Emperor Ashoka had built a Stupa here. Hiuen-Tsang, a Chinese traveler, visited in 7th century AD and hailed the city for its intellectual eminence and as a place where
scholarship is highly valued. Dharmapala, the celebrated Buddhist scholar of Nalanda, was from Kanchi. Kanchi was successively the capital of the Pallava, the Cholas and the
Rayas af Vijayanagar. During the 7th and the 8th centuries AD, some of the best temples in the city were built by the Pallavas. Kings of several other dynasties also constructed
numerous temples and Kanchipuram and its vicinity enriched with more than a thousand temples. It is described as “the cradle of the Dravidian style of architecture.” Kanchipuram,
undoubtedly, emerges as a monumental testimony to India’s rich culture heritage and ancient wisdom.
There are seven sacred cities (tirthas) spread throughout the Indian subcontinent in which death is traditionally believed to bring final liberation of the soul (moksha).
Kanchipuram is considered to be one of the seven holy cities of India, the other six being Haridwar, Ujjain, Varanasi, Mathura, Ayodhya, and Dwarka. The Hindus call it the
Varanasi of the south. Renowned Hindu seer, spiritual ‘Guru’, philosopher and religious leader, Adiguru Shankaracharya had founded ‘mathas’ for Shaivaite (devotees of Lord Shiv)
Dashnami Sanyasis (ascetics) at four places in India – Badrinath (in Uttarakhand in north India), Puri (in Orissa in east India), Shringeri (in Karnataka in south India) ,
and Dwaraka (in Gujarat in west India). The monks who head these ‘pithas’ or ‘mathas’ are titled as Shankaracharya, signifying significance of these ‘mathas’ or ‘ashramas’.
But the religious importance of Kanchipuram can be understood by the fact that the head of the Kamakotipith, an Episcopal seat or ascetic center in Kanchipuram, is also
described as a Shankaracharya, even though this site is not one of the original four.
Both Shaivites and Vaishnavites flock here in large numbers. Kanchipuram is famous for its silk.