The Pandavathoothar Perumal Temple in Kanchipuram

One of the oldest temples in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu is dedicated to Lord Sri Krishna in His Vishwaroopa Form. Read on...

- Srikant K

The Pandavathoothar Perumal Temple (also called as Thirupadagam) is considered to be one of the oldest temples in the city of Kanchipuram in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This temple is one of the celebrated 108 Divyadesams of Lord Vishnu and is dedicated to Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna is the Eighth Avatar of Lord Vishnu and is believed to be the Poorna Avatar (complete incarnation) of God as per the Beliefs of Hinduism. The Lord is worshipped in this temple as Pandava Thoothar Perumal and His Consort, Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped as Goddess Rukmini. The uniqueness of this temple is that the main deity is a one-of-a-kind large image of Sri Krishna, 25 feet in height!

The glory of the Pandavathoothar Perumal temple has been sung by the Vaishnavaite Azhwar saints in the “Divya Prabandha” (Tamil devotional literary treatise) between the 6th-9th centuries A.D. This temple was built by the Pallavas in the late 8th century A.D and was later expanded by the Cholas and by the Kings of the Vijayanagara Empire.

The mythology of the Pandavathoothar Perumal temple is not only fascinating, but evokes absolute reverence towards the Almighty Lord of the Universe. In Dwapara Yuga, during the period of the Mahabharata, a stage had come when the “Dharma Yudh” (War for Righteousness) between the just Pandavas and the evil Kauravas appeared imminent. As one final attempt, the Pandavas decided to send Sri Krishna as a “Thoota” (messenger) to the Kauravas to spread the message of Peace and prevent War.