Kāñcipuram, known as the beautiful city of India in ancient times, was the most important capital of north Tamil Nadu from its known history to the end of the seventeenth century for nearly 2000 years. This was captured by the famous Cōḻa ruler Karikālaṉ and passed on to his son Kiḷḷivalavaṉ in the Saṅgam Age, first-second century CE. Kiḷḷivalavaṉ’s son through a Nāgā princess was Toṇḍaimaṉ Iḷamtiṟaiyaṉ who ruled northern Tamil Nadu with Kāñci as his capital.
A long poem named Perumpāṇāṟṟupaṭai on Iḷamtiṟaiyaṉ, by a poet, Kaḍiyalūr Rudram Kaṇṇanar gives a description of Kāñci. The poem mentions the place as pala-viralmudūr Kacci, admired by the world as a place of festivals. It mentions that the city was laid out in the form of a lotus with Iḷamtiṟaiyaṉ’s palace, “pon-tuñcu-viyaṉ nagar”, in the center, built of brick and its superstructure covered with gold. The tower could be seen from a long distance. Such lotus layouts are called padmakcara plan in Vāstu Śāstra (Traditional Architectural texts).
pallidal tāmarai pokutil kavara, cudumaṉ ōṅgiya neṭunagar
The city of ancient Madurai was laid out in the same lotus plan.
The Vāstu texts also specify that a Viṣṇu temple should be built in its central part since Viṣṇu is the protector of the Universe. As the king was the protector of the country and likened to Viṣṇu in ancient times, his palace should also be in the center. Gaṅgaikoṇḍa- cōḻapuram is a fine example of such a capital with a temple of Viṣṇu and also the king’s palace in the center of the layout with other temples distributed in appropriate directions.
In the ancient city of Kāñci, there existed a temple dedicated to Viṣṇu as Trivikrama, called Ūraham, i.e., “the heart or center of the city”. The temple continues to exist to this day as Ūraham or Ulakaḷanta-Perumāḷ temple near Kāmākṣi temple. A study of the inscriptions, literature, and also existing monuments shows that the ancient city was centered around this temple. All the great and well-known temples of Śiva, Viṣṇu, Śakti, Kumāra, etc., of Kāñci are located in this region which was called in ancient times Kaccippēṭu.
The present Kāñcipuram city is divided mainly into three parts called:
1. Śiva Kāñci, with Ēkamranātha temple,
2. Viṣṇu Kāñci with Varadarāja temple, and
3. Jīna Kāñci with Jaina temples.
There was also a Buddhist temple here up to the thirteenth century. The temple of Varadarāja which is now the most famous Viṣṇu temple was not originally part of the ancient city but situated beyond its eastern borders and was known as Attiyūr.
Important temples in the ancient part of the city are as follows:
1. Ēkamranātha;
2. Kāmakkōṭṭam;
3. Kumārakkōṭṭam;
4. Kailāsanātha;
5. Ūraham;
6. Vaikuntha-Perumāḷ
7. Muktēśvara;
8. Matangēśvara;
9. Tiru-Vehha (Connavaṇṇam-Ceyda-Perumāḷ)
10.Aṣṭabhujākaram;
11. Pāṭakam alias Pāṇḍava-Perumāḷ
12. Jvaraharēśvara;
13. Kaccapēśvara;
14.Dīpa Prakāśa;
15. Paccai-Vaṇṇar;
16. Pavaḷavaṇṇar and so on.
The Vaikuntha-Perumāḷ temple, originally called Paramēśvara Viṇṇagaram, was built by the Pallava Nandivarman II in around CE 750, was renovated by Kulōttuṅga Cōḻa I and came to be called Kulōttuṅga-Cōḻa- Viṇṇagaram.
The ancient Kāñci extended from Kailāsanātha in the west to Tiru-Vehha in the east.
