In the ancient temple-city of Kanchipuram, Kamakshi is enshrined as the presiding Goddess of one of the holiest centres of Devi worship in the South, and one of the eighteen Maha Shakti Peethas named in Adi Shankaracharya's Ashtadasha Shakti Peetha Stotram — "Kamakshi Kanchika pure." Her name means she of the loving eyes, and unlike the fierce forms found elsewhere, she is worshipped here in a serene, seated posture of grace.
Tradition holds that Adi Shankaracharya himself, drawn to Kanchi, calmed the Goddess's fierce energy by installing a Sri Chakra before her and established here the Kamakoti Peetham; the Devi is celebrated in his hymn the Soundarya Lahari. She is seated in padmasana within the Gayatri Mandapam, radiant with ornaments.
As one of the great Shakti kshetras of Tamil Nadu, Kanchi Kamakshi draws devotees who seek the compassionate gaze of the Mother, and her temple remains a living heart of Sri Vidya worship.
