Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher . He worked in the Great Monastery ( Mahāvihāra ) at Anurādhapura , Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in the lineage of the Sinhalese Mahāvihāra.
125-524: His best-known work is the Visuddhimagga ("Path of Purification"), a comprehensive summary of older Sinhala commentaries on Theravada teachings and practices. According to Sarah Shaw, in Theravada this systematic work is "the principal text on the subject of meditation ." The interpretations provided by Buddhaghosa have generally constituted the orthodox understanding of Theravada scriptures since at least
250-430: A tropical wet and dry climate ( Köppen Aw ), which is generally healthy. 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. Relative humidities of between 58% and 84% prevail throughout the year. The humidity reaches its peak during the morning and is lowest in the evening. The relative humidity
375-610: A Buddhist monk named Revata was Buddhaghosa bested in debate, first being defeated in a dispute over the meaning of a Vedic doctrine and then being confounded by the presentation of a teaching from the Abhidhamma . Impressed, Buddhaghosa became a bhikkhu (Buddhist monk) and undertook the study of the Tipiṭaka and its commentaries. On finding a text for which the commentary had been lost in India, Buddhaghosa determined to travel to Sri Lanka to study
500-509: 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. The Medieval Chola king Aditya I conquered the Pallava kingdom, including Kanchipuram, after defeating the Pallava ruler Aparajitavarman (880–897) in about 890. Under the Cholas,
625-555: A Sinhala commentary that was believed to have been preserved. In Sri Lanka, Buddhaghosa began to study what was apparently a very large volume of Sinhala commentarial texts that had been assembled and preserved by the monks of the Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya . Buddhaghosa sought permission to synthesize the assembled Sinhala-language commentaries into a comprehensive single commentary composed in Pali . Traditional accounts hold that
750-680: A band of Saivas with him on his return from the Chola expedition to North India and settled them in Kanchipuram. 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 . Inscriptions indicate
875-602: A bi-weekly express train to Nagercoil . Two passenger trains from both sides of Chengalpattu and Arakkonam pass via Kanchipuram. 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. Electricity supply
1000-557: A legal case. It also explains the eventual loss of the Sinhala originals that Buddhaghosa worked from in creating his Pali commentaries by claiming that Buddhaghosa collected and burnt the original manuscripts once his work was completed. Buddhaghosa was reputedly responsible for an extensive project of synthesizing and translating a large body of ancient Sinhala commentaries on the Pāli Canon . His Visuddhimagga (Pāli: Path of Purification)
1125-486: A municipal committee. It was upgraded to a grade I municipality in 1947, selection grade municipality in 1983 and special grade municipality in 2008. As of 2011 the municipality occupies 36.14 km (13.95 sq mi), has 51 wards and is the biggest municipality in Kanchipuram district. 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
1250-814: A nominal acknowledgement of Mughal rule. The Marathas ruled Kanchipuram due to Islamic invasion during the Carnatic period in 1724 and 1740, and the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1742. 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 . The popular 1780 Battle of Pollilur of
1375-605: A palace in the city and a lot of development was extended eastwards. During the Vijayanagara period, the population rose to 25,000. There were no notable additions to the city's infrastructure during British rule. 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. Distribution of languages in Kanchipuram Urban(2011) According to 2011 census , Kanchipuram had
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#17328523379951500-497: A pioneer, and a creative thinker." Yet, according to Buddhadasa , Buddhaghosa was influenced by Hindu thought, and the uncritical respect for the Visuddhimagga has even hindered the practice of authentic Buddhism. Visuddhimagga The Visuddhimagga ( Pali ; English: The Path of Purification ), is the 'great treatise' on Buddhist practice and Theravāda Abhidhamma written by Buddhaghosa approximately in
1625-415: 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. 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%. The city had
1750-420: A testimony to the abilities of a great harmonizer who blended old and new ideas without arousing suspicion in the minds of those who were scrutinizing his work. The Visuddhimagga is composed of three sections, which discuss: 1) Sīla (ethics or discipline); 2) Samādhi (meditative concentration); 3) Pañña (understanding or wisdom). This comparison between practice and "seven relay chariots" points at
1875-459: A total of 403 buses for 191 routes operated out of the city. 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. Daily trains are provided to Pondicherry and Tirupati, and there is a weekly express train to Madurai and
2000-426: 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. About 8,00,000 (800,000) pilgrims visit the city every year as of 2001. As per
2125-555: Is V. Somasundaram from the AIADMK party. Kanchipuram Lok Sabha constituency is a newly formed constituency of the Parliament of India after the 2008 delimitation . 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
2250-541: Is a comprehensive manual of Theravada Buddhism that is still read and studied today. Maria Heim notes that, while Buddhaghosa worked by using older Sinhala commentarial tradition, he is also "the crafter of a new version of it that rendered the original version obsolete, for his work supplanted the Sinhala versions that are now lost to us". Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu writes that Buddhaghosa's work is "characterized by relentless accuracy, consistency, and fluency of erudition, and much dominated by formalism." According to Richard Shankman,
