Yathothkari Perumal Temple Kanchipuram: History, Timings, and Darshan

Among Kanchipuram’s earliest temples is this one.
This temple’s Sthalapurana again deviates from describing Goddess Sarasvati’s attempt to prevent Brahma’s penance.
She assumed the appearance of the river Vegavati and raced in the direction of the ritual’s site, intending to destroy it. Lord Vishnu intervened and rested His head on His right hand while reclining across the river on his holy Adisesha. The goddess Sarasvati, in the shape of Vegavati, abandoned her preparations and withdrew when she saw the Lord lying in her path. Bhujagasayana is the name for Lord Vishnu’s laying position. The location is called Vegavanai because he laid in the Vegavati River’s path. Over time, this transformed into Vehkanai, Veannai, and finally Vekkaa.

Yathothkari Perumal Temple Kanchipuram

Another name for Lord Bhujagasayana is Yadokthkari. It is stated that the divine dancer Kanakangi was the mother of Bhargava Rishi’s son. Unfortunately, this child’s development was incomplete at birth. Therefore, Kanakangi abandoned the child in some bushes and returned to the sky. In reality, this infant was a manifestation of Sri Sudarsana Chakra, Lord Vishnu’s celestial disc. Lord Jagannatha and his wife, Lakshmi, bestowed blessings on the child left behind. The deformed youngster started to cry and seemed to be okay. A villager who was passing by heard the child’s screams and claimed that the bush was a gift from the Lord for him and his spouse. He brought the youngster home. It was given the name Sivavakkiar.

As the child grew older, he was unsure about his religion. When he first met Pey Alvar, they got into a serious argument over religion. Pey Alvar won the debate against Sivavakkiar. He converted to Vaishnavism and started following Pey Alvar as a follower. Bakthisarar is another name for Sivavakkiar; subsequently, he adopted the name Thirumazhisai Alvar.
After relocating to Kanchipuram, Sivavakkiyar devoted his time to devotion to Lord Bhujagasayana. At Kanchipuram, Kanikannan, a disciple of Sivavakkiyar, joined his teacher.
Every day at that time, an elderly woman with a disability washed the grounds of the temple. The lady’s contributions to the Lord impressed Sivavakkiar so much that he used his heavenly abilities to change her into a stunning lady. Pallavaraya, the then-ruler of Kanchi, saw this lovely woman, fell in love, and wed her. But because of Bakthisarar’s heavenly gift, the lady remained young even as the ruler got older. When the old king saw Kanikan-nan, he asked him to bring Bakthisarar to his palace so that he might grant him the gift of endless youth as well.
Kanikannan believed that the ruler should go to Bakthisarar rather than the other way around if he needed Bakthisarar’s assistance. The king was irritated. Being a skilled poet, the king requested that Kanikan-nan at least sing a few lines of poetry honoring him. Kanikannan believed that worshiping the divine Lord alone was the proper use of his poetry gift, not people like us. The king became even more irritated by this and gave the order to expel Kanikannan from Kanchipuram. Returning to the Bhujagasayana temple, Kanikannan told his teacher Bakthisarar about the entire incident before saying goodbye to him because he had to follow the king’s orders and depart Kanchipuram. Bakthisarar thought the king to be unjust. Additionally, he had no desire to remain in Kanchi when the emperor insulted a true believer. He implored Bhujagasayana, his Lord, to accompany him and Kanikan-nan as they left Kanchipuram. Lord Bhujagasayana granted His true followers. The three vanished from Kanchipuram, and darkness quickly descended upon Kanchi itself. The king realized that mistreating a sincere follower was a mistake. He ran to see Bakthisarar and Kanikannan, asking them to pardon him so he could go back to Kanchi.

Bakthisarar chose to go back to Kanchipuram with Lord Bhujagasayana when he thought the king had sincerely apologized. “Oru Irrukkai,” meaning the place where they stayed for one day, is the name of the location where they spent one night outside of Kanchipuram. However, upon his arrival back at Thiruvekka, Lord BhuJagasayana reclined on his Adisesha, placing his head on his left hand rather than his usual position of putting it on his right. As a result, he clearly showed the world that the Lord had returned, followed His followers, and assumed a new position. Since the Lord granted Bakthisaarar’s prayer, He is often referred to as “Sonnavannam Seitha Perumal,” or the Lord who carried out the desires of His devotee.

Another name for him is Lord Yathoktakari. The words “as requested” and “Kari” indicate the individual who fulfilled the request.

Komalavalli is the name of Sri Yathoktakari’s consort. There is a Vedasara vimana over the Lord. He’s looking west. This Perum Patnatru Padaigal temple is mentioned in Patanjali’s book. Patanjali Mahabharatam, Tolkappiam, and Silap-Padikaaram are also mentioned. Thus, it is clear that this temple is really old.

This temple tank is associated with an interesting story. Poigai Alvar is thought to have been born in a Lotus in this temple’s Poigai, or tank.

Kanchipuram Yathothkari Perumal Temple Timings

Morning Hours: 6 a.m to 12 p.m
Evening Hours: 4 p.m to 8 p.m

Temples nearby Yathothkari Perumal Temple

Ekambareswarar Temple is 3.5 Km away
Kanchi Kamakshi Temple is 3 Km away
Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple is 1.7 Km away