Kanchipuram

Kanchipuram was known in early Tamil and Sanskrit literature as Kanchi or Kachipedu.[10] In the Sanskrit the word is split into two: ka and anchi. Ka means Brahma and anchi means worship,

showing that Kanchi stands for the place where Varadharaja Perumal was worshipped by Brahma. Brahma has sculpted Athi Varadhar and worshipped here. In Sanskrit the term Kanci means girdle and explanation is given that the city is like a girdle to the earth.[11] The earliest Sanskrit inscriptions from the Gupta period (early 4th century-CE to late 5th century-CE) denote the city as Kanchipuram, where King Visnugopa was defeated by Samudragupta.[12] Patanjali (150 BCE or 2nd century BCE) refers to the city in his Mahabhasya as Kanchipuraka.[12] The city was referred to by various names like Kanchi, Kanchipedu and Kanchipuram.[10][12] The Pallava inscriptions from (250–355) and the inscriptions of the Chalukya dynasty refer the city as Kanchipura.[12] Jaina Kanchi refers to the area around Tiruparutti Kundram.[12] During the British rule, the city was known as Conjeevaram[1] and later as Kanchipuram. The municipal administration was renamed Kancheepuram, while the district and city retains the name Kanchipuram.[13][14]

It finds its mention in Pāṇini's Ashtadhyayi as Kanchi-prastha and in several Puranas. It is also one of the seven cities that provides liberation.

Sculptures inside Kanchipuram Kailasanathar Temple – the oldest existing temple in the city

The earliest references to Kanchipuram are found in the books of the Sanskrit grammarian Patanjali, who lived between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE.[15] The city was part of the Dravida Kingdom of the Mahabharata[15] and was described as "the best among cities" (Sanskrit: Nagareshu Kanchi) by the 4th-century Sanskrit poet, Kalidasa.[16] The city was regarded as the Banaras of the South.[17] The city finds mention in the classical Tamil language Sangam literature dated 300 BCE like Manimegalai and Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai.[18] While it is widely accepted that Kanchipuram had served as an Early Chola capital,[19][20] the claim has been contested by Indian historian P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar who wrote that the Tamil culture of the Sangam period did not spread through the Kanchipuram district and cites the Sanskritic origins of its name in support of his claim.[15]

Kanchipuram grew in importance when the Pallavas of southern Andhra Pradesh, wary of constant invasions from the north, moved their capital south to the city in the 6th century.[21][22] The Pallavas fortified the city with ramparts, wide moats, well-laid-out roads, and artistic temples. During the reign of the Pallava King Mahendravarman I, the Chalukya King Pulakesin II (610–642) invaded the Pallava kingdom as far as the Kaveri River. The Pallavas successfully defended Kanchipuram and foiled repeated attempts to capture the city.[23] A second invasion ended disastrously for Pulakesin II, who was forced to retreat to his capital Vatapi which was besieged and Pulakesin II was killed by Narasimhavarman I (630–668), son of Mahendravarman I (600–630), at the Battle of Vatapi.[24][23] Under the Pallavas, Kanchipuram flourished as a centre of Hindu and Buddhist learning. King Narasimhavarman II built the city's important Hindu temples, the Vaikuntha Perumal Temple, Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple, the Varadharaja Perumal Temple and the Iravatanesvara Temple.[25] Xuanzang, a Chinese traveller who visited Kanchipuram in 640, recorded that the city was 6 miles (9.7 km) in circumference and that its people were renowned for their bravery, piety, love of justice and veneration for learning.[22][26]

The Medieval Chola king Aditya I conquered the Pallava kingdom, including Kanchipuram, after defeating the Pallava ruler Aparajitavarman (880–897) in about 890.[27] Under the Cholas, the city was the headquarters of the northern viceroyalty.[28] The province was renamed Jayamkonda Cholamandalam during the reign of King Raja Raja Chola I (985–1014),[29][30] who constructed the Karchapeswarar Temple and renovated the Kamakshi Amman Temple.[30] His son, Rajendra Chola I (1012–44) constructed the Yathothkari Perumal Temple.[31] According to the Siddhantasaravali of Trilocana Sivacharya, Rajendra Chola I brought a band of Saivas with him on his return from the Chola expedition to North India and settled them in Kanchipuram.[32] In about 1218, the Pandya king Maravarman Sundara Pandyan (1216–1238) invaded the Chola country, making deep inroads into the kingdom which was saved by the intervention of the Hoysala king Vira Narasimha II (1220–1235), who fought on the side of the Chola king Kulothunga Chola III.[33][34] Inscriptions indicate the presence of a powerful Hoysala garrison in Kanchipuram, which remained in the city until about 1230.[35] Shortly afterwards, Kanchipuram was conquered by the Cholas, from whom Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I took the city in 1258.[36] The city remained with the Pandyas until 1311 when the Sambuvarayars declared independence, taking advantage of the anarchy caused by Malik Kafur's invasion.[29][37] After short spells of occupation by Ravivarman Kulasekhara of Venad (Quilon, Kerala) in 1313–1314 and the Kakatiya ruler Prataparudra II, Kanchipuram was conquered by the Vijayanagara general Kumara Kampana, who defeated the Madurai Sultanate in 1361.[14]

