Pandavatutar Perumal Temple is situated in Kanchipuram and this wonderful temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna, who is the chief most avatar of Lord Vishnu. This temple was praised in the great Vaishnavite poem, Nalayira Divya Prabandham, sung by the Alvar saints before thousands of years ago. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Lord Vishnu, who is worshipped as Pandava Tutar Perumal (Lord Krishna) and his consort Lakshmi (Ma Rukmini.)
The temple is considered as one of the ancient and famous temple, similar to the Ulagalantha Perumal Temple and the Yathothkari Perumal Temple. The temple is believed to have been built by the Pallava Kings during 8th century AD, and subsequently it was renovated, repaired and extended by the Chola and Vijayanagara kings. Lord Krishna during the Dwapara Yuga, acted as a mediator between the Pandavas and Kauravas, and he has also taken the Vishwaroopa Form before the Kauravas, in order to show his great powers. Six daily rituals and three annual festivals are being held at the temple, out of which the Krishna Janmashtami festival, celebrated during the Tamil month of Avani (August–September), being the most significance one!
The main shrine of the temple has a large image of the presiding deity Pandava Thoothar, and since Krishna had appeared in human form, here he has only two arms, unlike in other temples, where he can be seen with four hands.
The Shrine of Rukmini is located to the south of the main shrine. There are also shrines like Chakratalvar with an image of Narasimha on it reverse located behind the main shrine. Matsya Tirtham, the temple tank, is located on the northeastern side of the temple.
Temples are to be considered as a part and parcel of our life. It acts as a pillar for the devotees, and once if the temples keep on decreasing, then we would land up with big problems in our lives, since the deities present in the temples are considered as very powerful, and once if we ignore them, and if we didn’t take care of them, then definitely we would get the curse from them. According to me, instead of building more and more temples, first of all, we have to take care of the ancient temples by preserving it properly. Temples are a must to visit places, and we should consider temples as our second homes, and whenever we are out from our homes, apart from visiting shops and other necessary places, our legs must walk to temples only, since temples are not ordinary places, but they are the abode of the deities itself.
“OM SRI PANDAVA THOOTHA NAMO NAMAHA”
WRITTEN BY
R. HARISHANKAR