Ashtabhuja Perumal Temple (Ashtabujakaram)

Sthala Purāṇam

The Ashtabhuja Perumal Temple, also called Ashtabujakaram or Sri Aadhikesava Perumal Temple, in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, is one of the 108 Divya Desams, where Vishnu is worshipped as the eight-armed Ashtabhuja Perumal with his consort as Alarmelmangai. The sthala puranam arises from a dispute between the goddesses Saraswati and Lakshmi over superiority. When Indra and Brahma judged Lakshmi the greater, the angered Saraswati sought to disrupt the Ashwamedha yagna Brahma was performing, taking various forms including the river Vegavati and sending asuras to destroy the sacrifice; Vishnu protected the rite. When Saraswati finally sent a ferocious serpent, Vishnu manifested as Ashtabhuja Perumal, bearing eight weapons to slay it. The presiding deity faces west and is adorned with a garland of shaligrama stones and Mahalakshmi on the chest. His eight hands hold the chakra, conch, sword, shield, mace, bow, arrow and a lotus flower. A second legend links the shrine to Gajendra Moksha, for it is here that the Lord granted darshan and salvation to the elephant Gajendra, a rebirth of Indradyumna, who was seized by a crocodile while gathering lotuses; hence the Lord is also called Gajendra Varadhan and Chakradhar. The temple was revered in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham by Peyalvar and Thirumangai Alvar. It ranks among the larger temples of southern Kanchipuram and is counted among the city's important Vishnu Divya Desams.

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