One among the fourteen divya desams (sacred places eulogised in the Tamil verses of the Azhvars or important devotees of Vishnu) in Kanchipuram is the Vaikuntha Perumal temple. The deity here has been praised in the hymns of Thirumangai Azhvar. Constructed in the reign of the Pallava king Nandivarman Pallavamalla (731-796 AD), it is one of the most unique and historical temples of Tamil Nadu. Built of sandstone, in three levels with three vertically aligned sanctums, it reflects the immense skill of the Pallava architects. The sanctum on the ground level enshrines a seated image of Vishnu, while the second and third levels have the reclining and standing forms of this deity.
The sanctum of the first floor is accessible from the ground level by two flights of stairs not seen from the outside. Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped in this temple as Vaikunthavalli Thayar. There is also a sanctum for Andal. An important feature of this west-facing temple is the raised pillared veranda seen on all four sides of the sanctum on the ground floor. The inner walls of this veranda have numerous historical sculptures depicting events from the reigns of various monarchs of the Pallava dynasty from the very beginning up to and including the reign of Nandivarman Pallavamalla.
The sculptures in the section depicting the reign of Nandivarman also have accompanying inscriptions explaining the events shown in the sculptures. It is clear from these panels and the epigraphs that this king, originally named Parameshwaravarman, was brought to Kanchipuram, of his own will, at the tender age of 12 to become the emperor as the previous ruler had died. This boy-king was a distant relative of the Pallavas of Kanchipuram and reigned for a long period of 65 years. On the outer walls of the main sanctum are weatherworn sculptures of many forms of Vishnu.
Original names
This temple was known as Parameshwara Vishnugriham
Unique architecture
It has three sanctums,one above the other
Historical sculptures
The carvings depict events from the lives of Pallava kings
Chithra Madhavan
cityexpresschn@gmail.com
The writer is a historian who focuses on temple architecture