Sri Varadharaja Perumal Temple in Kanchipuram

30/05/2023 Indrani Ghose

India, Travel, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Did you know there is a Lizard Temple in Kanchipuram Tamil Nadu? It is the Sri Varadharaja Perumal Temple Kanchipuram, not to be confused with the one in Tiruchirapalli. A Pallava Era masterpiece, I included a visit to Varadaraja Perumal Temple as it stands out distinctly in two groups: one, this temple is one among the 11 temples listed in tentative UNESCO sites and another, because it is one among the 15 Divya Desam Temples in Kanchipuram.

The temple covers a huge area of 23 acres, i.e. 93,000 m2; you can well imagine the kind of planning you need to do if you want to experience in totality! I have visited the temple thrice and each time I stumbled on different unique features of this Perumal temple. The first time I visited I rushed to see the deities, during my next visits I settled to enjoy the vibes of this ancient temple of Tamil Nadu.

So, here is a short guide I have prepared to share with you the story of the Lizard Temple, the history and spiritual significance. I have also highlighted the architectural wonders Varadharaja Perumal Temple of Kanchipuram holds, that has enthralled even international tourists in huge numbers. I have highlighted the major features that you must target to see if you are visiting the temple for a short time.

Read on to know the associated festivals, puja timings, location and how to reach Sri Varadharaja Perumal Temple Kanchipuram.

Notice the stone chain hanging from the corner of the roof of Kalyana Mantapa

Unraveling the History of Kanchipuram Varadaraja Perumal Temple

The Varadharaja Perumal Temple, constructed in 1053 during the Chola Kings’ rule and that makes it almost ten centuries old. The temple underwent expansions by King Kulottunga Chola I and King Vikrama. In the 14th century the temple complex was further renovated by Kings of Vijayanagara Empire with the additions of gopuram and wall around the complex.

An interesting incident inscribed in the temple walls show squabbles over land existed back in those days too.

In 1532 CE, a dispute arose regarding the unequal distribution of land between the Ekambaranathar and Varadharaja Perumal Temples. Achyutaraya was accused of favoring one temple over the other. (Achyuta Deva Raya (died 1542 CE), younger brother of Krishna Deva Raya, was a ruler of Vijayanagara Empire of South India.) Upon investigation, it was discovered that Vira Narasingaraya Saluva Nayaka had orchestrated the uneven distribution against explicit instructions. Achyutaraya promptly rectified the situation by allocating equal portions of land to both temples.

In 1688, when Mughal invaders struck the region and attempted to loot the temple treasures, the main idol was whisked away secretly to Udayarpalayam, now a part of Tiruchirapalli, for safekeeping. Once the situation stabilized, efforts were made with the involvement of a local preceptor to return the idol to the Varadharaja Perumal Temple.

Vijayanagara Art in ceiling

Golden lizards at the Kanchipuram Varadaraja Perumal Temple

Very interesting legends are narrated by the local people of Kanchipuram about the lizard images in the temple. While standing in the queue to have darshan of the deity, the lady who stood in front of me narrated the following stories to me. I just lapped it up, every word of her and found it matching with info in internet too.

Legend 1: Sage Gautam, one of the greatest among Saptarshis (seven sages) lived during Treta Yug and Dwapara Yug. His two disciples, who were brothers, made the grave negligence of offering Sage Gautam water which had a lizard. The sage punishes them for the mistake by cursing and turning them into lizards. (He is the same sage who had cursed his wife Ahalya and turned her into stone.)

The brothers full of remorse pray for forgiveness. They resided in this Varadharaja Perumal Temple. God Vishnu, touched by the brothers’ devotion, relieved them of the curse. There is a panel in the temple where the two lizards, one in gold and other in silver, are depicted in the celing of the main shrine.
Devotees visiting the temple are allowed to touch the lizards made of gold and silver for luck and to overcome bad results of lizard falling on a person’s body.

Legend 2: Yet another legend associated with the lizards is: Hindu scriptures mention a tale, in which Goddess Saraswati placed a curse upon Indra, the king of celestial deities, causing him to transform into an elephant and wander the land. Fortunately, the divine intervention of Lord Vishnu, manifesting as Hastagiri (symbolic of an elephant-shaped mount or hill), granted relief to Indra from the curse. As a commemoration of this event, it is believed that Indra, upon being liberated from Saraswati’s curse, enshrined silver and golden lizards, witnesses to the arduous ordeal endured by Indra, within the temple premises.

Other names of Sri Varadharaja Perumal Temple Kanchipuram: Kanchipuram Perarulalan Kovil, Punyakottam, Hasitigiri, Atthigiri, Thyagamandapam, Satyavratashetram. The ancient name of the place is Attiyur, and original deity was possibly made of Atti wood (Ficus glomerata) hence the name Attiyuran.

