Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram

Coordinates: 12°49′08.4″N 79°43′30.7″E / 12.819000°N 79.725194°E / 12.819000; 79.725194
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Varadharaja Perumal Temple
Kanchipuram
Deity
Features
  • Tower:
    • Punyakoti Vimanam
    • Kalyana Koti Vimanam
  • Temple tank: Anantha Theertham
Location
Location
Nayaks of Thanjavur
Completed10th century
Elevation102.94 m (338 ft)

Varadharaja Perumal Temple, also called Hastagiri and Attiyuran, is a

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.[2]

The temple along with

Vaishnavites believe that visiting all four places without a break will guarantee one a place in paramapadam
.

There is a temple of Varadharajaswamy in Kurmai of Palamaner mandal called the Kurma Varadharaja Swamy Temple and in Yadamari of Yadamari mandal called the Indrapuri Varadharaja Swamy Temple, both in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.

Legend

Halls in the temple with sculpted pillars

According to Hindu legend,

Vaishnavas as well as other Hindus.[5]
There is also stone deity found inside the temple is above the Narasimha shrine. The deity is called Devaraja Perumal, whose worship is equated to the Adi Athi Varadharaja Perumal, that is, two gods residing in one presiding idol.

According to a Hindu legend,

Saraswati over a misunderstanding. He performed the ashvamedha sacrifice, seeking boons from Vishnu. Vishnu was pleased by the devotion, and came out from under the earth as a boar, making Saraswati unite with Brahma. Another legend states that the disciples of the 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.[6]

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 performed the rituals of the 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 performing the ritual.

Nambi also composed the Devarajaashtakam (a Sanskrit poem of 8 verses) for the presiding deity. Ramanuja, an influential Vaishnava preceptor, is regarded to have received answers to his six questions from Varadharaja. through Thirukkachi Nambigal.

History

Halls in the temple with sculpted pillars

The temple has around 350 inscriptions from various dynasties like

Mughul invasion was expected in 1688, the main image of the deity was sent to Udayarpalayam, now part of Tiruchirappalli district.[10] It was brought back with greater difficulty after the involvement of local preceptor who enlisted the services of general Todarmal.[10] Robert Clive, the British general during the colonial period visited the Garuda seva festival and presented a valuable necklace (now termed Clive Maharkandi), which is adorned during a special occasion every year.[10] At present the administration is carried out by Hindu Religious and Endowment of the Government of Tamil Nadu.[11]

The old inscriptions and records of the temple states that several leaders like Vyasatirtha and Satya-Vijaya Tirtha from the

Tirukkural around 1271–1272 CE, belonged to the lineage of priests of Ulagalandha Perumal temple.[13]

View of the rajagopuram from near a pillar at the entrance

There are inscriptions dated 1532 CE (record 544 of 1919) indicating the gift of number of villages made by Achutaraya.

Mughals, spearheaded by Aurangzeb. The deities of the temple were ported to Udayarpalayam in modern-day Tiruchirappalli district during 1688. It was only during 1710 that the situation was ripe for the deities to be returned. But the chieftain of Udayarpalayam opposed the move and only after the intervention of Paramahamsa Parivajakacharya Attan Jeer, the deities were returned. The event is commemorated as a festival in the temple.[6]

The Thathacharyas are the custodians

Lakshmi Kumara Thathachariar
inherited this mantle from his ancestors and made epoch making contributions to the temple annals. He was the Sri Kariya Durandhara – a phrase connoting absolute dedication and authority – of the temple affairs. Simultaneously he was also the Raja Guru of the Vijayanagar king Venkatapathi Deva Maharaj. In Ayengarkulam, a village named after him near Kanchipuram, he built a tank and temple to Sri Rama and Hanuman.

The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu,[19] having the Thathachariars as the Honorary Trustees.

