Varadaraja Perumal Temple

The Varadaraja Perumal Temple at Kanchipuram, set upon the small hill known as Atthigiri (Hastagiri), enshrines the Lord as Varadaraja, the “King of Boons,” and stands among the foremost of the 108 Divya Desams in the Thondai Nadu region. The presiding Moolavar, Devaraja or Varadaraja Perumal, is revered as the very embodiment of grace, the granter of every wish to those who seek his refuge. According to the sthala purana, this is the place hallowed by the great yajna of Brahma the creator, who is said to have performed a sacrifice here from which the Lord arose to bless the world, and the deity is traditionally associated with the sacred fig (atthi) wood form. Kanchipuram is celebrated in the Srivaishnava tradition as one of the seven sacred cities (mokshapuris) granting liberation, and Atthigiri is its crowning Vishnu shrine. The glory of this Divya Desam was sung by the earliest of the Alwars, Bhoothath Alwar and Pey Alwar, two of the three Mudhal Alwars whose pasurams opened the devotional outpouring of the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, and later by Thirumangai Alwar, the prince among poets. Their hymns enshrine the Lord of Atthigiri as the supreme refuge. The temple is renowned for its grand festivals and its sanctity within the Srivaishnava world, and it holds a place of singular eminence as one of the great triad of divine sites at Kanchipuram, where the devout gather to behold the Lord who showers boons upon all who come before him.

Documented history shows continuous building activity across successive dynasties: a Chola renovation in 1053 CE, further expansion under Kulottunga Chola I and Vikrama Chola, and another wall and gopura added by later Chola kings in the 14th century. Vijayanagara-era patronage is especially well recorded: an epigraph of 1511 CE records the Vaishnava saint Vyasatirtha’s gift of a village and a serpent-vehicle (sesha vahanam) and his institution of a festival; the temple’s wooden processional car is traditionally said to have been donated by Krishnadevaraya in 1517 CE; and four Thulabara Mandapas were built in 1532 under Achyutaraya. During a Mughal threat in 1688 the main processional deity was relocated to Udayarpalayam, returning in 1710. Some 350 inscriptions survive in total, from the Chola, Pandya, Kandavaraya, Chera, Kakatiya, Sambuvaraya, and Vijayanagara periods. The complex covers about 9.5 hectares and comprises 32 shrines, 19 vimanams, 389 pillared halls, and 96 sculpted pillars, including a Vijayanagara-era Hundred-Pillared Hall famed for a stone chain carved from a single block and its Ramayana and Mahabharata relief panels. The main rajagopuram is seven-tiered and about 40 m tall, facing west, flanked by an eastern tower of 55 m and a western tower of 49 m – unusually, the eastern gopuram stands taller than the main one.

According to tradition, the hill itself, Hastagiri or Atthigiri, takes its name from a legend in which Saraswati cursed Indra to become an elephant, and Vishnu appeared as Indra’s mount; a separate legend holds that Vishnu lay flat to halt the flow of the then-flowing Vegavati river (identified with today’s Palar) so that Brahma could complete a yajna nearby, then emerged from within a sacred fig (atthi) tree as Varadharajaswamy – the source of both the “Atthigiri” name and the fig-wood material of the temple’s wooden festival image.

Festivals

The grand Brahmotsavam is the foremost annual festival here, traditionally a multi-day affair in which Lord Varadaraja is taken in procession on a magnificent series of mounts, the Garuda Sevai drawing especially large crowds. Vaikunta Ekadasi is observed with great devotion, the Paramapada Vasal (gateway to the celestial abode) opened for the faithful to pass through, accompanied by the Pagal-pathu and Ra-pathu recitation of the Tiruvaymozhi. The temple is renowned above all for the Athi Varadar festival: the wooden Athi Varadar image, accidentally rediscovered in 1709 when the temple tank (Anantha Theertham) was emptied, is raised and worshipped once every 40 years for 48 days – the first 24 in reclining posture, the next 24 standing – before being re-immersed until the next occurrence. Documented occurrences fell in 1854, 1892, 1939, 1979, and again from 1 July to 17 August 2019; the next is scheduled for 2059. Pavithrotsavam, the Float festival, Navaratri and the Tamil month observances are also kept with customary splendour.

Location & Access

The temple rises on the Hastagiri (Atthigiri) hillock, measuring roughly 360 by 240 metres, in the eastern part of Kanchipuram, in the historic Thondai Nadu region of northern Tamil Nadu. Kanchipuram is well connected by road and rail and lies within reach of Chennai, the nearest major city and transport hub. Like most Vishnu temples, it generally observes morning and evening darshan hours with a midday closure. Verify current darshan timings and travel details with the temple or official sources before visiting.