Kumbakonam temples
Kumbakonam is a place located in the Thanjavur district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This place is located between the rivers Arsalar and Cauvery and once, it was the capital of the Chola dynasty. It is also known as the temple town in India as many numbers of temples are located at this place alone. There are 188 temples at Kumbakonam within its geographical boundaries and several thousands of other temples are located in the surrounding towns of Kumbakonam. Majority of the kumbakonam temples in the city are dedicated to lord Shiva and lord Vishnu.
Attend the Mahamaham fest
Mahamaham is the most important fest organized in Kumbakonam which has equal significance to the Kumbha mela in Allahabad which is organized after every 12 years. Mahamaham is celebrated with great zest and enthusiasm and about 10 crore of devotees come from all over the world to take the dip in the Mahamaham tank to get rid of all the sins which they have committed in their life unknowingly.
Cluster of temples
The kumbakonam temples are a cluster of temples that are situated at Kumbakonam and can be classified into different categories on the basis of their construction era. Generally, the kumbakonam temples are classified as Saivite Temples and Vaishnavite Temples.
Saivite temples
This is the first category of kumbakonam-temples that is based on shaivism. Shaivism is the worshipping of the lord Shiva, who is recognized as the supreme god according to the Hindu mythology and there are lots of lord Shiva temples in the Kumbakonam. Saivite temples are dedicated to the lord Shiva. Some of the Saivite temples are as follows:
- Kasi Viswanathar Temple
- Adi Kumbesvarar Temple
- Someswar Temple
- Nageswaran Temple
- Gauthameswarar Temple
There are many more lord Shiva temples in and around the city of Kumbakonam which spread from east to west and from north to south of the city.
Vaishnavite temples
Vaishnavism is the tradition in Hinduism which is recognized for power. The followers of lord Vishnu are known as the Vaishnavite. Lots of Vaishnavite temples are there among the kumbakonam-temples. Some of them are as follows :
- Ramaswamy Temple
- Sarangapani Temple
- Chakrapani Temple
- Rajagopalaswamy Temple
- Varahaperumal Temple
- Kapisthalam
There are many more Vaishnavite temples in Kumbakonam which are popular all around the world.
Architecture of the temples in Kumbakonam
Most of the kumbakonam temples were constructed during the reign of the Chola dynasty from the late 12 century to the 13 century. Temples in Kumbakonam are splendid in architectural designs. The architectures of the chola dynasty reflect the remarkable use of the metals like bronze, copper, gold and silver for construction. Each temple has hundreds of idols of the lord Shiva and lord Vishnu in different postures. On the walls of the temple, the scriptures of the hymns for worshiping lord Shiva and lord Vishnu can be seen. Adi Kumbesvarar temple has beautiful artwork which is outstanding and hard to be replicated. There is a Vaishnavite temple where all the hymns of the Bhagwad Gita are scripted on the walls of the temple.
Tale of every temple
There is a sacred tale of every temple in Kumbakonam which inculcates the respect and belief for the lord Shiva and lord Vishnu among the devotees. It is really interesting to know about these tales. Each day more than 2 lakhs of people visit these temples and pay homage to their deities.