2375-475: Is a listing of the fourteen commentaries ( Aṭṭhakathā ) on the Pāli Canon traditionally ascribed to Buddhaghosa While traditional accounts list Buddhaghosa as the author of all of these works, some scholars hold that only the Visuddhimagga and the commentaries on the first four Nikayas as Buddhaghosa's work. Meanwhile, Maria Heim holds that Buddhaghosa is the author of the commentaries on the first four Nikayas,
2500-608: Is a phenomenon of attention is one he develops with greater sophistication than has been done elsewhere. Ganeri sees Buddhaghosa's work as being free from a mediational picture of the mind and also free of the Myth of the Given , two views he sees as having been introduced by the Indian philosopher Dignāga . The Visuddhimagga ' s doctrine reflects Theravada Abhidhamma scholasticism, which includes several innovations and interpretations not found in
2625-404: Is a pilgrimage site for both Vaishnavites and Saivites . Varadharaja Perumal Temple , dedicated to Maha Vishnu and covering 23 acres (93,000 m ), is the largest Vishnu temple in Kanchipuram. The temple has around 350 inscriptions from various dynasties like Chola , Pandya , Kandavarayas, Cheras , Kakatiya , Sambuvaraya , Hoysala and Vijayanagara indicating various donations to
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#17328523379952750-701: Is accused of aiding child labour by opening night schools in Kanchipuram from 1999. There is an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 child workers in Kanchipuram compared to 85,000 in the same industry in Varanasi . Children are commonly traded for sums of between ₹ 10,000 and 15,000 (200 – $ 300) and there are cases where whole families are held in bondage. Child labour is prohibited in India by the Children (Pledging of Labour) Act and Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, but these laws are not strictly enforced. The Chennai – Bangalore National Highway, NH 4 passes
2875-547: Is assumed to be generally accurate. While the Mahavamsa claims that Buddhaghosa was born in northern India near Bodh Gaya, the epilogues to his commentaries make reference to only one location in India as being a place of at least temporary residence: Kanci in southern India. Some scholars thus conclude (among them Oskar von Hinüber and Polwatte Buddhadatta Thera ) that Buddhaghosa was actually born in Amaravati , Andhra Pradesh and
3000-518: Is believed to have established the Kanchi matha after this temple. Muktheeswarar Temple, built by Nandivarman Pallava II (720–796) and Iravatanesvara Temple built by Narasimhavarman Pallava II (720–728) are the other Shiva temples from the Pallava period. Kachi Metrali – Karchapeswarar Temple, Onakanthan Tali, Kachi Anekatangapadam, Kuranganilmuttam, and Karaithirunathar Temple in Tirukalimedu are
3125-501: Is headed by a Superintendent of Police. 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. The population increased to 13,000 in subsequent years and the city developed cross patterned links with rectangular streets. The settlements in the city were mostly caste based. During the period of Nandivarma Pallavan II, houses were built on raised platforms and burnt bricks. The concepts of
3250-470: Is higher between November and January and is lowest throughout June. Most of the rain occurs in the form of cyclonic storms caused by depressions in the Bay of Bengal during the northeast monsoon. 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
3375-449: Is known for its temple architectures, 1000-pillared halls, huge temple towers and silk saris. Kanchipuram serves as one of the most important inland tourist destinations in India. Kanchipuram has become a centre of attraction for foreign tourists as well. The city covers an area of 36.14 km (13.95 sq mi) and an estimated population of 232,816 in 2011. It is the administrative headquarters of Kanchipuram District . Kanchipuram
3500-458: Is most important to Sri Vaishnavism , Shaktism and then Shaivism . Most of the city's workforce is involved in the weaving industry. Kanchipuram is administered by a Special grade municipality constituted in 1947. It is the headquarters of the Kanchi matha , a Hindu monastic institution believed to have been founded by the Hindu saint and commentator Adi Sankaracharya , and was the capital city of
3625-553: Is no retroflex ṣ sound in Pali, and the name is not found in Sanskrit works. Limited reliable information is available about the life of Buddhaghosa. Three primary sources of information exist: short prologues and epilogues attached to Buddhaghosa's works; details of his life recorded in the Mahavamsa , a Sri Lankan chronicle written in about the 13th century; and a later biographical work called
3750-524: Is not by Buddhaghosa. Kanchipuram Kanchipuram ( IAST : kāñcipuram ; [kaːɲdʑipuɾam] ) also known as Kanjeevaram , is a stand alone city corporation, satellite nodal city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, 72 km (45 mi) from Chennai – the capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the City of Thousand Temples , Kanchipuram
3875-565: Is not the same as what the Visuddhimagga says [...] they are actually different," leading to a divergence between a [traditional] scholarly understanding and a practical understanding based on meditative experience. Gunaratana further notes that Buddhaghosa invented several key meditation terms which are not to be found in the suttas, such as " parikamma samadhi (preparatory concentration), upacara samadhi (access concentration), appanasamadhi (absorption concentration)." Gunaratana also notes that
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4000-512: 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. The city has two medical colleges – Arignar Anna Memorial Cancer Institute and Hospital, established in 1969,
