Kamakshi Amman Temple

Kamakshi Amman Temple

Kamakshi Amman Temple
4.5
Points of Interest & LandmarksReligious Sites
5:30 AM - 12:00 PM, 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Monday
5:30 AM - 12:00 PM
4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Tuesday
5:30 AM - 12:00 PM
4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Wednesday
5:30 AM - 12:00 PM
4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Thursday
5:30 AM - 12:00 PM
4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Friday
5:30 AM - 12:00 PM
4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Saturday
5:30 AM - 12:00 PM
4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Sunday
5:30 AM - 12:00 PM
4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
About
Although this temple was built in the 7th century and rebuilt in the 14th, it's not very historical.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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The area
Neighbourhood: Nungambakkam/Marina Beach
Being one of the oldest areas of Chennai, Nugambakkam is not just a commercial hub with various educational institutions, premium hotels and government offices, but the Rutland Gate Road here is one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in the city. The shopping here is promising with international retail brands and a variety of Indian designer boutiques lined up in the locality with plenty of cafes and restaurants to give good company. An epicenter of Chennai’s vibrant nightlife, Nungambakkam is the gateway to the city’s most favourite stroll at Marina Beach. The long stretch of the promenade and beach at Marina includes historic monuments and public buildings, reflecting Chennai’s Portuguese, British and Indian heritage and is Chennai’s most popular choice for a relaxed evening.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles208 reviews
Excellent
117
Very good
69
Average
18
Poor
4
Terrible
0

EASWARCHANDRAN P
Mumbai, India136 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2024 • Family
Mangadu Kamatchi temple in Chennai, is well known for its power to fulfil devotees’ prayers in connection with marriage, childbirth, career etc.

It is believed that the prayer of a devotee is fulfilled once he/she completes the mandatory continuous 7 weeks worship here.

The temple has lots of positive vibes. The devotee will for sure get peace, fulfilment and satisfaction on having a darshan here.

This temple is known as the temple of "Tapas Kamakshi" or “Goddess Kamakshi performing penance in Fire”. This is believed to be the place where the goddess performed her penance to marry and re-unite with Lord Shiva.

According to the puranas when Lord Shiva and Parvati where in Mount Kailash the Goddess playfully closed the eyes of the Lord Shiva and as a result the whole universe fell into eternal darkness. So, the Lord Siva ordered her to perform Tapasya to reunite with HIM. The Goddess came down to this place and performed penance amidst "Panchagni" resting her left leg on the sacred fire and folding her right leg. Later Lord Shiva asked her to come to Kanchipuram for marriage.

After the goddess left the place, the heat of the fire that she had created caused great discomfort and became unbearable for all living beings there.

During the visit of Sri Aadi Sankara to Mangadu, he installed a Sri Ardhameru Chakra at this place to calm down the heat of the fire created by the Goddess and at the same time make it into a place that is soothing for all living beings.

As we enter the Temple, we find the shrine of Lord Gansha to the left of the main entrance. Then we can proceed to the Sanctum where we can see the " Ardha Meru Maha Yantra " and an idol of Goddess Kamakshi in the Main Shrine. Only Kumkuma Archana is performed here and no abhisheka is done for Sri Chakram, as it is made up of herbs.

While coming out of the shrine of the main deity, we can worship the Shrine of "Tapas Kamakshi" in the inner courtyard.

As we do pradakshina in the outer courtyard we can see Sapta Matrikas, lord Surya, and the Dwaja-stambha installed in the Eastern side.

People visit this temple to pray in connection with Marriage, childbirth, career and wealth.

After the visit to the Kamakshi Temple, people always proceed to the Vaikunta Perumal Shrine or the Shrine of Lord Vishnu which is about 500 meters away.

Here Lord Vishnu is seen in a seated posture along with his 2 consorts Sridevi and Bhoodevi holding a ring in his palm that he has brought for the marriage of his sister Kamakshi. There are other separate smaller shrines for Goddess Lakshmi, Sri Andal and Lord Hanuman in this temple.

Mangadu temple is believed to be more than 2000 old.

The temple is well maintained with defined “Q’ barricades for Rs.50, Rs.20 and free darshans. The complex is large enough.

One must visit here and experience the peace of mind and the fulfilment on having the darshan
Written 22 November 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

WVR7933
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India595 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2017 • Solo
This temple is located at Mangadu, very near to Poonamallee. This is different from Kamakshi Amman Temple Kanchipuram. This temple is said to be more than 2000 years old...This is the holy place where Kamakshi Amman performed severe penance standing on one leg before Her wedding with Lord Ekambareswarar in Kancheepuram.
You can reach this place by bus from anywhere in Chennai... Otherwise take a Ola or Uber Cab...
Devotees of this Goddess choose "Aru Vazhipadu" (continuous six weeks prayer) to get their prayers answered. We can choose any particular day of the week, most auspicious days being Tuesday or Friday. On this day we have to do Archanai to the Goddess with Coconut and 2 lemons. One lemon being returned and the same has to be kept in our Pooja room. The next week this lemon has to be offered to Goddess and a new lemon being given... so on... This is being done for 6 weeks. On the 7th week, we have to offer Milk to the Goddess and the same to be distributed to the devotees.. By doing this, your prayers for anything like Marriage, job etc will be fulfilled. I used to go this temple very often.
The temple is neatly maintained. Queue system is good. On Tuesdays and Fridays rush is more. You can have special tickets of Rs.20 or 50 for a quick darshan.
Written 16 March 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rajahiyer
Nairobi, Kenya741 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2014 • Family
Kamakshi Amman is a unique temple,worshipped by Sankaracharyas of Kanchimutt.It is the only temple in South where there is no other deity for Shiva can be seen..exclusive for amman!All 100s of temples like Ekambareswarar and Varadharajaperumal Temples are situated around this amman,making this the centre of attraction!Blessed are those who worship Her!
Written 10 March 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