Golden and Silver Lizards Athi Varadaraja Temple with symbols of Sun and Moon

Varadharaja Perumal Temple Interesting Facts

Read on about the rare and unique architectural details of the temple. Some can be seen only during special festivals. Mobile photography is allowed in some of the areas.

Dravidian Architecture: Like other temples of early medieval era, this Lord Vishnu Temple in Kanchipuram, has Dravidian Architecture.
Gopuram: Before you step through the gateway to divinity and embrace the sacred realm pause to admire the 130 feet tall, seven tiered Rajagopuram (main gateway tower). Wait, this is not the tallest of all the gopurams of the temple. The eastern gopuram is taller than this Rajagopuram which is unusual.
Vimana: the towering structures atop the sanctum of Kanchipuram Varadaraja Perumal Temple and shrines, there are 19 of them! The vimana over the sanctum of Varadaraja Swami is called Punyakoti Vimanam and the one over Perundevi Thayar (for his consort Lakshmi) shrine is called Kalyana Koti Vimanam.
Inscriptions: 350 Inscriptions on temple walls and pillars by different dynasties who ruled around the region: Chola, Pandya, Kakatiya, Kandavarayas, Cheras, Sambuvaraya, Hoysala and Vijayanagara. They provide the evidences of various donations to the temple and also of the political situation of Kanchipuram.
Doorway: The doorway to the main shrine of the presiding deity is designed in such a way that on the 15th day after Chitra Purnima, the rays of rising sun fall on the idol.
Precincts: The temple has two precincts (prakarams): Pradakshina Padha, Hastagiri Pradakshana and three outer precincts: Azhwar Prakaram, Madai Palli Prakaram and Thiru Malai Prakaram
Huge Umbrella: The temple is in possession of a huge umbrella. It can be seen in use during festival days.
Temple Chariot: The temple car, the chariot, a gift from Krishnadevaraya in 1517 AD exists even today and is used during the temple’s chariot festival.
Mandapam: Several mandapams (halls) with 389 pillars in total – Kalyana Mandapam has 96 pillars depicting stories from Mahabharata and Ramayana. Somehow it also has the name 100 pillared mantap. The sculptors belong to Vijayanagara era.
Pillars: Four small pillared halls, identical in structure, called Thulabara Mandapas. Devotees can offer rice, sugar or any other material in thanksgiving to God. Kings, during their rule, used to donate gold and silver equivalent to their weight.
Chain made of single stone: A huge stone chain sculpted out of a single stone, sculpted as a series of rings strung together without breaking the continuity.
Temple tanks: Sacred tanks (some of which are located outside the complex) – The temple tank is called Anantha Theertham.
Shrines: There are 32 shrines inside the temple. Main shrine of Varadaraja Perumal is on Hasthagiri, a small hillock 10 m tall and a flight of 24 steps. In the same hillock there is a shrine of Narasimha. Till date the origin of the mask of Narasimha is mysterious and believed to possess inexplicable powers.
Murals on ceiling: Colorful murals of the late Vijayanagara Empire on the ceiling of main shrine.
Idols worshiped: The presiding deity is a 10 ft tall idol made of granite in standing posture. His consort, Thayar, is a 4 ft image in sitting posture.
Atthi Varadar Idol: There is another idol of Bhagwan Vishnu, 9 ft. tall made of wood of Fig tree. This idol is kept in a silver casket chained underground inside the temple tank. It is taken out once in 40 years.
Percious necklace: Robert Clive, the British general during the colonial period visited the Garuda seva festival and presented a valuable necklace, now termed Clive Maharkandi. The idol is adorned with the necklace during a special occasion every year.

The story of idol of Atthi Varadar

The main idol of Varadaraja Perumal Temple is Atthi Varadar. When translated, Atthi means ‘Fig’ and Varadaraja means ‘King who bestows boons’. It is an interesting story how and why the idol is kept submerged inside the temple tank.

The story starts eons back when God Brahma wanted to see God Vishnu in his divine form – with four hands, each holding a conch, chakra, mace and lotus. Vishnu asked Brahma to perform 100 Ashwamedha yagna. But Brahma realized performing them would be time consuming. God Vishnu advised him to perform just one yagna in Kanchipuram. (It is believed, performing a yagna here is equivalent of doing 100 such Ashwamedha yagna’s elsewhere.)

Brahma decided to do the yagna with his consorts Gayathri and Savithri. An enraged Goddess Saraswati, first consort of Brahma, took form of River Vegavathi to interrupt the yagna. Brahma prayed to God Vishnu to intervene and stop the flow of the river. Vishnu took to the sleeping posture, lay down on the path of the river and stopped the surging waters.

