Ulagalantha Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram

Overview

The Ulagalantha Perumal Temple, in Big Kanchipuram close to the Kamakshi Amman Temple, is a Dravidian-style Vishnu temple glorified in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham. Vishnu is worshipped as Ulagalantha Perumal, the one who measured the world, with Lakshmi as Amuthavalli.^[3]

Wikipedia says the temple is unique among the Divya Desams because the complex houses four different Divya Desams in separate precincts: Tirukkaravanam, Tirukarakam, Tiruneerakam and Tiruurakam, the last of which lies within the main sanctum.^[3]

Legend

The Bhagavata Purana tells that Vishnu came as the dwarf Brahmin Vamana to restore Indra's authority over heaven, which the generous asura king Mahabali, grandson of Prahlada, had taken. Vamana asked for three paces of land and Mahabali agreed against the warning of his guru Shukracharya. Vamana then grew to cosmic size as Trivikrama, covering heaven with his first step and the earth with his second, and Mahabali offered his head for the third.^[3]

Tradition holds that Mahabali, at the feet of Vamana, could not take in the giant form and asked for a smaller form, so Vishnu appeared as a snake in a smaller shrine, the Tiruoorakam. Childless couples are said to pray there for children.^[3]

The four Divya Desams

Tiruoorakam is the smaller shrine within the main sanctum, with the image of the serpent Adishesha. Tirukkarakam, in the third precinct, has Karunakara Perumal facing north, seated on Adishesha with consort Padmamani Nachiyar; the tank is Agraya Tirtham. Tirukkaravanam, in the second precinct, has the deity Kalvar facing north with consort Kamalvalli Thayar.^[3]

Tiruneerakam has no presiding image, only a festival image, Jagadishvara, with four arms facing east, kept in a hall in the second precinct. Tradition says Vishnu appeared to a sage there as a child on a banyan leaf.^[3]

History and inscriptions

Historian Nagaswamy considers it the oldest temple in Kanchipuram, based on inscriptions and location. The earliest inscription dates to 846 CE in the reign of Nandivarman III, and Rajendra Chola I (1012-44 CE) is said to have developed it further. The temple is believed to have been built by the Pallavas, with later contributions from the Cholas, Vijayanagara kings and Madurai Nayaks.^[3]

Inscriptions show licences for shops selling oil, ghee, arecanut, vegetables, flowers, coconut, sugar, cloth and sandal, which Wikipedia reads as increased trade under the Pallavas. The temple received no donation from the Vijayanagara Empire, though nearby temples did, and it follows the Pancharatra Agama. Parimelalhagar, the 13th-century commentator on the Tirukkural, belonged to the lineage of its priests.^[3]

What the official listings say

The HR&CE page tells the Vamana and Trivikrama story and says Perumal appears here as Trivikrama, standing with his face to the west. It gives no founding date.^[1]

The Ministry of Tourism's Incredible India page mentions 15 significant inscriptions, a 1110 CE inscription recording the pilgrimage and a land donation of Kulottunga Chola I, six pujas daily, a Brahmotsavam in Thai (January-February) and Vamana Jayanthi in Avani (August-September). It also confirms the four Divya Desams: Tiruooragam, Tirukkarvanam, Tirukkaragam and Tiruneeragam.^[2]

Architecture

The temple covers about 60,000 square feet and has a three-tiered rajagopuram with seven kalasas.^[3]

Festivals

Photos

Timings

Sources

1. Arulmigu Ulagalanthaperumal Temple, Kancheepuram [TM001788] — HR&CE, Government of Tamil NaduOfficial (HR&CE) · accessed 2026-11-01
2. Sri Ulagalantha Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram — Incredible India, Ministry of Tourism, Government of IndiaGovernment tourism portal · accessed 2026-11-01
3. Ulagalantha Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram — WikipediaEncyclopedia (secondary) · accessed 2026-11-01

Page last checked: 2026-11-01