GM

The Gangaikondan Mandapam (also called Gangana Mandapam) has an interesting history.

It is named after Rajendra Chola I, who earned the title "Gangai-konda Cholan" ("the Chola who brought the Ganga") after his victorious northern campaign. Following his conquest, he brought sacred water from the River Ganga to the south to consecrate the great Shiva temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram. 

According to local tradition, the sacred Ganga water was not carried in one uninterrupted journey. Along the route, specially consecrated pavilions (mandapams) were built where the vessels containing the Ganga water were temporarily placed before continuing the procession. These came to be known as Gangaikondan Mandapams. 

The well-known Gangaikondan Mandapam at Kanchipuram, opposite the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, is believed to be one such halting place. Today it houses a shrine of Hanuman and is also associated with the preparation of ceremonial umbrellas used in temple festivals. 

Thus, the name Gangaikondan Mandapam literally means "the pavilion of the one who brought the Ganga." It is a memorial to Rajendra Chola's historic expedition and to the sacred journey of the Ganga water from North India to the Tamil country.

This beautifully illustrates how the Cholas transformed a military victory into a religious act: the conquest was not considered complete until the waters of the Ganga were brought south and offered to Lord Shiva, symbolically uniting the sacred geography of India from the Himalayas to the Kaveri.