KANCHEEPURAM, Tamil Nadu

Main Attraction: Shore Temple

At a distance of 55 kms from Chennai lies Mamallapuram on the seashores of the Bay of Bengal. This town is situated in Kancheepuram District. Here one can see Pagodas, Rock cut Caves, single stone crafted Rathas and bas- reliefs. Shore Temple is also one of the beautiful sites located in Mamallapuram. 

This is one of the oldest temples in South India standing on the edge of the sea, enclosed by a row of bulls carved out of rock. It is said to have been built by King Rajasimha in the later half of the 7th Century A. D. It is a good example of the first phase of structural temples constructed in the Dravidian style. It has two shrines, one dedicated to Vishnu and another to Shiva. The monuments are flood lit at night and so it is possible to enjoy their beauty after sunset too.

Brief History

Kancheepuram District was a part of ancient Pallava Kingdom up to the middle of eighth century with their capital at Kancheepuram. The famous monolithic temples and rathams at Mahabalipuram located within the district are the contributions of the Pallavas to the cultural heritage of the country. After the end of Pallava’s regime in 760 AD., the district came under the control of the rulers of Mysore. The Rastra kings had invaded the district in the beginning of the ninth century and again in the middle of the tenth century.

Sometimes later, the district came under the Cholas. Due to the supremacy in the battle with Kurumbars, Kulthunga Chola and his son Adondai conquered the Kurumbars’ country which contained forest lands and twenty four forts, thirteen of which can be identified as falling within the jurisdiction of the present Kancheepuram district. The country was recommended to be called as Thondamandalam (the land of slaves) but the king preferred to be called as Thondamandalam. The king gave away the conquered land to his son Adondai who was accordingly crowned in Kanchi. On the decline of Cholas rule over Kanchipuram and surrounding areas as the vassals of the Kakatiyas. The district was absorbed during 1393 by Vijayanagar Kingdom who held sway all over southern India at that time. The district continued to be part of the reign for over a century and half.

After the Vijayanagar dynasty was over thrown by the Mohmmadan kings of the Deccan at the battle of Talikota near Raichur in 1565, one of the deputies of the king took control of the district with allegiance to the fugitive king of the dynasty who ran to Chandragiri in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. In 1639, the English received the site as grant on which the Fort St. George now stands, from Srirangaraya III, a lager deputy of the fugitive king. Soon after, the Sultans of Golconda conquered the whole of South India. The Naikas as deputies to the Sultans of Golconda in Chengalpattu, remained the vassals of the Golconda and dealt with the English.

Kancheepuram along with the Carnatic region came under the rule of the Mughal Emperors of Delhi after the fall of Golconda in 1687. During the 18th Century, the district was repeatedly attacked and figured frequently in the history of these critical times. The district witnessed a number of battles during the test for supremacy between the French and the English. In 1763, the district along with certain villages which now form part of Madras City was given in perpetuity as a Jagir to the East India Company by the Muhammed Ali. The Nawab of Arcot, in consideration of the services rendered to him by the English. In turn, the English leased the district which was referred to as Jagir in the old records annually to the Nawab himself for the next fifteen years.

Haider Ali, the sovereign authority in Mylapore in Madras, devastated the district twice in 1769 and again in 1780. In 1781, when the Nawab of Arcot assigned the revenue of the Carnatic to English, it was placed under the charge of a committee called the Committee of Assigned the Revenues”. On the acession of the Carnatic in full sovereignty to the company by the Nawab in 1801, it became part of British domain in India. Besides, the territory thus acquired the town of Panchayat, the earliest Dutch possession in India was also added to Kancheepuram district in 1825. The district continued to be under British rule till India became independent.