4125-667: Is operated by the Department of Health, Government of Tamil Nadu and the privately owned Meenakshi Medical College. The city has 6 engineering colleges, 3 polytechnic institutes and 6 arts and science colleges. Hindus regard Kanchipuram to be one of the seven holiest cities in India, the Sapta Puri . According to Hinduism, a kṣhetra is a sacred ground, a field of active power, and a place where final attainment, or moksha , can be obtained. The Garuda Purana says that seven cities, including Kanchipuram are providers of moksha . The city
4250-489: Is regulated and distributed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). Water supply is provided by the Kanchipuram municipality; supplies are drawn from subterranean springs of Vegavati river. 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). About 55 tonnes of solid waste are collected from
4375-543: 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. The Kanchipuram municipality was officially constituted in 1866, covering 7.68 km (2.97 sq mi), and its affairs were administered by
4500-519: Is supposed to be a detailed, step by step guide to enlightenment. And yet in the postscript [...] he says he hopes that the merit he has earned by writing the Vishuddhimagga will allow him to be reborn in heaven, abide there until Metteyya ( Maitreya ) appears, hear his teaching and then attain enlightenment. However, according to the Burmese scholar Venerable Pandita, the postscript to the Visuddhimagga
4625-498: Is tourism and service related segments like hotels, restaurants and local transportation. 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. In 2005, "Kanchipuram Silk Sarees" received the Geographical Indication tag,
4750-478: Is unlikely that the meditative tradition could have survived in such a healthy way, if at all, without his detailed lists and exhaustive guidance." Yet, according to Buswell, by the 10th century vipassana was no longer practiced in the Theravada tradition, due to the belief that Buddhism had degenerated, and that liberation was no longer attainable until the coming of Maitreya . It was re-introduced in Myanmar (Burma) in
4875-679: Is well-connected by road and rail. Kanchipuram is a Tamil name formed by combining two words, " kanchi " and "puram," together meaning "the city of kaanchi flowers" (due to the abundance of kaanchi flowers in those regions). The city is located on the banks of the Vegavathy and Palar Rivers . Kanchipuram has been ruled by the Pallavas , the Medieval Cholas , the Later Cholas , the Later Pandyas ,
5000-460: Is with the immediate and transformative impact of the Buddha's words on his audiences, as attested in the suttas Regarding his systematic thought, Maria Heim and Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad see Buddhaghosa's use of Abhidhamma as part of a phenomenological "contemplative structuring" which is expressed in his writings on Buddhist praxis. They argue that "Buddhaghosa’s use of nāma-rūpa should be seen as
5125-479: The Mahavamsa a composition of the second part(often called Culavamsa) of that historical poem is attributed to Dhammakitti, who lived in or about the thirteenth century records that Buddhaghosa was born into a Brahmin family in the kingdom of Magadha . He is said to have been born near Bodh Gaya , and to have been a master of the Vedas , traveling through India engaging in philosophical debates. Only upon encountering
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5250-747: The Buddhaghosuppatti . A few other sources discuss the life of Buddhaghosa, but do not appear to add any reliable material. The biographical excerpts attached to works attributed to Buddhaghosa reveal relatively few details of his life, but were presumably added at the time of his actual composition. Largely identical in form, these short excerpts describe Buddhaghosa as having come to Sri Lanka from India and settled in Anuradhapura . Besides this information, they provide only short lists of teachers, supporters, and associates of Buddhaghosa, whose names are not generally to be found elsewhere for comparison. In
5375-633: The Kakatiya ruler Prataparudra II , Kanchipuram was conquered by the Vijayanagara general Kumara Kampana , who defeated the Madurai Sultanate in 1361. The Vijayanagara Empire ruled Kanchipuram from 1361 to 1645. 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. His inscriptions record
5500-499: 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). 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. The current member of the legislative assembly
5625-505: The Mahayana ) were emerging, many of them making use of classical Sanskrit both as a scriptural language and as a language of philosophical discourse. The monks of the Mahavihara may have attempted to counter the growth of such schools by re-emphasizing the study and composition in Pali, along with the study of previously disused secondary sources that may have vanished in India, as evidenced by
5750-552: The Pallava Kingdom between the 4th and 9th centuries. Kanchipuram has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India. Kanchipuram was known in early Tamil and Sanskrit literature as Kanchi or Kachipedu . In the Sanskrit the word is split into two: ka and anchi. Ka means Brahma and anchi means worship, showing that Kanchi stands for
5875-630: The Samantapasadika , the Paramatthajotika, the Visuddhimagga and the three commentaries on the books of the Abhidhamma. Maria Heim also notes that some scholars hold that Buddhaghosa was the head of a team of scholars and translators, and that this is not an unlikely scenario. In the 12th century, the Sri Lankan (Sinhalese) monk Sāriputta Thera became the leading scholar of the Theravada following
6000-580: The Tipitaka canon of scriptures, along with the Milindapañha . According to Nanamoli Bhikkhu , the Visuddhimagga is "the hub of a complete and coherent method of exegesis of the Tipitaka, using the ‘ Abhidhamma method ' as it is called. And it sets out detailed practical instructions for developing purification of mind." The Visuddhimagga is one of the main texts on which contemporary vipassana method (and