The Vijayanagara Empire ruled Kanchipuram from 1361 to 1645.[14] The earliest inscriptions attesting to Vijayanagara rule are those of Kumara Kampanna from 1364 and 1367, which were found in the precincts of the Kailasanathar Temple and Varadharaja Perumal Temple respectively.[14] His inscriptions record the re-institution of Hindu rituals in the Kailasanathar Temple that had been abandoned during the Muslim invasions.[14] Inscriptions of the Vijayanagara kings Harihara II, Deva Raya II, Krishna Deva Raya, Achyuta Deva Raya, Sriranga I, and Venkata II are found within the city.[14] Harihara II endowed grants in favour of the Varadharaja Perumal Temple.[14]In the 15th century, Kanchipuram was invaded by the Velama Nayaks in 1437, the Gajapati kingdom in 1463–1465 and 1474–75 and the Bahmani Sultanate in about 1480.[14] A 1467 inscription of Virupaksha Raya II mentions a cantonment in the vicinity of Kanchipuram.[14] In 1486, Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya, the governor of the Kanchipuram region, overthrew the Sangama Dynasty of Vijayanagara and founded the Saluva Dynasty.[14] Like most of his predecessors, Narasimha donated generously to the Varadharaja Perumal Temple.[14] Kanchipuram was visited twice by the Vijayanagara king Krishna Deva Raya, considered to be the greatest of the Vijayanagara rulers, and 16 inscriptions of his time are found in the Varadharaja Perumal Temple.[14] The inscriptions in four languages – Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Sanskrit – record the genealogy of the Tuluva kings and their contributions, along with those of their nobles, towards the upkeep of the shrine.[14] His successor, Achyuta Deva Raya, reportedly had himself weighed against pearls in Kanchipuram and distributed the pearls amongst the poor.[14] Throughout the second half of the 16th and first half of the 17th centuries, the Aravidu Dynasty tried to maintain a semblance of authority in the southern parts after losing their northern territories in the Battle of Talikota.[14] Venkata II (1586–1614) tried to revive the Vijayanagara Empire, but the kingdom relapsed into confusion after his death and rapidly fell apart after the Vijayanagara king Sriranga III's defeat by the Golconda and Bijapur sultanates in 1646.[14]

After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, Kanchipuram endured over two decades of political turmoil.[14] The Golconda Sultanate gained control of the city in 1672, but lost it to Bijapur three years later.[14] In 1676, Shivaji arrived in Kanchipuram at the invitation of the Golconda Sultanate in order to drive out the Bijapur forces.[14] His campaign was successful and Kanchipuram was held by the Golconda Sultanate until its conquest by the Mughal Empire led by Aurangazeb in October 1687.[14]In the course of their southern campaign, the Mughals defeated the Marathas under Sambhaji, the elder son of Shivaji, in a battle near Kanchipuram in 1688[14] which caused considerable damage to the city but cemented Mughal rule.[14] Soon after, the priests at the Varadharaja Perumal, Ekambareshwarar and Kamakshi Amman temples, mindful of Aurangazeb's reputation for iconoclasm, transported the idols to southern Tamil Nadu and did not restore them until after Aurangzeb's death in 1707.[14] Under the Mughals, Kanchipuram was part of the viceroyalty of the Carnatic which, in the early 1700s, began to function independently, retaining only a nominal acknowledgement of Mughal rule.[14] The Marathas ruled Kanchipuram due to Islamic invasion during the Carnatic period in 1724 and 1740, and the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1742.[38]