Architecture

Images in the temple

The temple is present in Chinna Kanchipuram, a locality in the Eastern side of

Manmatha, Lakshmi Narayana, Lakshmi Narasimha, Lakshmi Varaha, and Lakshmi Hayagreeva.[25]

The main sanctum faces west and can be entered through a 40 metres (130 ft)-tall, 7-tiered

Vijayanagara architecture.[21][28]

Hastagiri has murals of the late

Vijayanagara empire on the ceiling.[21] Another significant features of the temple are beautifully carved lizards and gilded with gold, over the sanctum.[28][30] The vimana over the sanctum of Varadharaja Swami is called Punyakoti Vimanam and the one over Perundevi Thayar shrine is called Kalyana Koti Vimanam.[4]

Apart from the main stone idol, the temple has the wooden image of Varadharajaswamy 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.[31] 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 3.0 metres (10 ft) tall idol made of granite in standing posture, while Thayar is a 1.2 metres (4 ft) image in sitting posture.[6] There is a shrine of Narasimha on the hillock.[21] The origin of the mask of Narasimha is mysterious and believed to possess inexplicable powers.[32]

In the second precinct downstairs contains four shrines, of which the important one is of Malayala Nachiar (Kerala consort), presumably built during the

Alvars and Ramanuja in the second precinct.[27]

The third precinct has the shrine of Goddess Perundevi Thayar; it is customary for devotees to visit the shrine first before visiting the main Perumal shrine.[10] There are four small pillared halls, identical in structure, called Thulabara Mandapas built during the 1532 for a ceremony of Achyutaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire.[10]

The seven precincts are called Pradakshina Padha, Hastagiri Pradakshana, Madapalli Pragara, Alavandar Pragara, and Alvar Thiruveedhi. The Alavandar Pragara houses lot of shrines of the temple. The temple has two towers on the eastern and western sides, which are 55 metres (180 ft) and 49 metres (160 ft) tall respectively. There is a hundred pillared hall, which has ornate carvings, notable of which being a stone chain. The temple car is believed to have been donated by Krishnadevaraya in 1517 CE. There are paintings in the temple commissioned during the 16th century during the rule of Vijayanagara kings.[6]

There is a shrine of Chakratalvar on the eastern side of the temple tank. The image of Chakratalvar (

Vijayanagara Empire during the 13th or early part of 14th century. The kings also added pillared columns in the leading hall sculpted with figures from Ramayana and various forms of Vishnu.[33]

Literature

Halls in the temple with sculpted pillars

The temple is often mentioned as the divine source of Sri Vaishnava literature. Thirumangai Alvar 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 Alvar. Thirukachi Nambi was an ardent devotee of Varadharaja. 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 Vishishtadvaita 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 Vaishnava philosophy.[6]

Vedanta Desika, the revered polymath next only to Ramanuja mentions the annual ten-day festival celebrated in May.[10] In one of the verses, he extols the deity:

"He is the single root-source for this entire universe,
beginning with space, and all other elements;
like the pupil in the eye of the Vedas."[34]

The temple also finds mention in the

Vadiraja Swamy
.

Peyalvar
penned one.

Sri Alluri Venkatadri Swamigal composed more than 200 keerthanams about Varadharaja Perumal.

Festival and religious practises

The temple is famous for its huge umbrella used during festive occasions. During the bhramotsavam (major festival) in Vaigasi (May/June), thousands of people throng the temple and that increases twofold during the Garuda Vahanam and the Ther Thiruvila, the chariot procession.[citation needed]

Atthi Varadar

Vasantha Mantapam, where Atthi Varadar is worshipped for 48 days after every 40 years.

Atthi Varadharaja Perumal (Atthi Varadar), the 3.0 metres (10 ft) deity image, is made of the Atthi or the fig tree, and is stored in an underground chamber inside the temple tank which is called the Anantha Sarovaram/ Anantha Saras. It is brought out to worship for 48 days after every 40 years.[35][36] It is worshipped in the Vasantha Mantapam, which located in the south-west corner of the temple. The Aththi Varadar is worshipped in sleeping posture (Kidantha Thirukkolam or Sayana Kolam) in the first 24 days, followed by standing position (Nindra Thirukkolam) in the next 24 days.[37]

The icon, which was the presiding deity earlier, was hidden in the 16th century to protect from invaders; however replaced by the current stone central icon when the wooden icon could not be traced. In 1709, the icon was accidentally rediscovered when the temple tank was emptied; thereafter the tradition of worshipping the deity once in 40 years was established.[38]

The festival was last held from 1 July to 17 Aug in 2019. The next Atthi Varadar festival will be held in 2059.