6125-457: The Tipiṭaka and match in every respect, the monks acceded to his request and provided Buddhaghosa with the full body of their commentaries. Buddhaghosa went on to write commentaries on most of the other major books of the Pali Canon, with his works becoming the definitive Theravadin interpretation of the scriptures. Having synthesized or translated the whole of the Sinhala commentary preserved at
6250-722: The Velama Nayaks in 1437, the Gajapati kingdom in 1463–1465 and 1474–75 and the Bahmani Sultanate in about 1480. A 1467 inscription of Virupaksha Raya II mentions a cantonment in the vicinity of Kanchipuram. In 1486, Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya , the governor of the Kanchipuram region, overthrew the Sangama Dynasty of Vijayanagara and founded the Saluva Dynasty . Like most of his predecessors, Narasimha donated generously to
6375-707: The Vijayanagara Empire , the Carnatic kingdom , and the British , who called the city "Conjeeveram". The city's historical monuments include the Kailasanathar Temple and the Vaikunta Perumal Temple . Historically, Kanchipuram was a centre of education and was known as the ghatikasthanam , or "place of learning". The city was also a religious centre of advanced education for Jainism and Buddhism between
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#17328523379956500-419: The dhamma to be "well-spoken [...] visible here and now, timeless," visible meaning that the fruits of the path can be seen in the behavior of the noble ones, and that comprehending the dhamma is a transformative way of seeing, which has immediate impact. According to Heim, this idea of the transformative and immediate impact of the scriptures is "vital to Buddhaghosa's interpretative practice," concerned as he
6625-437: The 12th century CE. He is generally recognized by both Western scholars and Theravadins as the most important philosopher and commentator of the Theravada, but is also criticised for his departures from the canonical texts. The name Buddhaghosa means "Voice of the Buddha" ( Buddha + ghosa ) in Pali , the language in which Buddhaghosa composed. In Sanskrit, the name would be spelled Buddhaghoṣa (Devanagari बुद्धघोष), but there
6750-596: The 18th century by Medawi (1728–1816), leading to the rise of the Vipassana movement in the 20th century, re-inventing vipassana -meditation and developing simplified meditation techniques, based on the Satipatthana sutta , the Visuddhimagga , and other previous texts, emphasizing satipatthana and bare insight. The Mahavamsa ascribes a great many books to Buddhaghosa, some of which are believed not to have been his work, but composed later and attributed to him. Below
6875-555: The 1st and 5th centuries. In the Vaishnavism Hindu theology, Kanchipuram is one of the seven Tirtha (pilgrimage) sites, for spiritual release. The city houses the Varadharaja Perumal Temple , Ekambareswarar Temple , Kamakshi Amman Temple , and Kumarakottam Temple , which are some of the major Hindu temples in the state. Of the 108 holy temples of the Hindu god Vishnu , 15 are located in Kanchipuram. The city
7000-573: The 5th century in Sri Lanka . It is a manual condensing and systematizing the 5th century understanding and interpretation of the Buddhist path as maintained by the elders of the Mahavihara Monastery in Anuradhapura , Sri Lanka. It is considered the most important Theravada text outside the Tipitaka canon of scriptures, and is described as "the hub of a complete and coherent method of exegesis of
7125-597: The 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by Poigai Alvar, Peyalvar, Bhoothathalvar and Thirumalisai Avar. Tiru Parameswara Vinnagaram The central shrine has a three-tier shrine, one over the other, with Vishnu depicted in each of them. The corridor around the sanctum has a series of sculptures depicting the Pallava rule and conquest. It is the oldest Vishnu temple in the city and was built by the Pallava king Paramesvaravarman II (728–731). Ashtabujakaram , Tiruththanka , Tiruvelukkai , Ulagalantha Perumal Temple , Tiru pavla vannam , Pandava Thoothar Perumal Temple are among
7250-537: The Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya, Buddhaghosa reportedly returned to India, making a pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya to pay his respects to the Bodhi Tree . The details of the Mahavamsa account cannot readily be verified; while it is generally regarded by Western scholars as having been embellished with legendary events (such as the hiding of Buddhaghosa's text by the gods), in the absence of contradictory evidence it
7375-493: The Buddhaghosa's emphasis on kasina -meditation is not to be found in the suttas, where dhyana is always combined with mindfulness. Bhikkhu Sujato has argued that certain views regarding Buddhist meditation expounded in the Visuddhimagga are a "distortion of the Suttas" since it denies the necessity of jhana . The Australian monk Shravasti Dhammika is also critical of contemporary practice based on this work. He concludes that Buddhaghosa did not believe that following
7500-419: The Buddhist canon a kind of method ( naya ) that requires different skills to interpret. One of his most important ideas about exegesis of the buddha's words ( buddhavacana ) is that these words are immeasurable, that is to say, there are innumerable ways and modes to teach and explain the Dhamma and likewise there are innumerable ways in which to receive these teachings. According to Heim, Buddhaghosa considered
7625-578: 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. As of 2011 Kanchipuram has 49 registered schools, 16 of which are run by the city municipality. 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. Larsen & Toubro inaugurated
