Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c74.t7: Kañcī (modern Conjeeveram)

History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c74.t7

Language
English

Kañcī (modern Conjeeveram)

v5.c74.t7.1

Kāñcī is one of the seven holy cities of India (vide p. 678 n. 1535 above) and one of the most ancient towns in southern India. If we rely on the tradition recorded by Hiouen Thsang who stayed in Kāñcī about 640 A. D. it would follow that Buddha frequented the region around Kāñcīpura and that Kāñcī had a *stūpa* about 100 feet high built by Aśokarāja (Beal's B. R. W. W. vol. II. p. 230). Hiouen Thsang informs us that Kāñcī was 30 *li* (or about 5½ miles) in circuit, that in his day there were eighty Deva temples and that there were many heretics called Nirgranthas (Beal's B. R. W. W. vol. II. pp. 228-229). The next important datum is the mention of Kāñcī-puraka (resident of Kāñcīpura) in the Mahābhāṣya on Vārtika 26 to Pāṇ. IV. 2 104 (Kielhorn, vol. II. p. 298). Several early records relating to the ancient history of the Pallavas of Kāñcī (of about 250 to 350 A. D.) have been published, such as the Mayidavolu plates of Yuvamahārāja Śiva-skandavarman (E. I. vol. VI p. 84), the Hirahadagalli Inscription of the 8th year (E. I. vol. 1. p. 2), and the Talgunda Pillar Inscription of Kadamba Kākusthavarman (E. I. vol. VIII p. 24). The Allahabad Praśasti of Samudragupta (Gupta Inscriptions ed. by Fleet p. 7) states that Samudragupta vanquished Viṣṇugopa, king of Kāñcī (Kāñceyaka), in the first half of the 4th century A. D. In the 'Maṇimekhalai' there is an elaborate description of the town of Kāñcī where Maṇimekhalai ultimately attained to enlightenment (vide S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar's 'Manimekhalai in its historical setting' p. 20). It is not necessary for the present purpose to refer to the numerous inscriptions about the Pallavas and Kāñcī and the large number of papers contributed to learned Journals. Reference may, however, be made to the careful and scholarly work 'History of the Pallavas of Kāñcī' by R. Gopalan (1928), which brings together all relevant data published up to the date of its composition.

v5.c74.t7.2

Let us now turn to some passages from the Purāṇas about Kāñcī. The Brahmāṇḍa asserts.¹⁶²³ 'The two cities of Kāśī and Kāñcī are the two eyes of Lord Śiva; Kāñcī is a famous Vaiṣṇava *kṣetra* but it also brings about the presence of Śiva'. It is stated in the Bārhaspatya-sūtra (III. 124) that Kāñcī is a Śākta-kṣetra and in the Devībhāgavata (VII 38. 8) it is said to be a Devīsthāna called Annapūrṇā. The Vāmana-purāṇa¹⁶²⁴ observes: the Jāti is the best among flowers, Kāñcī the best among towns, Rambhā among women, the householder among persons of (the four) āśramas, Kuśasthalī is the best among cities and Madhyadeśa among all countries.

v5.c74.t7.3

¹⁶²³ नेत्रद्वयं महेशस्य काशी-काञ्चीपुरद्वयम्। विख्यातं वैष्णवक्षेत्रं शिवसंनिध्य-कारकम्॥ ब्रह्माण्ड IV. 19. 15.

v5.c74.t7.4

¹⁶²⁴ पुष्पेषु जाती नगरेषु काञ्ची नारीषु रम्भाश्रमिणां गृहस्थः। कुशस्थली श्रेष्ठतमा पुरेषु देशेषु सर्वेषु च मध्यदेशः॥ वामन. 12. 50. Vide 'South Indian Inscriptions' vol. I. pp. 8-24 for inscriptions in Pallava characters of the 6th century A. D. in the Kailāsanātha temple at Kāñcī

v5.c74.t7.5

Kāñcī is full of temples and shrines. The most famous are the Vaikuṇṭha Perumal temple of Viṣṇu and the Śaiva temple of Kailāsanātha built by Pallava Rājasiṃha. This latter has a large hall supposed to contain 1000 columns.¹⁶²⁵ There is an old Jaina temple also.

v5.c74.t7.6

¹⁶²⁵ W. S. Caine in his 'Picturesque India' p 491 remarks that the pillars are only 540 when counted

Linked texts (6)