The Temple Varadharaja Perumal Temple located in the city of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Lord Vishnu and is of immense religious importance.

This temple is facing towards the west with five tiered Rajagopuram. The Rajagopuram is about 160 feet (49 m) tall. There is another gopuram on the eastern side. This gopuram has seven tiers and is about 180 feet (55 m) tall. The eastern gopuram is taller than the western gopuram, which is contrasting with large temples where the Rajagopuram is the tallest one. The temple covers an area of about 23 acres (93,000 m2).

There are about 32 shrines, 19 Vimanas, 389 pillared halls (most having the lion-type Yali sculpture), and sacred tanks some of which are located outside the complex.

Varadharaja Perumal Temple is a part of the trio Mumurtivasam along with Ekambareswarar and Kamakshi Amman Temples. The temple is also known as Perumal Koil and is believed to be highly sacred in Vaishnavism. Visitors can explore the enormous temple complex that has 32 shrines and other features built according to ancient temple architecture.

The temple is also famous for its Stone chain. This temple has a unique idol of Lord Vishnu made of wood. The idol is kept in a silver box and is immersed in water. Locals believe that the region received good rainfall after the idol is wholly submerged in water.

The temple and stories related to it have been mentioned in the Vedanta Desika, Thirtha Prabandha Peyalvar, Bhoothathalvar, and several compositions created by Muthuswami and Tyagaraja Dikshitar in the 18th century.

The majestic architecture of the temple complex and the intricate carvings are sure to mesmerize one and all. The serene vibe of this sacred spot is so surreal and unexplainable that one really has to visit the temple to experience it.

Astounding facts of Varadaraja Perumal temple, Kanchipuram

1. 1. This temple is one of the huge Vishnu temples like Srirangam Ranganathar temple in Tamil Nadu, covering an area of 23 acres (93,000 m2) of prime land.
   2. It was first built in 1053 AD by the great Chola rulers and later. Kulottunga Chola I and Vikrama Chola were instrumental in expanding the temple. The 14th-century Chola rulers, later, built the gopurams - towers and huge walls.
   3. The belief has been that Nadivarman was the first builder of this temple.
   4. Innumerable Hindu temples came under attack during the reign of the 17th-century Mogul ruler Aurangazeb, a well-known tyrannical ruler and a Hindu bigot. Anticipating trouble in 1688,  the main idol of Perumal was secretly shifted to Udayarpalayam, (now in Tiruchirapalli District). The main idol was brought back to Kanchi only in 1710  once the threat of Muslim invasion had ceased and normalcy was restored.
   5. The Temple records are not clear about the role of  Gen. Todarmal in bringing the lord's idol from Udayarpalayam. However, the chieftain of that village was not happy about taking the idol back to Kanchi. Paramahamsa Parivajakacharya Attan Jeer took the initiative and brought the idols back to Sri Varadaraja Perumal temple, Kanchipuram.
   6. The temple has a rare possession of a Maharkandi - a costly necklace that is adorned by the deity during special temple festivals. It is purported to be a gift from Robert Clive of the East India Company,  who laid the foundation for the British Empire.   The temple records fail to mention the first name. Clive chose the occasion of the Garuda seva festival to present the valuable necklace, now termed Clive's Maharagundi, to the Hindu deity. It was a good gesture on the part of the young British Officer. It is likely that the donor could be Robert Clive's son  Edward Clive who was the Governor of the Madras Presidency (1799-1805). That who the donor of the Maharagundi is controversial. Anyway, the credit goes to Clive's family and his descendants.
   7. The Nayak rulers Achutaraya and Vira Narasingaraya Saluva Nayaka endowed many villages to the temple to maintain it, according to inscriptions dated 1532CE (record of 1919).In the 13th century - vide inscriptions in the temple, the Hoysala rulers, gifted a crown to the presiding deity.
   8. This huge temple has three outer corridors (prakarams) namely Azhwar Prakaram, Madai Palli Prakaram, and Thiru Malai Prakaram.
   9. Within the temple complex  there are 32 shrines, 19 vimanams (towers), and 389 ornate pillars, supporting various mandaps - halls. Many pillars have lion-type yali sculptures that are common in many Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu.
   10. Like many Hindu temples, some sacred tanks (integral parts of the temple)  are located outside the complex.
   11. The west-facing main Garbagraha/sanctum can be accessed via a 130 feet tall, 7-tiered Rajagopuram (main gateway tower). Its height is less than the East tower and it is a rare temple design in which the Rajagopuram is smaller than the other one.
   12. Among the fascinating wonders of this temple is the most astonishing huge stone chain. It is simply an architectural and artistic masterpiece entirely made of a single stone with a series of rings strung together without breaking the continuity.