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#17328523379957750-404: The Canon." Kalupahana notes that the Visuddhimagga contains "some metaphysical speculations, such as those of the Sarvastivadins , the Sautrantikas , and even the Yogacarins ". Kalupahana comments: Buddhaghosa was careful in introducing any new ideas into the Mahavihara tradition in a way that was too obvious. There seems to be no doubt that the Visuddhimagga and the commentaries are
7875-405: The Canon." Bhante Henepola Gunaratana also notes that what "the suttas say is not the same as what the Visuddhimagga says [...] they are actually different," leading to a divergence between a [traditional] scholarly understanding and a practical understanding based on meditative experience. Gunaratana further notes that Buddhaghosa invented several key meditation terms which are not to be found in
8000-461: The Computer Wing, all of which are under the control of a Municipal Commissioner, who is the supreme executive head. 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. On 24 August 2021, the state government announced the upgrading of Kanchipuram town to Kanchipuram City Municipal Corporation . Kanchipuram comes under
8125-413: The Divya Desams, the 108 famous temples of Vishnu in the city. There are five other Divya Desams , three inside the Ulagalantha Perumal temple, one each in Kamakshi Amman Temple and Ekambareswarar Temple respectively. Ekambareswarar Temple in northern Kanchipuram, dedicated to Shiva , is the largest temple in the city. Its gateway tower, or gopuram , is 59 metres (194 ft) tall, making it one of
8250-427: The Mahavamsa. Early indications of this resurgence in the use of Pali as a literary language may be visible in the composition of the Dipavamsa and the Vimuttimagga , both dating to shortly before Buddhaghosa's arrival in Sri Lanka. The addition of Buddhaghosa's works — which combined the pedigree of the oldest Sinhala commentaries with the use of Pali, a language shared by all of the Theravada learning centers of
8375-638: The Mon records refer to another figure, but whose name and personal history are much in the mold of the Indian Buddhaghosa. Finally, Buddhaghosa's works likely played a significant role in the revival and preservation of the Pali language as the scriptural language of the Theravada, and as a lingua franca in the exchange of ideas, texts, and scholars between Sri Lanka and the Theravada countries of mainland Southeast Asia. The development of new analyses of Theravada doctrine, both in Pali and Sinhala, seems to have dried up prior to Buddhaghosa's emergence in Sri Lanka. In India, new schools of Buddhist philosophy (such as
8500-429: The Pallavas, is the oldest Hindu temple in existence and is declared an archaeological monument by the Archaeological Survey of India . It has a series of cells with sculptures inside. In the Kamakshi Amman Temple , goddess Parvati is depicted in the form of a yantra , Chakra or peetam (basement). In this temple, the yantra is placed in front of the deity. Adi Sankara is closely associated with this temple and
8625-422: 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. 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. The Company brought
8750-404: The Shiva temples in the city revered in Tevaram , the Tamil Saiva canonical work of the 7th–8th centuries. Kumarakottam Temple , dedicated to Muruga , is located between the Ekambareswarar temple and Kamakshi Amman temple, leading to the cult of Somaskanda (Skanda, the child between Shiva and Parvati). Kandapuranam , the Tamil religious work on Muruga, translated from Sanskrit Skandapurana ,
8875-545: The Tipitaka." The structure of the Visuddhimagga is based on the Ratha-vinita Sutta ("Relay Chariots Discourse," MN 24), which describes the progression from the purity of discipline to the final destination of nibbana in seven steps. The Visuddhimagga' s material also strongly resembles the material found in an earlier treatise called the Vimuttimagga (c. 1st or 2nd century). The Visuddhimagga' s doctrine reflects Theravada Abhidhamma scholasticism, which includes several innovations and interpretations not found in
9000-575: The Varadharaja Perumal Temple. 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. 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
9125-567: 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. After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, Kanchipuram endured over two decades of political turmoil. The Golconda Sultanate gained control of the city in 1672, but lost it to Bijapur three years later. In 1676, Shivaji arrived in Kanchipuram at
9250-544: The Vishnu temples were in Little Kanchipuram. 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. The area is rich in medicinal plants, and historic inscriptions mention the medicinal value. Dimeria acutipes and Cynodon barberi are plants found only in Kanchipuram and Chennai. Kanchipuram has
9375-622: The Visuddhimagga are a "distortion of the Suttas" since it denies the necessity of jhana . The Australian monk Shravasti Dhammika is also critical of contemporary practice based on this work. He concludes that Buddhaghosa did not believe that following the practice set forth in the Visuddhimagga will really lead him to Nirvana, basing himself on the postscript to the Visuddhimagga: Even Buddhaghosa did not really believe that Theravada practice could lead to Nirvana. His Visuddhimagga
9500-507: The Visuddhimagga is "meticulous and specific," in contrast to the Pali suttas, which "can be vague at times, without a lot of explanatory detail and open to various interpretations." According to Maria Heim, Buddhaghosa is explicitly clear and systematic regarding his hermeneutical principles and exegetical strategies in his commentaries. He writes and theorizes on texts, genre , registers of discourse, reader response , Buddhist knowledge and pedagogy . Buddhaghosa considers each Pitaka of
9625-436: The air, walking through solid obstructions, diving into the ground, walking on water and so forth are performed by changing one element , such as earth, into another element, such as air. The individual must master kasina meditation before this is possible. Dipa Ma , who trained via the Visuddhimagga , was said to demonstrate these abilities. The Visuddhimagga is considered the most important Theravada text outside of
