Tirukachchi (Hasthigiri)

According to temple history, the Lord first appeared in the Satya Yuga. The first account of the Lord is mentioned in the Rāmāyaṇa. As we know, the great King Dasharatha performed the Putrakāmeyishṭi Yajña to obtain children. The Putrakāmeyishṭi is a supplement to the Ashvamedha Yajña. It is said that Dasharatha first performed the Ashvamedha, and the origin of the Lord is believed to be found in this act.

It is noted that Dasharatha asked his son-in-law, the sage Rishyashringa, to make arrangements to perform the Ashvamedha, where he recounts the story of an Ashvamedha Yajña performed by Lord Brahmā. The story states that Lord Brahmā once performed an Ashvamedha Yajña in a very sacred place that would yield a multifold increase in merit. In his research, he decided to perform this Yajña at a place known as Hasthigiri. It is said that he sat atop Hastigiri and prepared the sacrificial altar.

According to Vaideeka Shāstram, Goddess Sarasvatī had to accompany Lord Brahmā to perform this Yajña. At this point, he was faced with two problems. The first being that Goddess Sarasvatī was not present, and the second being that there was no image of Lord Vishṇu present at the sacrifice. Lord Brahmā decided to address the second problem first. To address this problem, Lord Brahmā summoned Vishvakarma, the architect, and had him design an image of Lord Vishṇu for the Devas. Lord Brahmā wanted this idol to be useful for generations to come.

He hence sought to make the idol of the Lord from a material whose properties would be beneficial to anyone who sought the Lord's blessings. Lord Brahmā's four heads signify each of the four Vedas. That is when Lord Brahmā recollected that in the Atharvana Veda, there was a mention of a tree known as Udhumbara, which, when worshiped with devotion, has the power to annihilate any forces of enmity to the worshiper. So, what is Udumbara? Udumbara is a tree known as Ficus racemosa, which belongs to the fig family (athi tree).

Brahmā selected this tree because it offers numerous benefits, as per Ayurveda. Hence, Vishvakarma crafted the wood from the fig tree into a resplendent idol of the Lord. So the second problem was solved. To address the first problem, Lord Brahmā decided to call upon his second wife, Goddess Savitri, to take Goddess Sarasvatī's place. It is said that Goddess Sarasvatī had gotten into a tussle with Lord Brahmā and had decided to seek solace to contemplate what had gone wrong.

When Goddess Sarasvatī learned what Lord Brahmā was doing, she became furious. In a fury, she decided that she wanted to destroy the sacrificial altar and hence put a stop to the Yajña in totality. It is said that the Goddess Sarasvatī took the form of a river known as Vegavathy and began to flow at a rapid speed towards the altar. Before Goddess Sarasvatī could reach the altar, she witnessed the idol of Athi Vardar and decided to flow beneath his feet as a mark of respect to her father-in-law. Thus the Yajña reached a conclusion.

During the culmination of the Yajña, a resplendent Vimānam, known as the Punyakoṭi Vimānam, rose from the sacrificial altar. In the shade of this Vimānam stood a beautiful utsava moorthy of the Lord, known as Perarulaalan or Varadarajan.

Modern Day

Around the 1520s, the Vijayanagara empire was the ruler of South India. They contributed immensely to the temple. One such contribution is the "Noor-Kaal Maṇḍapam," or a Hundred Pillared Maṇḍapam, which Achyutha Deva Raya, the brother of the great Krishna Deva Raya, built. Around the 16th century, a significant shift occurred in the Delhi Sultanate when the Mughals gained control of North India and began expanding south. Towards the end of the Mughal Rule, when Aurangzeb took over, he began to plunder the temples and loot their wealth.

The Vaishṇavas of Kāñchipuram sought to protect both the Mūla Vigraham and the Utsava Mūrti from the invasion. To protect the Utsava Mūrti, the idol was carried by palanquin to a remote place called Udayarpalayam, where the local chief agreed to host and protect the Lord. Now, protecting the Mūla Mūrti was a herculean task, as the idol was nearly 9 feet in length. Thus, a place had to be discovered where the Lord could be kept safe.

The Vaishṇavas then dug a giant pit within the temple tank (Ananthasaras) and embalmed Athi Varada, placing him alongside Ādishesha to protect the Lord.

Over a while, the temple did not have a Mūla Mūrti or a Utsava Mūrti. After Aurangzeb's invasion, the temple was in ruins, with the Punyakoṭi Vimānam destroyed. Thus, the temple was reconstructed, but the daily rituals of the temple couldn't be performed in the absence of the Lord. Hence, after major tussles with the chief of Udayarpalayam, the Utsava Mūrti was brought back to the temple. But the Mūla Mūrti was lost as the people who had dug the pit were either very old or had passed away.

Thus, the temple needed to install a Mūla Mūrti in the temple. Hence, an idol of the Lord, known as Devaraja, found in a hamlet called Pazhayasheevaram, was brought to Kāñchipuram and installed in the temple. Later, sometime in the 18th Century, when the temple tank was being cleaned, the idol of Athi Varada was found.

At this time, the scholars came to the consensus that the idol would be preserved, and the idol of the Lord would be displayed for the devotees for 48 days, after which it would be returned to the temple tank to remain there for 40 years.

Tirumangai Āzhwār – 4 Pāsurams

Bhoodhath Āzhwār- 2 Pāsurams

Pey Āzhwār – 1 pāsuram

Total – 7 Pāsurams