Pleased with Brahma’s dedication God Vishnu emerged in his divine form and bestowed him with boons. Seeing the divine form Brahma asked Vishwakarma, the architect of palaces of Gods, to carve a sculpture of the form. Vishwakarma carved the idol of Atthi Varadar from the wood of the fig tree.

Since the divine yagna was on, this idol was getting damaged by its heat. God Vishnu then asked Brahma to keep the idol immersed in the water tank.

Fast forward many eons…

During Mughal invasion, two dattareyas in a bid to save the idol from getting looted or destroyed secretly immersed it in an underground chamber, Anantha Sarovaram/ Anantha Saras, in the water tank and didn’t disclose it to anyone.

Consequently, with the passing away of the two dattareyas, the immersed idol of Athi Varadar in the water tank was forgotten. With passage of time, an idol of Devaraja Perumal replaced the original idol which went missing.

Many years later, during the ritual of temple cleaning, the temple authorities found the idol of Athi Varadar in the silver casket. Those who have seen describe that the idol was placed in a silver casket with serpent clamps at the corners to prevent the silver casket with wooden idol from floating.

The authorities kept the idol for 48 days of public viewing and with all holy rituals immersed it back in the tank. Since then, this tradition has been taking place every 40 years. The 9 foot idol is kept at Vasantha Mandapam for 48 days of public viewing: For the first 24 days the sleeping posture idol is worshiped and for the next 24 days the standing posture of the idol is worshiped

Last time it was held in 2019. The next one will be in 2059!

Kanchipuram Varadharaja Perumal Temple Information

Plan your pilgrimage and explore nearby attractions to create a holistic experience.

Location: Chinna Kanchipuram, a locality in the Eastern side of Kanchipuram.
Address: RP9F+MQP, W Mada St, Nethaji Nagar, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu 631501
Coordinates: 12.819850907213514, 79.72453553068618
Dress code: For women the preferred dress code is sarees, half-sarees with blouse, churidhar with kameez and dupatta. For men the dress code is Shirt and pants, Dhoti, Pyjamas with upper cloth.
Crowd: The temple premises gets crowded during mornings and evenings, very crowded during festivals and comparatively less crowded towards noon just before closing time.
Nearby big temples of Kanchipuram: Ekambarnatha Temple, Kailasanatha Temple
Temple Timings: 6 AM to 12 PM, 4 PM to 9 PM.
Tickets: Tickets to main shrine cost 5 INR. Separate tickets for Kalyana Mandapam: Entry – 5 INR per person, Video: 100 INR.
Festivals: Vaikunta Ekadashi, Rath Yatra, Adhyayana Utsavam during Margazhi, Rama Navami, Chitra Pournami, Pongal, Aadi Velli, Navaratri and Deepavali, Purattasi Saturdays are celebrated for Paruthiyur Anjaneya
Pooja Timings:
Thirumanjanam & Vishwaroopa Darshan – 6 AM
1st Thiruvaradhanam – 6.30 AM and 7.30 AM to 9 AM
2nd Nivedanam- 10 AM to 11 AM
Thirukkapu Sathudal (Closing of Sannidhi) – 12.30 PM to 3.30 PM
Sarva Darshan- 3.30 PM to 6 PM
3rd Thirumalai Sathupadi and Nivedanam – 6 AM to 6.30 PM
4th Thiruvardanam – 7 PM to 8 PM
Manna Senai Theermanam – 8 PM to 8.30 PM

Pillars and painted ceilings Vishnu Temple

How to reach Kanchipuram Varadaraja Perumal Temple

By Air: For internal and international visitors, the nearest airport to Chennai is Kanchipuram at a distance of76 km.
By Train: Kanchipuram has a railway station and is well connected to Chennai, Chengalpattu, Tirupati, and Bangalore. These are three trains that pass via Kanchipuram. Take care to alight quickly as the halt time is just around two to three minutes.
By Road: Kanchipuram is 74 km from Chennai and is well connected by good roads to major national and state highways. Buses run frequently between Chennai and Kanchipuram. We drove to Kanchipuram from Bangalore, distance of 268 km in 6 hours.

Parting Thoughts

Countless emotions surged in my mind as I stepped out of this cherished sanctuary, Sri Varadharaja Perumal Temple of Kanchipuram. The gentle whispers of devotees, the fragrance of incense, and the soft glow of oil lamps united to create an ambiance that transcends the ordinary resonated in this holy temple. I feel utterly grateful for this glimpse of majestic beauty and spiritual aura that enveloped this hallowed place. Hoping to return once more!