9750-406: The analytic by which he understands how experience is undergone, and not his account of how some reality is structured." Some scholars have argued that Buddhaghosa's writing evinces a strong but unacknowledged Yogācāra Buddhist influence, which subsequently came to characterize Theravada thought in the wake of his profound influence on the Theravada tradition. According to Kalupahana , Buddhaghosa
9875-531: The banks of the Vegavathi River, a tributary of the Palar River . The city covers an area of 11.6 km (4.5 sq mi) and has an elevation of 83.2 m (273 ft) above sea level. The land around Kanchipuram is flat and slopes towards the south and east. The soil in the region is mostly clay, with some loam, clay, and sand, which are suitable for use in construction. It has been postulated that
10000-556: The city but cemented Mughal rule. 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. Under the Mughals, Kanchipuram was part of the viceroyalty of the Carnatic which, in the early 1700s, began to function independently, retaining only
10125-479: The city daily at five collection points covering the whole of the city. 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. Kanchipuram is traditionally a centre of religious education for the Hindu, Jainism and Buddhism faiths. The Buddhist monasteries acted as nucleus of
10250-543: The city in his Mahabhasya as Kanchipuraka . The city was referred to by various names like Kanchi , Kanchipedu and Kanchipuram . The Pallava inscriptions from (250–355) and the inscriptions of the Chalukya dynasty refer the city as Kanchipura . Jaina Kanchi refers to the area around Tiruparutti Kundram. During the British rule, the city was known as Conjeevaram and later as Kanchipuram . The municipal administration
10375-683: The city was the headquarters of the northern viceroyalty. The province was renamed Jayamkonda Cholamandalam during the reign of King Raja Raja Chola I (985–1014), who constructed the Karchapeswarar Temple and renovated the Kamakshi Amman Temple . His son, Rajendra Chola I (1012–44) constructed the Yathothkari Perumal Temple . According to the Siddhantasaravali of Trilocana Sivacharya, Rajendra Chola I brought
10500-684: 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. A second invasion ended disastrously for Pulakesin II, who was forced to retreat to his capital Vatapi which
10625-732: 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. The major occupations of Kanchipuram are silk sari weaving and agriculture. As of 2008, an estimated 5,000 families were involved in sari production. The main industries are cotton production, light machinery and electrical goods manufacturing, and food processing. There are 25 silk and cotton yarn industries, 60 dyeing units, 50 rice mills and 42 other industries in Kanchipuram. Another important occupation
10750-626: 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. Kanchipuram grew in importance when the Pallavas, wary of constant invasions from the north, moved their capital south to the city in the 6th century. The Pallavas fortified
10875-499: The earliest discourses ( suttas ) of the Buddha. Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga includes non-canonical instructions on Theravada meditation , such as "ways of guarding the mental image (nimitta)," which point to later developments in Theravada meditation. The Visuddhimagga concerns kasina -meditation, a form of concentration-meditation in which the mind is focused on a (mental) object. According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu , "[t]he text then tries to fit all other meditation methods into
11000-512: The earliest discourses ( suttas ) of the Buddha. Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga includes non-canonical instructions on Theravada meditation , such as "ways of guarding the mental image (nimitta)," which point to later developments in Theravada meditation. According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu , "the Visuddhimagga uses a very different paradigm for concentration from what you find in the Canon." Bhante Henepola Gunaratana also notes that what "the suttas say
11125-406: The elder monks sought to first test Buddhaghosa's knowledge by assigning him the task of elaborating the doctrine regarding two verses of the suttas ; Buddhaghosa replied by composing the Visuddhimagga . His abilities were further tested when deities intervened and hid the text of his book, twice forcing him to recreate it from scratch. When the three texts were found to completely summarize all of
11250-505: The first product in India to carry this label. The silk trade in Kanchipuram began when King Raja Raja Chola I (985–1014) invited weavers from Saurashtra , Gujarat to migrate to Kanchi. The craft increased with the mass migration of weavers from Andhra Pradesh in the 15th century during the Vijayanagara rule . The city was razed during the French siege of 1757, but weaving re-emerged in
11375-440: 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. Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya and Chettinad Academy of Research and Education (CARE) are the two Deemed universities present in Kanchipuram. The very famous 65-year-old college- founded by Vallal Pachaiyappar– Pachaiyappa's College for Men-
11500-411: The goal. Each purity is needed to attain the next. They are often referred to as the "Seven Stages of Purification" ( satta-visuddhi ): The "Purification by Knowledge and Vision" is the culmination of the practice, in four stages leading to liberation and Nirvana. The emphasis in this system is on understanding the three marks of existence, dukkha , anatta , anicca . This emphasis is recognizable in
