temple at Conjever
- Illustration 100 The goddess in her chariot, Kāmākṣī Ammaṉ Temple, Kanchi
(18 July 2014)
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