TravelTill

Religions of Kanchipuram


JuteVilla
Buddhism was one of the prominent religion in Kanchipuram and classified as a later Buddhist site during the 1st - 5th centuries CE. Some Buddhist celebrities who were associated with Kanchipuram are Arya Deva (2-3rd century CE) - a successor of Nagarjuna of Nalanda University, Dignaga, Buddhaghosa (5th century CE)- a commentator of Tripatikas in Pali, Bodhi Dharma (6th century CE) - the founder of Chan (Zen), Dinnaga (6th century) - a contemporary of Kalidasa and Dhammapala (7th century CE) - the son of a high official and reputed commentator, Siddha Nagarjuna. One of the Theravada great Buddhist commentators, known as Ācariya Dhammapāla, is known to us from the Gandhavamsa to have been born in Kanchipuram and lived nearby at Badara Tittha Vihara. Bodhidharma (520 CE), who went to China to spread Buddhism, is said to be from Kanchipuram. Based on a specific pronunciation of the Chinese characters as Kang-zhi, "meaning fragrance extreme", Tstuomu Kambe identifies to be Kanchipuram, an old capital town in the state Tamil-Nadu. According to Tstuomu Kambe:

"Kanchi means 'a radiant jewel' or 'a luxury belt with jewels', and puram means a town or a state in the sense of earlier times. Thus, it is understood that the Kingdom' corresponds to the old capital 'Kanchipuram'."

Bodhidharma stayed at the Shaolin Monastery and preached Buddhist ideologies. At that time he supposedly trained the monks in the art of Varmakkalai. However, historians have proven that he had no historical connection to martial arts.

Jainism is believed to have been initiated into Kanchipuram by Kunda Kundacharya (1st century CE). Jainism spread in Kanchi after the defeat of Buddhists at the hands of Akalanka (3rd Century CE) in prolonged debates. Silappatikaram, the 2nd century Tamil Jain literature has quotes of Kanchi being an advanced centre of learning. Kalbhras, the rulers of Kanchi before Pallavas followed Jainism and with royal patronage, Jainism grew in the region. The
previous12next
JuteVilla