11625-688: The granite required for the Varadaraja Perumal Temple might have been obtained from the Sivaram Hills located 10 miles east of Kanchipuram. The area is classified as a Seismic Zone II region , and earthquakes of up to magnitude 6 on the Richter Scale may be expected. Kanchipuram is subdivided into two divisions – Most of the Shiva temples were in Big Kanchipuram while most of
11750-702: The invitation of the Golconda Sultanate in order to drive out the Bijapur forces. 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. 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 which caused considerable damage to
11875-445: The late 18th century. 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. All these banks have their Automated teller machines located in various parts of the city. Kanchipuram has more than the national average rate of child labour and bonded labour. The local administration
12000-406: The mold of kasina practice, so that they too give rise to countersigns, but even by its own admission, breath meditation does not fit well into the mold." In its emphasis on kasina -meditation, the Visuddhimagga departs from the Pali Canon, in which dhyana is the central meditative practice, indicating that what "jhana means in the commentaries is something quite different from what it means in
12125-413: The nature of consciousness and attention. Ganeri calls Buddhaghosa's approach a kind of "attentionalism", which places primacy on the faculty of attention in explaining activities of thought and mind and is against representationalism . Ganeri also states that Buddhaghosa's treatment of cognition "anticipates the concept of working memory , the idea of mind as a global workplace, subliminal orienting, and
12250-582: The outskirts of the city. 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 . There are two major bus routes to Chennai, one connecting via Poonamallee and the other via Tambaram . Local bus services are provided by The Villupuram division of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation. As of 2006, there were
12375-521: 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. 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. Patanjali (150 BCE or 2nd century BCE) refers to
12500-459: The practice set forth in the Visuddhimagga will really lead him to Nirvana, basing himself on the postscript ( colophon ) to the text which states the author hopes to be reborn in heaven and wait until Metteyya ( Maitreya ) appears to teach the Dharma. However, according to the Burmese scholar Venerable Pandita, the colophon to the Visuddhimagga is not by Buddhaghosa. According to Sarah Shaw, "it
12625-655: The presence of a powerful Hoysala garrison in Kanchipuram, which remained in the city until about 1230. Shortly afterwards, Kanchipuram was conquered by the Cholas , from whom Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I took the city in 1258. The city remained with the Pandyas until 1311 when the Sambuvarayars declared independence, taking advantage of the anarchy caused by Malik Kafur 's invasion. After short spells of occupation by Ravivarman Kulasekhara of Venad ( Quilon , Kerala) in 1313–1314 and
12750-457: The re-institution of Hindu rituals in the Kailasanathar Temple that had been abandoned during the Muslim invasions. 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. Harihara II endowed grants in favour of the Varadharaja Perumal Temple. In the 15th century, Kanchipuram was invaded by
12875-431: 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. 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
13000-539: The reunification of the Sri Lankan (Sinhala) monastic community by King Parakramabahu I . Sariputta incorporated many of the works of Buddhaghosa into his own interpretations. In subsequent years, many monks from Theravada traditions in Southeast Asia sought ordination or re-ordination in Sri Lanka because of the reputation of the Sri Lankan (Sinhala) Mahavihara lineage for doctrinal purity and scholarship. The result
13125-487: The sanctum. Robert Clive is said to have presented an emerald necklace to the temple. It is called the Clive Makarakandi and is still used to decorate the deity on ceremonial occasions. This temple is the main reason for the city to get its name Kanchi . 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
13250-412: The suttas, such as " parikamma samadhi (preparatory concentration), upacara samadhi (access concentration), appanasamadhi (absorption concentration)." Gunaratana also notes that Buddhaghosa's emphasis on kasina -meditation is not to be found in the suttas, where dhyana is always combined with mindfulness. Bhikkhu Sujato has argued that certain views regarding Buddhist meditation expounded in
13375-520: The tallest temple towers in India. The temple is one of five called Pancha Bhoota Stalams , which represent the manifestation of the five prime elements of nature; namely land, water, air, sky, and fire. There is also a 108 holy site of Maha Vishnu temple inside the Ekambaranathar temple called Chandrachuda Perumal or Nilathingal Thundam Perumal temple . Ekambareswarar temple represents earth. Kailasanathar Temple , dedicated to Shiva and built by
13500-530: The temple and also the political situation of Kanchipuram. Varadharaja Perumal Temple was renovated by the Cholas in 1053 and it was expanded during the reigns of the great Chola kings Kulottunga Chola I and Vikrama Chola . In the 14th century another wall and a gopura was built by the later Chola kings. It is one of the Divya Desams , the 108 holy abodes of Maha Vishnu. The temple features carved lizards, one plated with gold and another with silver, over
13625-558: The territory under their direct control during the Second Anglo-Mysore War, and the Collectorate of Chingleput was created in 1794. The district was split into two in 1997 and Kanchipuram made the capital of the newly created Kanchipuram district. Kanchipuram is located at 12°50′19″N 79°42′06″E / 12.8387°N 79.7016°E / 12.8387; 79.7016 , 72 km (45 mi) south-west of Chennai on
