Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram
Thiru Kachi (Attigiri / Hastagiri)
Photo: IM3847 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
One of the three holiest Vishnu shrines of Kanchipuram, famed for the Athi Varadar fig-wood idol.
Sthala Purāṇam
The Varadharaja Perumal Temple in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, is one of the 108 Divya Desams and among the foremost Vaishnava shrines, situated on the small Hastagiri or Attiyuran hill at the eastern end of the city. The sthala puranam tells how Brahma, wishing to behold Vishnu, was told that an Ashwamedha yagna performed at Kanchipuram equals a hundred performed elsewhere. As Brahma conducted the sacrifice, the river Vegavati, a form of Saraswati, rushed to wash away the ritual; Vishnu laid himself across to stem the flow and then emerged from the sacrificial fire within an athi (fig) tree as Varadharaja, the bestower of boons, granting Brahma his wish. The presiding deity is a roughly three-metre granite image in standing posture, with the consort Perundevi Thayar enshrined seated nearby. The temple is famed for the Athi Varadar, a deity carved from fig wood that is kept submerged in the temple tank and brought out for worship only once in forty years, displayed first in reclining posture and then standing. The renowned acharya Ramanuja is associated with the temple, having received answers to his questions through the devotee Thirukkachi Nambigal. Three Alvars sang of it: Thirumangai Alvar, Peyalvar and Bhoothathalvar. Distinctive features include the hundred-pillared hall with a carved stone chain, gilded lizard sculptures over the sanctum, and the towering gopuram, making it one of the largest temples in Kanchipuram, much expanded under the Vijayanagara kings.
Mangalāśāsanam — the Āḻvār pāsurams
The Lord Varadharaja Perumal (Devaraja Perumal) with Perundevi Thayar of Thiru Kachi (Attigiri / Hastagiri) is glorified in 7 pāsurams by:
The Varadharaja (Devarajaswami / Perarulalan) temple on Hastagiri (Attigiri) in Kanchipuram, known in Tamil as Thiru Kachi, is a Thondai Nadu Divya Desam glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham by three Azhwars. According to Wikipedia and divyadesam.com, Thirumangai Alvar sang four pasurams, Bhoothathalvar two, and Peyalvar one, for a combined Mangalasasanam of seven pasurams (matching the temple's traditional count). Thirumangai Alvar's verses (including a reference to 'Kachi' in his Thirunedunthandakam and his Periya Thirumozhi/Iyarpa) and the Iyarpa verses of the two Mudhal Azhwars (Bhoothathalvar and Peyalvar, who belong to the early Andhadhi tradition) extol the Lord of Kanchi who grants boons (Varam tharum-aalan), reclining and standing forms of Vishnu, and the sanctity of the kshetra.
Verses & references (3)
- Thirumangai Alvar glorifies the Lord of Kanchi (Kachi) who graciously grants every boon sought by his devotees, praising the splendour of Attigiri (Hastagiri) and the supreme accessibility of Varadaraja Perumal. (He is credited with four pasurams on this shrine; a reference to 'Kachi' appears in his Thirunedunthandakam.) — Thirumangai Alvar, Periya Thirumozhi / Thirunedunthandakam (Thirumangai Alvar's works) · source ↗
- Bhoothathalvar, one of the first three Azhwars, sings (two pasurams) of the Lord enshrined at Kanchi, contemplating the Lord who measured the worlds and rests for the sake of his devotees. Exact verse text and reference not confidently sourced. — Bhoothathalvar, Iyarpa (Mudhal/Irandam Thiruvandhadhi tradition of the Mudhal Azhwars) · source ↗
- Peyalvar contributes one pasuram glorifying Varadaraja of Kanchi, in the Andhadhi style of the early Azhwars. Exact verse text and reference not confidently sourced. — Peyalvar, Iyarpa (Moonram Thiruvandhadhi tradition of Peyalvar) · source ↗
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