Vaikunta Perumal Temple, Uthiramerur

An old Shiva temple in the historic Chola village of Uthiramerur that received endowments from the Vijayanagara emperor Krishnadevaraya (1509-1529). The Lord is worshipped as Kailasanathar. It complements the town's Vaikunta Perumal and Sundaravarada Perumal temples in preserving the layered Pallava, Chola and Vijayanagara heritage of Uthiramerur.

Uthiramerur, a temple town about 35 km south of Kanchipuram, is world-famous for 10th-century Chola inscriptions that record the village assembly's 'kudavolai' (pot-ticket) election system - one of history's earliest documented examples of local self-government. The town's Pallava-origin Vishnu temples, expanded by the Cholas, carry these epigraphs; the celebrated sabha-election inscriptions of Parantaka Chola I are engraved on the enclosure walls of the Vaikunta Perumal temple here, alongside the well-known Sundaravarada Perumal (Vishnu) temple.

A major Vishnu temple in Vishnu Kanchi (the Vaishnava quarter of Kanchipuram) and one of the 108 Divya Desams. The presiding deity, Varadharaja Perumal, is enshrined on the Hastagiri (elephant hill), and the temple complex is celebrated for its Vijayanagara-era art.

A Divya Desam dedicated to Vishnu as Pavala Vannar, so named for the coral-red hue of the presiding deity. Tradition holds that the twin Ashvin physicians of the gods worshipped here. It is glorified in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham and forms part of the cluster of Vishnu Divya Desams that make Kanchipuram a major Srivaishnava pilgrimage centre.

The Ashtabhuja Perumal temple in Kanchipuram is one of the 108 Divya Desams, where Vishnu is worshipped as Ashtabhuja(m) - a striking eight-armed standing form holding weapons such as the conch, discus, bow, sword and mace. Temple tradition links this form to Vishnu protecting a sacrifice, with the consort revered as Alamelumangai.

The Yoga Narasimha (Azhagiya Singar) Perumal temple at Tiruvelukkai in Kanchipuram is one of the 108 Divya Desams, where Vishnu is worshipped as Narasimha in a rare seated yoga form. By temple tradition the site is linked to the Hiranyakashipu-Prahlada story and to sage worship, with shrines also for the consort Amruthavalli and Garuda.

A Vishnu temple at Tiruvekka in Kanchipuram, counted among the 108 Divya Desams, where the deity reclines as Yathothkari, also called Sonna Vannam Seitha Perumal ("the Lord who did as told"). The name and the temple are tied by tradition to the poet-saint Thirumazhisai Alvar and his consort Lakshmi is worshipped here as Komalavalli.

A Vishnu temple at Thiruthanka (Thooppul), counted among the 108 Divya Desams, where the deity is worshipped as Deepaprakasar (Vilakkoli Perumal), the light-radiant one. It is revered as the birthplace of the 13th-14th century Srivaishnava philosopher-poet Vedanta Desika, whose shrine stands within. The temple also houses shrines to Hayagriva and Andal and is glorified in the hymns of the Alvars.

A Shiva temple, also called Kachi Nerikkaraikkadu, venerated in the 7th-century Tevaram hymns of the saint Tirugnana Sambandar, marking it a Paadal Petra Sthalam. The presiding deity is worshipped as Sathyanatheswarar. It is among the ancient Shaiva shrines that dot the sacred landscape of Kanchipuram.

Kanchipuram (Kanjivaram) silk sarees are a centuries-old handloom tradition woven in pure mulberry silk with real gold-and-silver zari, best known for the contrast korvai border and pallu woven separately and interlocked by hand, and for temple-inspired motifs. The craft carries a Geographical Indication (GI) tag registered in 2005-06, protecting sarees genuinely made in and around Kanchipuram town by its traditional weaver communities.

An 8th-century Pallava Vishnu temple in Kanchipuram, also called Tiru Parameswara Vinnagaram, built by Nandivarman II Pallavamalla. It is prized by historians for its carved bas-relief panels and its unusual arrangement of three stacked sanctums.

A Shiva temple where the Lord is worshipped as Vazhukaruteeswarar and is traditionally believed to relieve devotees of lawsuits and litigation. This distinctive association draws people seeking resolution of legal disputes. It is one of the many specialised Shivalayas that give Kanchipuram its reputation as a city of a thousand temples.