The Battle of Pollilur, fought near Kanchipuram in 1780

Kanchipuram was a battlefront for the British East India Company in the Carnatic Wars against the French East India Company and in the Anglo-Mysore Wars with the Sultanate of Mysore.[39]The popular 1780 Battle of Pollilur of the Second Anglo-Mysore War, known for the use of rockets by Hyder Ali of Mysore, was fought in the village of Pullalur near Kanchipuram.[40] In 1763, the British East India Company assumed indirect control from the Nawab of the Carnatic over the erstwhile Chingleput District, comprising the present-day Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts, in order to defray the expenses of the Carnatic wars.[14] The Company brought the territory under their direct control during the Second Anglo-Mysore War, and the Collectorate of Chingleput was created in 1794.[14] The district was split into two in 1997 and Kanchipuram made the capital of the newly created Kanchipuram district.[14]

Kanchipuram is located at 12.8387°N 79.7016°E / 12.8387; 79.7016, 72 km (45 mi) south-west of Chennai on the banks of the Vegavathi River, a tributary of the Palar River.[41] The city covers an area of 11.6 km² (4.5 sq mi) and has an elevation of 83.2 m (273 ft) above sea level.[41]The land around Kanchipuram is flat and slopes towards the south[41] and east.[42] The soil in the region is mostly clay,[42] with some loam, clay, and sand, which are suitable for use in construction.[43] It has been postulated that the granite required for the Varadaraja Perumal Temple might have been obtained from the Sivaram Hills located 10 miles east of Kanchipuram.[42] The area is classified as a Seismic Zone II region,[44] and earthquakes of up to magnitude 6 on the Richter Scale may be expected.[45] Kanchipuram is subdivided into two divisions –

1. Big Kanchi, also called Shiva Kanchi, occupies the western portion of the city and is the larger of the two divisions;
2. Little Kanchi, also called Vishnu Kanchi, is located on the eastern fringes of the city.[42][46]

Most of the Shiva temples were in Big Kanchipuram while most of the Vishnu temples were in Little Kanchipuram.[42]

Groundwater is the major source of water supplies used for irrigation – the block of Kanchipuram has 24 canals, 2809 tanks, 1878 tube wells and 3206 ordinary wells.[47] The area is rich in medicinal plants, and historic inscriptions mention the medicinal value.[48] Dimeria acutipes and Cynodon barberi are plants found only in Kanchipuram and Chennai.[49]

Kanchipuram has a tropical climate (Köppen Aw), which is generally healthy.[50] Temperatures reach an average maximum of 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) between April and July, and an average minimum of 16 °C (60.8 °F) between December and February.[50][50] Relative humidities of between 58% and 84% prevail throughout the year.[50] The humidity reaches its peak during the morning and is lowest in the evening. The relative humidity is higher between November and January and is lowest throughout June.[50]

Most of the rain occurs in the form of cyclonic storms caused by depressions in the Bay of Bengal during the northeast monsoon.[50] Kanchipuram receives rainfall from both Northeast Monsoon and Southwest Monsoon. The highest single day rainfall recorded in Kanchipuram is 450 millimetres or 17.72 inches on 10 October 1943. The prevailing wind direction is south-westerly in the morning and south-easterly in the evening. In 2015, Kanchipuram district registered the highest rainfall of 182 centimetres or 71.65 inches in Tamil Nadu during Northeast Monsoon season. On 13 November 2015, Kanchipuram recorded a mammoth 340 millimetres or 13.39 inches of rain, thereby causing severe flooding.[51]

Kanchipuram Loksabha constituency

The Kanchipuram municipality was officially constituted in 1866,[22] covering 7.68 km² (2.97 sq mi), and its affairs were administered by a municipal committee. It was upgraded to a grade I municipality in 1947, selection grade municipality in 1983 and special grade municipality in 2008.[58][13] As of 2011 the municipality occupies 36.14 km² (13.95 sq mi), has 51 wards and is the biggest municipality in Kanchipuram district.[13] The population of kanchipuram in 2011 was 2,34,353. The functions of the municipality are devolved into six departments: General, Engineering, Revenue, Public Health, city Planning and the Computer Wing,[59] all of which are under the control of a Municipal Commissioner, who is the supreme executive head.[59] The legislative powers are vested in a body of 51 members, each representing one ward. The legislative body is headed by an elected chairperson who is assisted by a deputy chairperson.[60] On 24 August 2021, the state government announced the upgrading of Kanchipuram town to Kanchipuram City Municipal Corporation.[61]

Kanchipuram comes under the Kanchipuram state assembly constituency. From the state delimitation after 1967, seven of the ten elections held between 1971 and 2011 were won by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).[62] Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) won the seat during the 1971 and 1989 elections and its ally Pattali Makkal Katchi won the seat during the 2006 elections.[62] The current member of the legislative assembly is V. Somasundaram from the AIADMK party.[62][56]

