In the ancient city of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu stands the vast Ekambareswarar temple, where Shiva is worshipped as the Prithvi Linga, representing the element of earth among the five Pancha Bhoota Sthalas. Its beloved legend, sung in the Tevaram hymns, tells how Goddess Parvati, performing penance beneath a mango tree, fashioned a linga of sand to worship the Lord; when the Vegavati river rose in flood to sweep it away, she embraced the linga to shield it, and Shiva, moved by her devotion, appeared and wedded her.
An ancient mango tree within the temple, revered for centuries, is said to bear four different fruits, symbolising the four Vedas. One of the largest and oldest temple complexes in India, with a towering gopuram raised by the Pallavas and Cholas, Ekambareswarar unites the worship of the earth-element Lord with the grace of the Goddess as Kamakshi, whose own great shrine stands nearby.
