Govindaraja Perumal Temple or Thiruchitrakoodam in Chidambaram in the South Indian state of Tamilnadu is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. The temple is inside the premises of Thillai Nataraja Temple, constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture.It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Govindaraja and his consort Lakshmi as Pundarikavalli.
Shrine’s History
The Govindaraja shrine is dedicated to Vishnu and is one of the 108 holy temples of Lord Vishnu called Divya Desam, revered by the 7th-9th-century saint poets of Vaishnava tradition, always. Kulasekara alwar mentions this temple as Tillai Chitrakutam and equates Chitrakuta of Ramayana fame with this shrine. King Kulothunga Chola II is believed to have uprooted the presiding Govindraja image from the shrine. The shrine has close connections with the Govindaraja temple in Tirupati dating back to saint Ramanuja of the 11-12th century.Ramanujar fled to Tirupati with the utsava of the temple to escape punishment.
In the 16th century, king Krishnappa Nayak was instrumental in installing the image of Govindaraja back in the temple. There was a lot of resistance from the Shaivites against placing the Vishnu image in a revered Shiva temple, but the king was unmoved and the image was installed in the present form.There is no satisfactory evidence of co-existence of the Shiva and Vishnu shrines within the same temple built during the same time ? there was a dispute in 1849 regarding the rights on the Govindaraja idol and Alwar Sannidhi between Vaishnavas and Dikshitars and the position of Vaishnavas was upheld by the district court
Legends Associated with This Shrine
As per legend, Govindarajan is believed to have descended for sage Kanvar and the 3,000 Dikshidars of the Thillai Natarajar temple.The temple is one of the two rare Divyadesams, with the other being Nilathingal Thundam Perumal temple, that is housed in a Shiva temple.
Shrine’s Map Location and How to Go There
By Road
There are regular buses from other major cities to Chidambaram.
By Rail
The Nearest Railway Station is Chidambaram Railway Station
By Air
The Nearest Airport is Pondicherry.
Shrine Timings
6.30 to 12.00 a.m. and from 5.00 p.m. to 10.30 p.m.
Events Celebrated at This Shrine
10 day Chithirai Vasanth Utsav in April-May and Gajendra Moksha are the festivals celebrated in the temple.
Extra Information About this Shrine
Nearby Temple
Patanjaleeswarar Temple
Thillai Kali Temple
Swarnapureeswarar Temple
Pralayakaleswarar Temple
Theerthapureeswarar Temple
Kolanji Appar Temple