       🕉 Exquisitely Carved Ornate pillars in 100 pillared hall at Sri Varadaraja Perumal temple,Kanchipuram #TamilNadu Each pillar is carved with depictions of Bhagwan’s Many Leelas. The equestrian pillars have a rider atop Yali -a part lion, part elephant & part horse animal🚩 pic.twitter.com/uGmdT5vobW — Satyaagrah (@satyaagrahindia) January 25, 2023

   13. A big hall mandap support 100 ornate pillars; here one can see various episodes from the Ramayana and Mahabaratha beautifully carved in the stones. It is a masterpiece contribution from the rulers of Vijayanagara.
   14. The presiding deity is a 10 ft (3.0 m) tall idol made of granite in standing posture, while Thayar (goddess) is a 4 ft (1.2 m) stone image in sitting posture 
   15. Yet another unique feature in this temple is the presence of a huge wooden image of Perumal (Vishnu) made of fig wood (in Tamil Athi maram), besides the main stone image. The wooden image is believed to be in a silver box and is in the temple water tank {Anaandasaras). It is taken out every 40 years after water is pumped out. After cleaning and other rituals, the wooden image is kept for darshan for a particular period and after that, it is kept under water till the next periodic cleaning.
   16. Yet another unique aspect of this temple is its popular huge umbrella used on festival days. 
   17. Vedanta Desika, an equally revered saint like  Ramanuja, attracted by the divine grace of the lord, patronized this temple in his literary works.
   18. Among the Carnatic music trinity, Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar(18th century) composed compositions for the temple festivals. Thirumangai Alvar, Bhoothathalvar, and Peyalvar sang devotional hymns in praise of the lord.
   19. Goddess Perundevi Thayar is in the third prakara and the worship tradition here has been that the devotees must pray to the goddess first before offering prayer or puja to the main deity. 
   20. The Thulabara Mandapa was built in 1532 by the Vijayanagara ruler Achutaraya. It consists of four small halls and here offering like rice, etc., equal to the body weight of the devotee(s) is made to the deity. In the days of yore, rulers used to make gold and silver as thulaparam offerings (equal to the weight of the body) to the temple as an expression of gratitude to the god.
   21. The seven prakaras/corridors are called Pradakshina Padha, Hastagiri Pradakshana, Madapalli Pragara, Alavandar Pragara, and Azhwar Thiruveedhi. One could see a lot of shrines in the Alavandar Pragara.
   22. The temple car festival here is famous and the temple car was a gift from Sri. Krishnadeva Raya in 1517 CE. 
   23. The temple has 16th-century paintings of the Vijayanagar kings and they need periodic maintenance. Like many Vaishnava temples, there is a shrine for Chakratazhwar on the eastern side of the temple tank. There are seven festival idols (Urchavar) of Sudarshana depicted within the same Chakra. 
   24. The shrine has two different images and hence has two entrances. There are two entrances to the shrine as the two images are considered to be separate. The shrine is said to have been built during the reign of Kulothunga III in 1191 CE by Ilavazhagan Kalingarayan of Nettur as seen from the inscriptions in the temple.

 The administration of the temple is under the Hindu Religious and Charitable  Endowment (HR & CE) of the Government of Tamil Nadu.