Early medieval · Hindu · India

Ekambareswarar Temple

Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu · 12.8476°, 79.7000°

Shiva as Prithvi Lingam (earth)VijayanagaraDravidaPancha Bhoota SthalamPaadal Petra Sthalam
Sacred since
600 CE
Sung by 7th-c. saints
Standing structure
Chola core; Vijayanagara gopuram 1509
patron: Krishnadevaraya (59 m gopuram)

History & significance

The earth-element shrine of the Pancha Bhoota temples and the largest temple in Kanchipuram, its 59 m raja-gopuram raised by Krishnadevaraya in 1509. In its courtyard grows a mango tree venerated as thousands of years old, whose four branches are said to yield four different tastes.

Sthala katha — the legend

Parvati, doing penance, fashioned a Shiva linga of sand beneath the mango tree; when Shiva sent the Vegavati river to test her, she embraced the linga to shield it — the deity is thus 'Eka-amra-natha', Lord of the single mango tree, still bearing her bangle marks in tradition.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Vijayanagara