There were many merchant colonies that existed up to the thirteenth century, within this area mainly centered around Ūraham temple. A good number of inscriptions and royal charters speak about the temple of Ūraham, mainly placed under the control of these merchants, financially, administratively, and religiously that helped the city to prosper.
Around CE 700 when the great Pallava ruler Rājasimha built the Kailāsanātha temple he established four merchant colonies around the center of the city named after his titles as:
● Raṇajayappadi
● Ēkavirappadi
● Atimānappadi and
● Vāmanaccēri
These were active for more than 300 years. There were merchants supplying clothes to the royal household who resided in settlements at the same time named
● Ēṟṟuvalappadi
● Kampulamppadi
● Kāñcahappadi
These were made in charge of the administration of the temple by the ruling kings. The merchants who lived in the area were called Tantuvayas in Sanskrit and Patasalis in the Tamiḻ portion of the record who were supplying cloth to the royal families.
The merchants had received orders from the following kings to regulate the services of the Ūraham temple:
● Pallava Teḷḷāṟṟerinda Nandivarman CE 845-60
● Vijāyalaya Cōḻa CE 850-80
● Pallava Vijaya Kampavarman CE 860-90
● Parāntaka Cōḻa CE 906-50
The earliest inscription in the temple of Ūraham is that of the Pallava Teḷḷāṟṟerinda Nandivarman CE 845-60. At the request of his officer, the Pallava ruler granted permission to the merchants attached to the “videlviṭugu-kutiraiccēri” to sell all commodities in their shops without paying any tax. It means that instead of paying the tax to the king it should be paid to the temple. Thus it is seen from the earliest known period, that the merchants were associated with the temple. Uttama Cōḻa’s Order, CE 955 Uttama Cōḻa, the immediate predecessor of Rājarāja I, issued a royal order in CE 985, inscribed on copperplates, that have survived to this date, now known as Madras Museum Plates of Uttama Cōḻa. It gives a clear picture of the interest of the rulers in this royal temple of Ūraham and detailed information on the administration of this temple by the merchants. Uttama ordered the merchants first to verify the existing sources of income of the temple, granted by earlier kings, recorded in stone inscriptions and copperplates. The earlier grants of the kings Vijayālaya Cōḻa, Pallava Kampavarmaṉ, and Parāntaka Cōḻa were mentioned in the records as a result of verification. It was found that the temple received income from three sources:
1. Lands purchased by the temple from its own funds.
2. Taxes paid to the temple as ordered by the rulers.
3. Interests paid by the merchants and villagers who had taken gold from the temple treasury on loan.
Uttama Cōḻa ordered the division of expenditure into two major heads:
1. The daily puja services in the temple, its expenditure and administration.
2. The utsava (festivals), their expenditure and administration.
Two merchant colonies were given the responsibility of collecting the respective revenue and administering the daily services. They should also audit the account every year.
Other colonies (paḍis) should collect the revenue relating to festivals, conduct the seven-day festivals, and enroll special musicians, lamp holders, flower suppliers, etc.
They should audit the accounts of expenditure immediately after the festival is over.
The quantity of proceeds and the revenue to be collected are detailed in the record. Similarly, the annual interest on the gold taken on loan was to be calculated at the rate of 12 percent and collected. An interesting stipulation was that some of these arrangements were in existence from the time of the earlier kings and that should continue.
There was another merchant colony named “Cōḻa Niyamam,” in which lived some merchants named “Tolacceviyar,” and “Elak-kaiyar.” Their population had dwindled and those who were still there were reduced to poverty. The king ordered that they should not be taxed at all. Instead, new immigrant merchants were to be taxed at the rate of one nāḻi of rice and oil per month. No other tax should be levied.
The administration was in the hands of tānattars in most of the other temples. However, here we find the merchants responsible for the administration which shows the city was primarily a commercial settlement and its prosperity depended on trade. The merchants were co-opted in the administration of the central temple for the economic wealth of the city. The merchants were to carry lamps, flags, parasols, and other paraphernalia of the temple in front of the deity during festivals in lieu of their wages.