Earlier documented dates about the rise are:

  • 2 July 1979[39]
  • 12 July 1939
  • June 1892
  • Aug 1854

Gallery

  • Gopuram View
    Gopuram View
  • Theertham Tank
    Theertham Tank
  • Temple Corridor
    Temple Corridor
  • Close-up of a warhorse
    Close-up of a
    warhorse
  • Carving of cavalry on a pillar in the 100-pillar hall
    Carving of cavalry on a pillar in the 100-pillar hall
  • Gopuram View at Night
    Gopuram View at Night
  • Garuda Sevai of Kanchi Varadaraja Perumal during Annual vaikasi brahmothsavam.
    Garuda Sevai of Kanchi Varadaraja Perumal during Annual vaikasi brahmothsavam.

Notes

  1. ^ Hindu Pilgrimage: A Journey Through the Holy Places of Hindus All Over India. Sunita Pant Bansal. page 82
  2. ^ "The Templenet Encyclopedia – Varadaraja Perumal Temple at Kanchipuram".
  3. ^ Rao 2008, p. 154
  4. ^ a b c d e Rao 2008, p. 106
  5. ^ Hopkins 2000, p. 272
  6. ^ a b c d e C., Chandramouli (2003). Temples of Tamil Nadu Kancheepuram District. Directorate of Census Operations, Tamil Nadu.
  7. ^ Ramesh, M.S. (1993). 108 Vaishnavite Divya Desams volume one Divyadesams in Tondai Nadu. Tirpuati: Tirupati Tirumala Devastanams. p. 44.
  8. ^ Ramaswamy 2007, p. 273
  9. ^ "Abodes of Vishnu – Thirukkachchi".
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Rao 2008, p. 108
  11. ^ Palanithurai 2004, p. 64
  12. ISBN 9788170170266
    .
  13. ^ Gopalakrishnamachariyar, 2009, pp. 26–29.
  14. ^ a b V. 1995, p. 19
  15. ^ "Kanchipuram - Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia".
  16. ^ [1][dead link]
  17. ^ [2][dead link]
  18. ^ "பெரிய திருமலை நம்பி!".
  19. ^ Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959
  20. ISBN 978-81-87952-12-1
    .
  21. ^ a b c d e f Rao 2008, p. 107
  22. ^ Davidson 2002, p. 305
  23. ^ N. 2000, p. 93
  24. ^ V., Meena (1974). Temples in South India (1st ed.). Kanniyakumari: Harikumar Arts. p. 46.
  25. ISBN 978-81-8094-432-1
    .
  26. ^ R., Dr. Vijayalakshmy (2001). An introduction to religion and Philosophy – Tévarám and Tivviyappirapantam (1st ed.). Chennai: International Institute of Tamil Studies. p. 432.
  27. ^
    ISBN 978-81-7907-053-6
    .
  28. ^ a b c Tourist guide to Tamil Nadu 2007, pp. 76-77.
  29. ^ Schreitmüller, p. 545
  30. ^ "Gateway to Kanchipuram district – Varadaraja Temple". Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  31. ^ Rao 2008, p. 105
  32. ^ Massey 2004, p. 91
  33. ^ Madhavan 2007, pp. 87-88
  34. ^ Hopkins 2000, pp. 108-109
  35. ISSN 0971-751X
    . Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  36. ISSN 0971-751X
    . Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  37. ^ "Worshipping Lord Athi Varadar at Kanchipuram – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  38. ^ "After 40 years under water, Kancheepuram temple deity to open for devotees from July 1". The News Minute. 29 June 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  39. ^ "Over 50k throng Athi Varadar temple on 2nd day". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 18 December 2021.

References

External links

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