HERITAGE STRUCTURES PRESENTATION

HERITAGE STRUCTURES

Presentation

SRI VARADHARAJA PERUMAL KOIL

Varadharaja Perumal Temple

Hindu temple dedicated to LORD Vishnu located in the holy city of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the Divya Desams, the 108 temples of Vishnu believed to have been visited by the 12 poet saints, or the Alwars. It is located in a suburb of Kanchipuram known as the Vishnu Kanchi that is a home for many famous Vishnu temples. One of the greatest Hindu scholars of Vaishnava Vishishtadvaita philosophy, Ramanuja is believed to have resided in this temple.

ENTRANCE OF SRI VARADHARAJA PERUMAL KOIL KANCHIPURAM.

History:

Robert Clive, the British general during the colonial period visited the Garuda seva festival and presented a valuable necklace (now termed Clive Maharkandi), which is adorned during a special occasion every year. At present the administration is carried out by Hindu Religious and Endowment of the Government of Tamilnadu.During the 17th century, the temple was under the attacks from Mughals headed by Aurangzeb. The deities of the temple were ported to Udayarpalayam in modern-day Tiruchirappalli district during 1688. It was only during 1710 that the situation was ripe for the deities to be returned. But the chieftain of Udayarpalayam opposed the move and only after the intervention of Paramahamsa Parivajakacharya Attan Jeer, the deities were returned. The event is commemorated as a festival in the temple.

The temple has around 350 inscriptions from various dynasties like Chola, Pandya, Kandavarayas, Cheras, Kakatiya, Sambuvaraya, Hoysala and Vijayanagara indicating various donations to the temple and also the political situation of Kanchipuram. Varadharaja Perumal Temple was renovated by the Cholas in 1053 and it was expanded during the reigns of the great Chola kings Kulottunga Chola I and Vikrama Chola. In the 14th century another wall and a Gopura was built by the later Chola kings. When a Mughul invasion was expected in 1688, the main image of the deity was sent to Udayarpalayam, now part of Tiruchirappalli district. It was brought back with greater difficulty after the involvement of local preceptor who enlisted the services of general Todarmal.

history:

Kanchi was an important city mentioned in the Sangam literature under the rule of the Cholas. However, with the rise of the Pallavas under Simhavishnu about sixth century CE, who made Kanchi as his capital, it gained more political clout and importance. It remained the capital city of the Pallavas for next two centuries. It continued to be a secondary capital under the Cholas as always, they took pride in possessing it and embellishing it with many temples. After the end of Chola rule in thirteenth century and till toady it never lost its pre-eminence as a centre of culture, religion and sacredness. The ensemble of religious, cultural, social and political efflorescence for several centuries made Kanchipuram a vibrant centre of built heritage, particularly temples dedicated to Siva and Vishnu, in all more than one hundred and fifty temples. The 11 temples are identified under this nomination, are as follows:The Rajasimhesvaram or Kailasanatha Temple Piravatnesvara temple Iravathanesvara temple Paramesvara Vinnagaram or Vaikuntaperumal temple Muketswara temple Arulala or Varadharaja Perumal temple Ekambaresvara temple (Thirukachiekambam) Jvaraharesvara temple Pandava Dootha Perumal Temple Yathothkari Perumal Temple Ulagalanda Perumal Temple .

Architecture

The temple in Chinna Kanchipuram, a locality in the Eastern side of Kanchipuram, a South Indian town in the state of Tamilnadu. The temple covers an area of 23-acre, showcasing the architectural skills of ancient Vishwakarma Sthapathis in temple architecture, and is famous for its holiness and ancient history. The temple has three outer precincts (Prakarams), namely, Azhwar Prakaram, Madai Palli Prakaram and Thiru Malai Prakaram. There are 32 shrines, 19 Vimanams (towers), 389 pillared halls (most having the lion type Yali sculpture) and sacred tanks some of which located outside the complex. The temple tank is called Anantha Theertham. The main sanctum faces west and can be entered through a 130-feet-tall, 7-tiered Rajagopuram (main gateway tower). The image of the presiding deity is designed in such a way that on the 15th day after Chitra Purnima, the rays of the Sun fall on the idol. The hill, called Hastagiri, is 360 m (1,180 ft) long by 240 metres (790 ft).

ARULALA OR VARADHARAJA PERUMAL TEMPLE

One of the early Alwars, Budham (c. 7th century CE) sung in praise about the Lord Vishnu as Attiyuran Pullar Vardhan. The ancient name of the place is Attiyur and original deity was possibly made of Atti wood (Ficus glomerata). In the lithic records name of the deity was mentioned as Arulala Perumal. The other names of this places from inscriptions are Punyakottam, Hasitigiri, Attigiri, thyagamandapam, Satyavratashetram. There are no evidences of the original 7th century construction. This temple was comprehensively reconstructed during the Chola period (c. 10 - 11th century). The sanctum of the temple is rectangular in plan and has sala sikhara. It is known as punya-koti-vimana. Due to emergence of many seers and their focussed devotion to the Lord Arulala, the temple received the attention of the patrons who contributed its expansion by adding more shrines, circuit walls, pillared halls, surface decoration like execution of murals etc. One such shrine is the shrine for Kariamanikka Perumal (Vikrama-Sola –Vinnagar), probably built in 1129 CE by Vikrama Chola. The thousand pillared mandapa built in two storeys, was constructed by the Kakatiya king Pratapa Rudra Deva. The outermost prakara has two entrance with tall gopuras, the one on the west datable to 13th century CE rulers and the other on the east built by Alagia Manavala Jiyar. There are many more mandapas which came up during the 16th - 17th Centuries like the Vahana mandapa. The largest and most impressive structure is the hundred pillared Kalayana mandapa built in the 16th Century CE. Numerous inscriptions of Chola and Vijayanagara period were noticed in this temple.

SOME PICTURES OF THE TEMPLE

UNESCO

SRI VARADHARAJA PERUMAL Temple has been added to the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Centre on April 13th,2021. It was submitted by the Permanent Delegation of India under the Cultural Category a year ago.

A tentative list is an inventory of properties which a state party considers to be cultural and/or natural heritage of outstanding universal value, and therefore suitable for inscription on the World Heritage List.

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BY: DHARAVATHU GAYATHRI 103119028