One of the inscriptions says “nam ur grāma dēvataiyākiya ūrahattuppēruman”, the “deity (Viṣṇu of Graham), the presiding god of the town” which shows that the god of Graham was worshipped as the central presiding deity of the city.
Rājarāja Cōḻa I, who succeeded Uttama Cōḻa, added more merchant colonies increasing the commercial nature of the city. He established three more great merchant markets called peruntheru:
1. Rājarāja Peruntheru,
2. Mummudi Cōḻa Peruntheru,
3. Ravikula-Māṇikka Peruntheru.
Rājarāja Cōḻa I and Rājēndra Cōḻa I (Ce 985-1044) added more constructions to the Graham Viṣṇu temple.
Under the reign of Rājēndra Cōḻa, a new shrine was built inside the Graham temple by his Senāpati, Rāmaṉ Kṛṣṇaṉ, and this temple was dedicated to Kṛṣṇa.
Their inscriptions are found in fragments built into the enclosure.
The age of Kulōttuṅga I who ascended the throne in CE 1070 and ruled up to CE 1125 was the golden age of Kāñci. He built the present stone structure of the main tower and gilded the finial with gold. He found that a considerable area of cultivable lands belonging to the temple was lying fallow without culvaon. The merchants of the region of Kaccippēṭu took these lands and cultivated and using their produce. At the request of his queens, the king invited the merchants and persuaded them to return the lands to the temple which they readily agreed. Kulōttuṅga himself went to the temple and standing in the sanctum with his queens gifted these lands back to the temple for its expenses. Kulōttuṅga rebuilt the sanctum towers of all the ancient Viṣṇu temples in the city and made gifts that saw a great flowering of Vaiṣṇavism in the city.
The temple of Śrī Kṛṣṇa called Pāṭakam, presently known as Pandavadūtar was a great center of architects who built temples at other places like Uttaramērūr.
Kulōttuṅga’s inscription is found in this temple. Another famous Viṣṇu temple in the city called Thiru-Vehha (Yatotkāri- Coṉṉavaṇṇam Ceyda Perumāḷ) temple was the eastern boundary of ancient Kāñci. Kulōttuṅga I built the temple of Varadarāja with stone encasing the hillock and built the enclosure and gopura with the result the village temple of Varadarāja became a great temple. Kulōttuṅga’s son built more shrines, a kitchen, etc. The Varadarāja has emerged into the limelight.
One of the late Cōḻa inscriptions gives the boundaries of the city which shall retained the old status from Thiru-Vehha in the east to Kailasanatha in the west and calls it Mānagaram. Up to the middle fourteenth century, we find this situation continued.
The latter half of the fourteenth century saw the establishment of Vijayanagara rule. The Vijayanagara rulers patronized every religion alike. Suddenly, we find an enormous activity of buildings and inscriptions shifted to Varadarāja temple in the east. There is practically no inscription in the Ūraham temple after the fourteenth century till the end of the nineteenth century.
More or less the same condition is noticed in other temples and where found they are nothing compared to the enormous activity in Varadarāja. The great Krishṇadēvarāya and his brother Acyutarāya who succeeded him contributed enormously to the enrichment of the Varadarāja temple and also the Ēkamranātha temple.
The merchants who were found around the Ūraham temple (the center of the ancient city) have now moved towards the Varadarāja temple and its surroundings. The Varadarāja temple is now integrated with the ancient city of Kāñci. A portrait of Krishṇadēvarāya in metal is found in the Tāyar shrine. The Kalyāṇa Maṇḍapa in the enclosure known for its beauty was built by Acyutarāya. The temple car of Varadarāja was made in the Vijayanagara Age.
Kāñci went through some disturbances in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. From its known history, it was a great commercial town with merchants playing a vital role in its development. It continues to this day as a leading weaving center and silk trade. It has been the abode of many religious leaders who were responsible for the religious upliftment of the people.