13750-412: The thesis that visual processing occurs at three levels." Ganeri also states: Buddhaghosa is unlike nearly every other Buddhist philosopher in that he discusses episodic memory and knows it as a reliving of experience from one’s personal past; but he blocks any reduction of the phenomenology of temporal experience to the representation of oneself as in the past. The alternative claim that episodic memory
13875-434: The time — provided a significant boost to the revitalization of the Pali language and the Theravada intellectual tradition, possibly aiding the Theravada school in surviving the challenge to its position posed by emerging Buddhist schools of mainland India. According to Maria Heim, he is "one of the greatest minds in the history of Buddhism" and British philosopher Jonardon Ganeri considers Buddhaghosa "a true innovator,
14000-547: The upkeep of the shrine. His successor, Achyuta Deva Raya, reportedly had himself weighed against pearls in Kanchipuram and distributed the pearls amongst the poor. 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 . Venkata II (1586–1614) tried to revive
14125-405: The value that is given to vipassana over samatha in the contemporary vipassana movement . According to scholars, the Visuddhimagga is one of the extremely rare texts within the enormous literatures of various forms of Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism to give explicit details about how spiritual masters were thought to actually manifest supernormal abilities . Abilities such as flying through
14250-455: The verandah in the front yard, garden in the backyard, ventilation facilities and drainage of rainwater were all introduced for the first time, while the Tiruvekka temple and houses of agricultural labourers were situated outside the city. 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
14375-462: The vipassana movement itself) is based, together with the Satipatthana Sutta . Yet, its emphasis on kasina -meditation and its claim of the possibility of "dry insight" has also been criticised and rejected by some contemporary Theravada scholars and vipassana -teachers. According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu , "the Visuddhimagga uses a very different paradigm for concentration from what you find in
14500-564: Was besieged and Pulakesin II was killed by Narasimhavarman I (630–668), son of Mahendravarman I (600–630), at the Battle of Vatapi . 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 . Xuanzang ,
14625-538: Was influenced by Mahayana-thought, which were subtly mixed with Theravada orthodoxy to introduce new ideas. According to Kalupahana, this eventually led to the flowering of metaphysical tendencies, in contrast to the original stress on anattā in early Buddhism. According to Jonardon Ganeri, though Buddhaghosa may have been influenced by Yogacara Vijñānavāda, "the influence consists not in endorsement but in creative engagement and refutation." The philosopher Jonardon Ganeri has called attention to Buddhaghosa's theory of
14750-516: 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. Indian writer, politician and founder of the DMK, C. N. Annadurai , was born and raised in Kanchipuram. He was the first member of a Dravidian party to hold that post and
14875-504: Was part of the Dravida kingdom of the Mahabharata and was described as "the best among cities" ( Sanskrit : Nagareshu Kanchi ) by the 4th-century Sanskrit poet, Kalidasa . The city finds mention in the classical Tamil language Sangam literature dated 300 BCE like Manimegalai and Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai . While it is widely accepted that Kanchipuram had served as an Early Chola capital,
15000-493: Was recorded, in an expanded and likely exaggerated form, in a Pali chronicle known as the Buddhaghosuppatti , or "The Development of the Career of Buddhaghosa". Despite the general belief that he was Indian by birth, he later may have been claimed by the Mon people of Burma as an attempt to assert primacy over Sri Lanka in the development of Theravada tradition. Other scholars believe that
15125-450: Was relocated in later biographies to give him closer ties to the region of the Buddha. The Buddhaghosuppatti , a later biographical text, is generally regarded by Western scholars as being legend rather than history. It adds to the Mahavamsa tale certain details, such as the identity of Buddhaghosa's parents and his village, as well as several dramatic episodes, such as the conversion of Buddhaghosa's father and Buddhaghosa's role in deciding
15250-455: Was renamed Kancheepuram , while the district and city retains the name Kanchipuram . 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. The earliest references to Kanchipuram are found in the books of the Sanskrit grammarian Patanjali , who lived between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE. The city
15375-498: Was the first non-Congress leader to form a majority government in post-colonial India . Policing in the city is provided by the Kanchipuram sub-division of the Tamil Nadu Police headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police. 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
15500-466: Was the spread of the teachings of the Mahavihara tradition — and thus Buddhaghosa — throughout the Theravada world. Buddhaghosa's commentaries thereby became the standard method by which the Theravada scriptures were understood, establishing Buddhaghosa as the definitive interpreter of Theravada doctrine. In later years, Buddhaghosa's fame and influence inspired various accolades. His life story
15625-658: Was worshipped by Brahma. Brahma has sculpted Athi Varadhar and worshipped here. Yathothkari Perumal Temple is the birthplace of the Alvar saint, Poigai Alvar . The temple finds mention in Perumpaanatrupadai written by Patanjali. There is a mention about the temple in Silappatikaram (2nd-3rd century CE), Patanjali Mahabharatham and Tolkāppiyam (3rd century BCE). The temple is revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham,
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