Kanchipuram, the ancient temple city about seventy kilometres south-west of Chennai, is famous for a trinity of great shrines. Two are vast temples to the male gods — Shiva at Ekambareswarar and Vishnu at Varadaraja Perumal — but the third belongs to the goddess. The Kamakshi Amman Temple, gathered behind gold-crowned towers around a broad tank, is one of the most revered Shakti shrines in South India, and in local tradition it is Kamakshi, the goddess of loving eyes, who truly reigns over the whole city.
- Where: central Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu — about 70km from Chennai and an easy day trip.
- Who: Kamakshi, a form of Parvati (identified with Tripurasundari), the presiding goddess of Kanchipuram.
- Don’t miss: the seated goddess in lotus pose, the Sri Chakra before her, the Gayatri Mandapam and the temple tank.
- Etiquette: remove your footwear and dress modestly; photography inside the sanctum is not allowed.
- Hours: generally open early morning to around midday and again in the evening — timings vary, so check locally.
Kamakshi, the goddess of loving eyes
The goddess here is Parvati in one of her highest forms, worshipped as Kamakshi and identified in the Shakta tradition with Tripurasundari, the supreme mother goddess. Unlike most Tamil temple goddesses, who stand, Kamakshi is enshrined seated in padmasana — the serene lotus pose — holding a sugarcane bow, a noose and a goad, with a parrot and a lotus. The name is usually read as kama-akshi, ‘the one with eyes of love’, though a much-loved tradition also parses it as ka for Saraswati, ma for Lakshmi and akshi for eyes, making the goddess the union of wisdom and fortune. You can find practical details on the Kamakshi Amman Temple on its own page, and it is easily paired with the towering Ekambareswarar Temple and the great Varadaraja Perumal Temple that complete Kanchipuram’s temple trinity.
Adi Shankara and the Sri Chakra
The temple is bound up above all with Adi Shankara, the philosopher-saint of the eighth century who is traditionally linked with Kanchipuram. As the story is told, the goddess had once been so fierce in her power that Shankara installed a Sri Chakra — the sacred geometric diagram of the divine feminine — before the deity, drawing her burning energy into it and settling her as a calm, benevolent mother who grants the wishes of her devotees. That Sri Chakra is still worshipped in front of the goddess today, and the shrine is closely associated with the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, the monastic seat that traces its own founding to Shankara. Like much of the temple’s deepest lore, this belongs to devotional tradition rather than documented history, but it shapes how pilgrims experience the sanctum.
A Shakti Peetha and the goddess of the city
Kamakshi is also counted, in tradition, among the Shakti Peethas — the network of places sanctified where parts of the goddess Sati are said to have fallen to earth after her death, in the well-known Puranic legend. At Kanchipuram it is held that her navel came to rest, making this one of the holiest Shakta sites in the south. There is another striking local belief: that Kanchipuram, for all its many temples, has no other independent shrine to the goddess, because the whole feminine power of the city is thought to be concentrated here in Kamakshi. Whether or not one takes these traditions literally, they explain why, for devotees, the goddess of Kanchi is not one shrine among many but the presiding heart of the entire temple town.
Pallavas, Cholas and a crown of gold
A shrine to the goddess has stood on this ground for well over a thousand years. Its origins are usually credited to the Pallavas, the dynasty that made Kanchipuram its capital, with the fabric added to and rebuilt by the Cholas and by later rulers, so that the present temple is the work of many centuries. The sanctum is fronted by the Gayatri Mandapam, a hall whose twenty-four pillars are said to stand for the twenty-four syllables of the sacred Gayatri mantra, its four walls for the four Vedas. In more recent times the towers over the goddess and the vimana above her sanctum have been sheathed in gold, so that the shrine gleams above the surrounding roofs, while a large stone tank lined with steps and pavilions gives the complex its calm, reflective centre. The temple keeps a full festival calendar, from the Fridays of the Tamil months of Aadi and Thai to the great car festival, when the goddess is drawn through the streets in procession.
Visiting
The Kamakshi Amman Temple is an easy day trip from Chennai and is almost always visited alongside the other great temples of Kanchipuram, a city as famous for its silk as for its shrines. It is generally open in the morning and again in the evening, and either end of the day is the most comfortable time to come, when the crowds are thinner and the gold catches the low light. Remove your footwear before entering, dress modestly, and note that photography is not permitted inside the sanctum. To weave the temple into a fuller day among Kanchipuram’s looms and sanctuaries, read /india/tamil-nadu/guides/kanchipuram-silk-and-temples-story, and for the story of the city’s great Shiva shrine see /india/tamil-nadu/guides/ekambareswarar-temple-story.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the goddess Kamakshi?
Kamakshi is a form of Parvati, the consort of Shiva, worshipped as the supreme mother goddess and identified in the Shakta tradition with Tripurasundari. Her name is usually read as kama-akshi, ‘the one with eyes of love’. She is enshrined seated in the lotus pose, holding a sugarcane bow, a noose and a goad, with a parrot and a lotus — an unusually serene, seated form for a Tamil temple goddess.
What is the link with Adi Shankara and the Sri Chakra?
According to temple tradition, the eighth-century saint Adi Shankara installed a Sri Chakra — the sacred diagram of the divine feminine — before the goddess to calm her intense energy and settle her as a benevolent mother. That Sri Chakra is still worshipped in front of the deity, and the temple is closely associated with the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. This is a devotional tradition rather than recorded history.
Is Kamakshi Amman one of the Shakti Peethas?
Yes, in tradition. Kamakshi is counted among the Shakti Peethas — sites hallowed where parts of the goddess Sati are said to have fallen in the Puranic legend — and at Kanchipuram it is held that her navel came to rest here. The various lists of Shakti Peethas differ, but Kanchipuram is widely regarded as one of the most important Shakta shrines in South India.
How does the temple relate to the others in Kanchipuram?
It is the third of Kanchipuram’s three great temples, alongside the Ekambareswarar Temple to Shiva and the Varadaraja Perumal Temple to Vishnu. A local tradition holds that Kanchipuram has no other independent goddess shrine because the feminine power of the whole city is concentrated in Kamakshi, making her the presiding goddess of the temple town.
What is the Gayatri Mandapam?
The Gayatri Mandapam is the pillared hall fronting the goddess’s sanctum. By tradition its twenty-four pillars stand for the twenty-four syllables of the sacred Gayatri mantra, and its four walls for the four Vedas, making the hall itself a symbol of Vedic learning.
How do I get there and when should I visit?
The temple is in central Kanchipuram, about 70km south-west of Chennai and easily reached by road as a day trip, often combined with Mahabalipuram. It is usually open in the morning and again in the evening; early or late in the day is the most comfortable time to visit. Remove your footwear, dress modestly, and note that photography is not allowed inside the sanctum.