IndoCanadian
Toronto, Canada145 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
With Meenakshi in Madurai and Visalakshi of Varanasi, Kamakshi of Kanchi is one of the most important places worship of Shakthi. Very historic temple.
Written 24 July 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

JAGDISH RAVAL
Ahmedabad, India4,003 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2015 • Couples
The temple beleived to be one of leading in 51 shakti peeth. the sculptures seems to be more than 1000 years old.The temple is constructed in huge area.The YANTRA is placed in front of diety.The Goddess is worshiped in form of Yantra. The temple is associated to Kanchi kam koti Peetham.
Written 1 March 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

yy m
London, UK108 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2018 • Family
Visited this temple for the first time last week with elderly parent and a small child.
My experience : Poor guidance from temple employees about where to find the free darshan entrance.We were asked to go through the whole loop of queuing area even though there were hardly anybody ,approximately 10 people
2) When asked to accept the Saree and perform archana for the deity ,the priest were very rude asking me to Ho back and get the coconuts broken before entering the sanctum Santorum or moolavar.
3) All the while the priest kept muttering abuse how people don't know the procedures....
The Saree was finally taken and draped on the mahameru.As I said even though there were less than 10 devotees we were ushered out in seconds.I came round twice to get proper and satisfactory darshan of Ambal .
If you are like me living in virtual reality it was a wake up call as to the prevalence of caste discrimination in front of parabrahmam ,in this day and age.I can see why Dravidian movement is still active in Tamilnadu and can also see how it took root.
Nothing wrong with the god per se,but an unpleasant experience overall.
Written 26 October 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

bhaskara2015
bangalore15 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2014 • Family
Are you planning to visit Kamakshi Amman Temple and the other famous and wonderful temples in Kanchi Puram?Are you looking for accommodation? Are you a vegetarian and a little tradition bound? If so, there cannot be a better place than the Yatri Nivas, attached to the temple and run by the Temple Trust , situated just a few yards from the temple and bustling with activity throughout the day.Since it is run by the Trust and very near the Temple,you are in the divine presence of Goddess Kamakshi Amman and can have an absolutely hassle free stay if not a very comfortable one in terms of the facilities available in expensive hotels.Both AC and Non AC rooms are available at a reasonable rent of Rs600/-and Rs300/-respectively across the country.The rooms are well maintained and most suitable for a couple or a small family.There is no TV. Hot water is available. During our stay in the Yatrinivas, we observed that devotees who have some rituals to perform or vows to fulfill in traditional attire prefer to stay here.For other details you can log on to kamakoti.org .The Kamakshi Amman Temple is regarded as the most prominent among all the 51 Sakthi Peethas established across the length and breadth of the country and also precedes in eminence the other two of the trio i.e Kasi Visalakshi and Madurai Meenakshi.The temple architecture apart, which indisputably is the best, the Temple is mostly visited by devotees of Goddess Kamakshi to fulfil their vows . One can also worship Adi Shankaracharya here. Heavy rush will be there during the" Navarathri" celebrations. The ideal time to visit the Temple is December-January. The temple is open for darshan from 6 A..M to 12 Noon and 4.30 PM to 8.30 PM.Kamakshi Amman is worshipped as the presiding deity of the Temple City of Kanchipuram. The rituals, reverberations of divine chantings and the resonance of the Temple gongs fill the minds of the devotees with peace and tranquility. All buses stop ear the temple and its at a walking distance from the bus stop.You can stay at Yatri Nivas and visit all the famous temples in a day. Autos are always available at the Temple and you can get one for a reasonable Rs250/ to visit the main temples. there are more than 100 hundred temples and if you want to see them all.you need to stay longer.You can see more temples if you are prepared to hire an auto for Rs1000/-
Written 9 March 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

PNRao
Cedar Falls, IA1,253 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2015 • Family
Kanchi is the place where you will be able to see a number of temples, out of which Kamakshi Amma temple is considered to be very powerful on par with Kasi Visalakshi. Morning hours are generally quick to get a darshan. Avoid important dates like Fridays when the crowds will be huge. Currently painting of the temple is going on as can be seen from the photos I have attached.
Written 28 April 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Siva2707
Johor Bahru, Malaysia152 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2014 • Family
The temple is magnificent with wonderful features & architectures from the past. We went there in the morning so not too crowded. Waited in the line to pray & get blessings from Amman. The temple is well kept with clean surrounding.
Written 7 January 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Aska_883
Hong Kong, China916 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2013 • Couples
This is the first hindu temple I visited in Tamil Nadu.

I just came to know that we need enter with barefoot. But, the ground was quite clean (it looked like), though there are many local people.

It was over my expectation. The size of the temple is so huge. It was very colourful and beautiful. Just keep taking photos... and, many locals are very friendly and asked for taking photos together.

I had been in some temples in North Indian. But, here, it gave me much better impression. at least, there is no preists asking for donation.
Written 1 March 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Kamakshi Amman Temple, Chennai (Madras) - Tripadvisor

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