Varadharaja Perumal Temple or Hastagiri or Attiyuran is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu located in the holy city of Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu, India. It is one of the Divya Desams, the 108 temples of Vishnu believed to have been visited by the 12 poet saints, or Alwars. It is located in part of Kanchipuram called the Vishnu Kanchi that is a home for a lot of famous Vishnu temples, including this one. One of the greatest Hindu scholars of Vaishnava Visisht Advaita philosophy, Ramanuja is believed to have resided in this temple.The temple along with Ekambareswarar Temple and Kamakshi Amman Temple in Kanchipuram is called Mumurtivasam or abode of trio. While Srirangam is referred to as 'The Koil' and Tirupathi as the 'Malai' among Divya Desams, Kanchipuram Varadaraja Perumal temple is known as the 'Perumal Koil'. This is one of the most sacred places for Vaishnavites.

The Temple is a huge one on a 23-acre complex and shows the architectural skills of ancient Vishwakarma Sthapathis in temple architecture and is famous for its holiness and ancient history. The temple has 3 outer precincts or prakaram namely Azhwar Prakaram, Madai Palli Prakaram and Thiru Malai Prakaram. There are 32 shrines, 19 vimanams, 389 pillared halls and sacred sacred tanks some located outside the complex. The main sanctum faces west and can be entered through a 130 feet tall, 7-tiered rajagopuram or main gateway tower. The eastern gopuram is taller than the western gopuram, which is contrasting to large temples where the rajagopuram is the tallest one. One of the most famous architectural pieces in the temple is the huge stone chain sculpted in a single stone. There is a 100 pillared hall and has sculptures depicting Ramayana and Mahabarathastands the masterpiece of Vijayanagara architecture. The significant things about the temple are the shrine of Varadarajaswamy, beautiful carved lizards and platted with gold, over the sanctum. The vimana over the sanctum of Vradaraja Swami is called Punyakoti Vimanam and the one over Perundevi Thayar shrine is called Kalyana Koti Vimanam. Apart from the main stone idol, the temple has the wooden image of Varadarajaswamy preserved within a silver box in water pumped out every 40 years.

Source: Wikipedia

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