Les légendes çivaïtes de Kāñcipuram

Abstract

Kāñcipuram, au Tamil Nadu, est l’un des principaux lieux saints permanents de l’hindouisme, où Vaiṣṇavism et Śaivism ont de longue date coexisté. Un Kāñcipurāṇam en tamoul, datant de la seconde moitié du XVIIIe siècle, relate de nombreuses légendes attachées au site. Cette oeuvre du poète Civañan̠acuvāmi, inspirée d’un Kāñcimāhātmya sanskrit se réclamant du Skandapurāṇa, a assuré la transmission et la popularité de la tradition Śaiva de Kāñci jusqu’à nos jours. Ce recueil de traditions religieuses pan-indiennes mais profondément intégrées et adaptées à Kāñci est ici résumé en français et illustré de photographies prises dans les temples de Kāñcipuram et d’autres sites du Tamil Nadu. Kāñcipuram, in Tamil Nadu, is one of the principal permanent seats of Hinduism where Vaiṣṇavism and Śaivism have co-existed since a very long time. The Kāñcipurāṇam, a text in Tamil dating back to the second half of the 18th century, narrates the various legends connected to the site. It is attributed to the poet Civañan̠acuvāmi and was inspired from a Sanskrit Kāñcimāhātmya said to belong to the Skandapurāṇa. Though pan-Indian in its religious traditions, it is deeply rooted in and adapted to Kāñci and has ensured the transmission and popularity of the Śaiva tradition of Kāñci to the present day. It is summarized here in French and illustrated with photographs taken in the temples of Kāñcipuram and other sites of Tamil Nadu.