01Brahma’s yajna
The temple’s katha says Brahma performed an ashvamedha at Kanchi, and Vishnu rose from the fire as Varadaraja. Saraswati, displeased, came as the flooding river Vegavati to wash away the yajna, and Vishnu lay across the stream as Yathothkari to stop her. The first image was carved from fig wood, ‘athi’. It is now kept in a silver casket at the bottom of the Anantasaras tank, and for 48 days every forty years it is raised for darshan. The last time was 1 July to 17 August 2019, when more than a crore of devotees came.
02Ramanuja and the golden lizard
Ramanujacharya’s early years were spent here under the guidance of Tirukachi Nambi, who served Varadaraja with a fan; tradition holds that Varadaraja spoke to Ramanuja through him. The Cholas rebuilt the temple in the 11th century, and the 100-pillar mandapa with its carved horsemen is of the Vijayanagara period. On the ceiling above the sanctum steps hang a gold and a silver lizard; touching them is believed to remove the ill effects of a lizard falling on one.
The life of this place
- 11th centuryChola kings rebuild the temple on Hastigiri.
- 1979Athi Varadar rises from the tank for 48 days.
- July–August 2019Athi Varadar darshan again; the next is due in 2059.
In Vishnu Kanchi, the eastern part of the town. The Garuda Sevai in Vaikasi (May–June) is the main festival.
