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This is a Divya Desam (S. No.54). The place is known as Thirukalvanur and it is in Goddess Kamakshi Amman temple.
Kanchi Kamakshi Amman temple is situated in about 5 acres of land and has four entrances. The main entrance of the temple has a Kala Bhairavar sannidhi on its left and the Mahishasura Mardini sannidhi on the right.
Moving further to the entrance of the Kamakshi amman sannidhi , one can see the sannidhi for Lord Vinayaga. Moving on a straight line further, Goddess Kamakshi is visible.
Goddess Kamakshi Ammana is surrounded by deities of Ayyapan, Saraswati, Annaporani and Adi Sankaracharya on its outer prakaram. The Goddess also has Varahi, Arupalakshmi, Kalvarperumal (one of the 108 Divya Desam of Vaishanavities), Roopalakshmi and Arthanariswarar deities surrounding the sanctorum of Goddess Kamakshi on its Gayatri Mandapam.
There is Santhanasthampam inside the prakaram of Goddess which is called the Nabisthan of the Goddess. There is a Srichakra Yantra (Sri Kamakoti Peetam)
established by Jagadguru Sri Adisankaracharya in front of the Goddess Kamakshi Amman.
Goddess Kamakshi is the main deity and the temple is one of the fifty-one Shakti peetas.
Goddess Kamakshi Amman is in a sitting posture in the temple. This posture is called the Padmasana posture. The Padmasana posture is said to resemble a lotus. In the Yogic practice this resembles the form of meditation.
The Goddess holds a Sugarcane bow on Her left upper arm and Lotus, Parrot in Her right upper arm. The Goddess also has divine chakras called Pasa and Angusa in Her arms.
The Goddess also has a Chandrapirai (a shape of the moon like structure) on Her forehead. The sanctum of Goddess Kamakshi is situated in the middle of the temple premises.
Goddess Kamakshi was worshipping a Shiva lingam made of sand under a mango tree to marry the great Lord Shiva. After a long duration of dedicated and devoted meditation, Lord Shiva appeared before Her and married Her.
Adi Shankar Acharya is significantly associated with the rich history of the temple. Like many other ancient goddesses, the form of Kamakshi was less benign than the current form. There used to be various forms of animal and human sacrifices in ancient Shakthi temples and it is believed that Adi Shankar Acharya led to the more peaceful representation of the goddess by placing a divine Chakra before Her.
The goddess agreed to show Her benign side in the temple, while the forms of Shakthi outside Kanchipuram still had angrier forms of Shakthi. There is no verifiable historical proof for this, though it is a part of the local folklore.
A demon named Bandasura did penance worshipping Lord Brahma and obtained a lot of boons. Soon, he started troubling the Devas. The devas went to Lord Shiva and pleaded to save them. Lord Shiva told them to go to Kanchipuram and pray to Goddess Bala Tripurasundari.
The devas came to Kanchipuram disguised in the form of parrots and stayed on a Champaka tree. They worshipped Goddess Bala Tripurasundari. Pleased with their worship, the Goddess appeared in a ferocious form with 8 hands holding 18 weapons. She killed the demon, Banasura.
The devas recognized Her and prayed to Her to calm down. She took the form of a young girl and She told the devas to bury the body of the demon and install a Jayasthamba over it.
Devas buried the body of the demon, built a Gayatri Mantapam, and erected a Rathna Simhasan for the charming, Young Goddess. They started worshipping Her. Soon, She appeared to them as Lalitha Parameswari and pleased with their prayers, She told them that She would remain there in the name of Kamakshi and bless all the devotees who come to worship.
During the churning of the Ocean of Milk, Lord Vishnu turned into blue color due to the poison of Vasuki. Goddess Lakshmi made fun of Him saying that She is fairer in color when compared to Him.
This angered Lord Vishnu and He cursed Goddess Lakshmi to become ugly (Arupa Lakshmi). Goddess Lakshmi came to Kanchipuram and prayed to Goddess Kamakshi.
Goddess Kamakshi told Goddess Arupa Lakshmi to stay on left side of Her and accept the Kumkum offered to Goddess Kamakshi. This would bring back Her beauty.
So, since then all devotees apply the Kumkum collected from Goddess Kamakshi sannidhi on the idol of Goddess Arupa Lakshmi and then apply it on their forehead. This would bring prosperity to devotees.
Lord Vishnu came to know that Goddess Lakshmi was at Kanchipuram and He came to see Her. He was surprised to see the beautiful Goddess and started admiring Her secretly.
Goddess Lakshmi noticed Him, addressed Him “Kalva (Thief)” and told Him to come near Her! Lord Vishnu is known as Kalvar Perumal here. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams.
The name Kamakshi means that the Goddess has Goddess Saraswati (Ka) and Goddess Lakshmi (Ma) as Her eyes (Akshi)! Another meaning is Goddess with eyes full of love (Kama – Love, Akshi – Eyes)!
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