Sri Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram

Address

Sri Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Nethaji Nagar, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu 631501,Phone: 044 2726 9773

Diety

Varadaraja Perumal (Vishnu), Amman: Perundevi Thayaar (Lakshmi)

Introduction

Varadharaja Perumal Temple or Hastagiri or Attiyuran is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu located in the holy city of Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the Divya Desams, the 108 temples of Vishnu believed to have been visited by the 12 poet saints, or Alwars. It is located in a suburb of Kanchipuram known as the Vishnu Kanchi that is a home for many famous Vishnu temples. One of the greatest Hindu scholars of Vaishnava Vishishtadvaita philosophy, Ramanuja is believed to have resided in this temple. Tower: Punyakoti Vimanam Kalyana Koti Vimanam Temple Theertham: Anantha Theertham

Puranic Significance

The temple has around 350 inscriptions from various dynasties like Chola, Pandya, Kandavarayas, Cheras, Kakatiya, Sambuvaraya, Hoysala and Vijayanagara indicating various donations to the temple and also the political situation of Kanchipuram. Indra, the king of celestial deities, after getting released from the curse of Goddess Saraswati, installed the silver and golden lizards who were the witness of the ordeal. Brahma performed a yagna here, which was about to be washed away by the fast flowing river Vegavathi (Saraswathi devi in the form of river), known today as Palar River. The temple deity, Vishnu laid himself flat to stay the flow and the yagna was successfully performed. Vishnu emerged with brilliance of thousand Suns as Varadharajaswamy inside the athi tree and stayed here permanently until he was submerged in nearby tank since Lord came from yagna done by Brahma( also due to fear of invasion by Sultanate)As is the case with the association of South Indian temples with a sacred tree, the name of the temple, Attigiri is derived from Atti tree (fig), considered sacred to Vaishnavas and Hindus The present stone deity found inside the temple is from an nearby Narashima temple, the deity is called Devaraja Perumal whose worship is equated to Adhi AthiVaradharaja perumal i.e.; two gods reside in one moolavar idol. As per Hindu legend, Brahma, the Hindu god of creation, separated with his wife Saraswathi over a misunderstanding. He did an Aswameda worship (with a horse) seeking boons from Vishnu. Vishnu was pleased by the devotion and came out from under the earth as a boar and got Saraswathi unite with Brahma. As per another legend, Saraswathi cursed the king of celestial deities, Indra, to become an elephant and roam around the place. He was relieved of the curse with the divine power of Vishnu, who appeared as the mount, Hastagiri. Hastagiri indicates a mount/hill in the form of elephant. As per another legend, the disciples of sage Gautama were cursed to become lizards. They resided in the temple and were relieved of the curse by the divine grace of Vishnu. There is a panel in the temple where the two lizards are depicted in the roof of the temple. Thirukkachi Nambigal (also known as Kanchi Purnar) was an ardent devotee of this temple. He used to bring flowers everyday from Poovirundhavalli, where he maintained a garden. He did Aalavatta Kaingariyam, waving to produce breeze with the help of a hand fan. It is believed that Vardharaja used to converse with him, while he was doing that seva. Aalavatta Kaingariyam is a worship practise followed in modern times also. Nambi also composed Devarajaashtakam (A Sanskrit poem of 8 verses) on the presiding deity. Sri Ramanujar, another great Vaishnavite, got answers to his six questions from Lord Varadharaja through Sri Thirukkachi Nambigal.

Beliefs

People pray to Perumal for achieving excellence in education and family welfare and prosperity. Lord Sudarshana Azhwar removes the obstacles in wedding proposals of the devotees. They also succeed in court cases and gain mental peace. Women facing health problems and seeking child boon pray to Mother Perundevi Thayar.Devotees also pray to the golden and silver lizards in the temple for relief from any untoward happening due to the fall of real lizards on their body. The prayer also brings them mental peace, safety and success in their endeavours. Devotees offer Tulsi garlands and vastras to Lord and Mother. They offer sweet pudding – Sarkarai Pongal – nivedhana.

Special Features

The temple in Chinna Kanchipuram, a locality in the Eastern side of Kanchipuram, a South Indiann town in the state of Tamil Nadu.The temple covers an area of 23-acre (93,000 m2), showcasing the architectural skills of ancient Vishwakarma Sthapathis in temple architecture, and is famous for its holiness and ancient history. The temple has three outer precincts (prakarams), namely, Azhwar Prakaram, Madai Palli Prakaram and Thiru Malai Prakaram. There are 32 shrines, 19 vimanams (towers), 389 pillared halls (most having the lion type yali sculpture)and sacred tanks some of which located outside the complex.The temple tank is called Anantha Theertham. The hill, called Hastagiri, is 360 m (1,180 ft) long by 240 metres (790 ft).The main sanctum faces west and can be entered through a 130-feet-tall, 7-tiered rajagopuram (main gateway tower). The image of the presiding deity is designed in such a way that on the 15th day after Chitra Purnima, the rays of the Sun fall on the idol.The eastern gopuram is taller than the western gopuram, which is contrasting to large temples where the rajagopuram is the tallest one. One of the most famous architectural pieces in the temple is the huge stone chain sculpted in a single stone.There is a 100 pillared hall. which has sculptures depicting Ramayana and Mahabharata. It is a masterpiece of Vijayanagara architecture. Apart from the main stone idol, the temple has the wooden image of Varadarajaswamy made of Atthi or the fig tree and preserved under water in a secret chamber. It is brought out for worship once every 40 years.The festivities last 48 days after which it is immersed in the water and stored for the next 40 years. It is believed that there is a heavy downpour after the idol is immersed to fill the tank. The presiding deity is a 10 ft (3.0 m) tall idol made of granite in standing posture, while Thayar is a 4 ft (1.2 m) image in sitting posture.There is a shrine of Narasimha on the hillockThe origin of the mask of Narasimha is mysterious and believed to possess inexplicable powers. Thirumangai Azhwar spent all his wealth and taxes towards the building of the temple and the king punished him for not paying the taxes and losing wealth of the kingdom. A divine voice informed the king in his dreams that he can pickup wealth from a nearby place and relieve Thirumangai Azhwar. Thirukachi Nambi was an ardent devotee of Varadrajar. He used to come a long way everyday to the temple to offer his worship. During his old age, he was privileged to converse with god. Ramanuja, the preceptor of Vaishanadvaita philosophy, was tricked by his master and was plotted to be killed. But by the grace of divinity, he was masked as a hunter and escape the event. He later came back to the temple to the making of the Vaishava philosophy.

Festivals

This is a temple that celebrates some festival each month. Famous among them is the 10 day Vaikasi Brahmmotsavam beginning on the Poornima-Vishaka star day. Purattasi Navarathri festival is of a 10 day celebration. Vaikunda Ekadasi is observed in December-January. All festivals draw huge devotee crowd.