Kanchipuram Lok Sabha constituency is a newly formed constituency of the Parliament of India after the 2008 delimitation.[63] The constituency originally existed for the 1951 election, and was formed in 2008 after merging the assembly segments of Chengalpattu, Thiruporur, Madurantakam (SC), Uthiramerur and Kanchipuram, which were part of the now defunct Chengalpattu constituency, and Alandur, which was part of the Chennai South constituency. This constituency is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. K. Maragatham from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is the current Member of Parliament for the constituency.[57] Indian writer, politician and founder of the DMK, C. N. Annadurai, was born and raised in Kanchipuram.[64] He was the first member of a Dravidian party to hold that post and was the first non-Congress leader to form a majority government in post-colonial India.[65][66]

Policing in the city is provided by the Kanchipuram sub-division of the Tamil Nadu Police headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police.[67] The force's special units include prohibition enforcement, district crime, social justice and human rights, district crime records and special branch that operate at the district level police division, which is headed by a Superintendent of Police.[67]

A house depicting old living style of Kanchipuram

During the rule of King Narasimha Varma in the 7th century, the city covered about 10 square kilometres (3.9 sq mi) and had a population of 10,000.[71] The population increased to 13,000 in subsequent years and the city developed cross patterned links with rectangular streets.[72] The settlements in the city were mostly caste based.[72] During the period of Nandivarma Pallavan II, houses were built on raised platforms and burnt bricks.[72] The concepts of the verandah in the front yard, garden in the backyard, ventilation facilities and drainage of rainwater were all introduced for the first time,[72] while the Tiruvekka temple and houses of agricultural labourers were situated outside the city.[73] There were provisions in the city's outskirts for training the cavalry and infantry.

During the Chola era, Kanchipuram was not the capital, but the kings had a palace in the city and a lot of development was extended eastwards.[72] During the Vijayanagara period, the population rose to 25,000.[72] There were no notable additions to the city's infrastructure during British rule.[72] The British census of 1901 recorded that Kanchipuram had a population of 46,164, consisting of 44,684 Hindus, 1,313 Muslims, 49 Christians and 118 Jains.[22]

According to 2011 census, Kanchipuram had a population of 164,384 with a sex-ratio of 1,005 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929.[74] A total of 15,955 were under the age of six, constituting 8,158 males and 7,797 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 3.55% and 0.09% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the city was 79.51%, compared to the national average of 72.99%.[74] The city had a total of 41807 households. There were a total of 61,567 workers, comprising 320 cultivators, 317 main agricultural labourers, 8,865 in household industries, 47,608 other workers, 4,457 marginal workers, 61 marginal cultivators, 79 marginal agricultural labourers, 700 marginal workers in household industries and 3,617 other marginal workers.[75][70] About 8,00,000 (800,000) pilgrims visit the city every year as of 2001.[76] As per the religious census of 2011, Kanchipuram had 93.38% Hindus, 5.24% Muslims, 0.83% Christians, 0.01% Sikhs, 0.01% Buddhists, 0.4% Jains, 0.11% following other religions and 0.01% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.[77]

Kanchipuram has 416 hectares (1,030 acres) of residential properties, mostly around the temples. The commercial area covers 62 hectares (150 acres), constituting 6.58% of the city. Industrial developments occupy around 65 hectares (160 acres), where most of the handloom spinning, silk weaving, dyeing and rice production units are located. 89.06 hectares (220.1 acres) are used for transport and communications infrastructure, including bus stands, roads, streets and railways lines.[78]

Agriculture in Kanchipuram

Silk sari weaving at Kanchipuram

The major occupations of Kanchipuram are silk sari weaving and agriculture.[22] As of 2008, an estimated 5,000 families were involved in sari production.[79] The main industries are cotton production, light machinery and electrical goods manufacturing, and food processing.[80] There are 25 silk and cotton yarn industries, 60 dyeing units, 50 rice mills and 42 other industries in Kanchipuram.[81] Another important occupation is tourism and service related segments like hotels, restaurants and local transportation.[81]

