Kanchipuram tour from Chennai covering Temples & Silk Saree Weaving

Dussehra Holidays 2019 left our family members with full of happiness and comfort. We arrived Tirumala on 6th morning and spent full day in Tirupati after lord Balajis darshan. On 7th October,2019 we went on a drive to Kancheeputam which is about 140 km from Tirupati. The route goes via Tiruttani (Lord Kartikeya temple on a small hill and Arakkonam - a place on Guinness book for having 25 lakh 2 wheelers for a population of 5 lakh people. We drove non-stop n reached kanchipuram by 8.30. The temple town has almost 316 big &small temples and u need a min 3 days to cover all of them. But 3 main temples like Shiv Kanchi, Vishnu kanchi and Kamakshi Mata temple are popular. Shiv kanchi is a huge temple where the shiv ling is made of Sand by goddess Parvati to worship the lord Shiva for her marriage with him. There are about 300 small shillingas within the temple. Amazingly, theres another huge shivalinga that has 1000 tiny lingas inbuilt also seen here. Wirhin shiv Kanchi temple, we find lord Balaji's idol differently. Balaji is seen with his right hand held upside giving blessings to the devotees and Goddess Lakshmi sits at his novel Instead of on Balajis left side of the chest. This signifies the health. Pray this lord Venkateswara for our health. Ganesh. Kala bhairav, Goddess Durga idols are also placed here. After about a 3 km drive, we came to Kanchi Kamakshi Temple built by chola. But Doorvasa Maharishi installed sri chakra. The idol is supposed to be Swayambhu which means it was not created but it appeared. She is believed to be in the temple in three Swarupas – Sthula, Sukshama, and Shunya. It's one of the 51 shakti paths where nabhi (novel) of sati had fallen here. Its learnt that goddess Kamakshi was worshipped here by lord vishnu and lord Shiva. The names shiva and Vishnu kanchi signifies this. Doorvasa has written the guidelines for performing the pooja and even today the priests follow the same system. Adi Sankara written Soundarya Lahari here. Inside the main shrine, there are 2 more idols of Goddess Varahi and maha Lakshmi are seen to those who offer special puja. The temple has 4 entries and inside the premises we find a pond. We need to remember exactly where we entered from so we dont waste time searching for our vehicle and driver. From there, we went to Vishnu kanchi where Adi varada Raja Perumal kept in yoga nidra inside the pond. Apart from that, kn the same temple, we can see varada raja Swami on the first floor. The idol is very big and bright and lovely to watch. You also find silver and golden Lizards, touching them help us revealing from sins. Now, comes to the world famous kanchi sarees, where a whole lot of saree shops present in the market. There are 2 popular societies like Anna society etc help weavers to get good price. Whereas there other small shops also offer good deals. U need to ask for original silk saree with Zari border to feel the kanchipuram origin. Prices range from 5000 to 1 lakh. U need to bargain from 1/4th of the rate and close at a satisfying price. Apart from sarees, men also get pattu pastrami for Dhoti and lungi. When it comes to food you find many vegetarian restaurants and a very few Airconditioned restaurants. The taste of idly, dosa, sambar etc not only yummy but also the flavor is remembered for ever.