Kanchipuram Saree

Kanchipuram silk saris hanging

Kanchipuram is a traditional centre of silk weaving and handloom industries for producing Kanchipuram Sarees. The industry is worth ₹ 100 cr (US$18.18 million), but the weaving community suffers from poor marketing techniques and duplicate market players.[79] In 2005, "Kanchipuram Silk Sarees" received the Geographical Indication tag, the first product in India to carry this label.[82][83] The silk trade in Kanchipuram began when King Raja Raja Chola I (985–1014) invited weavers from Saurashtra, Gujarat to migrate to Kanchi.[79] The craft increased with the mass migration of weavers from Andhra Pradesh in the 15th century during the Vijayanagara rule.[79] The city was razed during the French siege of 1757, but weaving re-emerged in the late 18th century.[79]

All major nationalised banks such as Vijaya Bank, State Bank of India, Indian Bank, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, Dena Bank and private banks like ICICI Bank have branches in Kanchipuram.[84] All these banks have their Automated teller machines located in various parts of the city.[84]

An intercity state bus to Kanchipuram

The railway station in Kanchipuram

The Chennai – Bangalore National Highway, NH 4 passes the outskirts of the city.[88] Daily bus services are provided by the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation to and from Chennai, Bangalore, Villupuram, Tirupathi, Thiruthani, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Salem, Coimbatore, Tindivanam and Pondicherry.[89] There are two major bus routes to Chennai, one connecting via Poonamallee and the other via Tambaram.[89] Local bus services are provided by The Villupuram division of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation.[90] As of 2006, there were a total of 403 buses for 191 routes operated out of the city.[91]

The city is also connected to the railway network through the Kanchipuram railway station. The Chengalpet – Arakkonam railway line passes through Kanchipuram and travellers can access services to those destinations.[92] Daily trains are provided to Pondicherry and Tirupati, and there is a weekly express train to Madurai and a bi-weekly express train to Nagercoil.[93] Two passenger trains from both sides of Chengalpattu and Arakkonam pass via Kanchipuram.[89][93]

The nearest domestic as well as international airport is Chennai International Airport, located at a distance of 72 km from the city. The proposed New Chennai International Airport is to be built in Parandhur near Kanchipuram.

Telephone and broadband internet services are provided by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), India's state-owned telecom and internet services provider.[94] Electricity supply is regulated and distributed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB).[95] Water supply is provided by the Kanchipuram municipality; supplies are drawn from subterranean springs of Vegavati river.[22] The head works is located at Orikkai, Thiruparkadal and St. Vegavathy, and distributed through overhead tanks with a total capacity of 9.8 litres (2.2 imperial gallons).[96] About 55 tonnes of solid waste are collected from the city daily at five collection points covering the whole of the city.[97] The sewage system in the city was implemented in 1975; Kanchipuram was identified as one of the hyper endemic cities in 1970. Underground drainage covers 82% of roads in the city, and is divided into east and west zones for internal administration.[98]

Kanchipuram is traditionally a centre of religious education for the Hindu,[4][5] Jainism[6] and Buddhism faiths.[6] The Buddhist monasteries acted as nucleus of the Buddhist educational system. With the gradual resurrection of Hinduism during the reign of Mahendra Varman I, the Hindu educational system gained prominence with Sanskrit emerging as the official language.[6]

As of 2011 Kanchipuram has 49 registered schools, 16 of which are run by the city municipality.[99] The district administration opened night schools for educating children employed in the silk weaving industry – as of December 2001, these schools together were educating 127 people and 260 registered students from September 1999.[85] Larsen & Toubro inaugurated the first rail construction training centre in India at Kanchipuram on 24 May 2012, that can train 300 technicians and 180 middle-level managers and engineers each year.[100] Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya and Chettinad Academy of Research and Education (CARE) are the two Deemed universities present in Kanchipuram.[101] The very famous 65-year-old college- founded by Vallal Pachaiyappar– Pachaiyappa's College for Men- is on the banks of Vegavathi River. It offers UG and PG courses in various subjects.It is the only Govt aided institute in Kanchipuram Taluk.

Kanchipuram is home to one of the four Indian Institute of Information Technology, a public private partnered institute, offering undergraduate and post graduate programs in information technology.[102] The city has two medical colleges – Arignar Anna Memorial Cancer Institute and Hospital, established in 1969, is operated by the Department of Health, Government of Tamil Nadu[103] and the privately owned Meenakshi Medical College.[104] The city has 6 engineering colleges,[105] 3 polytechnic institutes and 6 arts and science colleges.[106]

• Kammavarpalayam
• Murugan Temple, Saluvankuppam
• Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Silver Jubilee School, Tirunelveli

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• Kancheepuram Municipality
• Kanchipuram HRIDAY city
• Kancheepuram district administration website

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