Tamilnadu Tourism: Govindaraja Perumal Temple, Chidambaram, Cuddalore

Govindaraja Perumal Temple, Chidambaram, Cuddalore

Govindaraja Perumal Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu located in Chidambaram Town in Cuddalore District of Tamil Nadu. The Temple is also called as Thiru Chitrakoodam. The temple is situated inside the premises of famous Thillai Nataraja Temple, constructed in Dravidian style of architecture. The temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Govindaraja and his consort Lakshmi as Pundarikavalli.

A major shrine of Lord Shiva worship since the classical period, there have been several renovations and offerings to Chidambaram by the Pallava, Chola, Pandya, Vijayanagara and Chera royals in the ancient and pre-medieval periods. The temple as it stands now is mainly of the 12^th and 13^th centuries, with later additions in similar style. The temple is believed to have been relocated outside the temple complex during the period of Kulothunga Chola II and reinstated later by king Krishnappa Nayak (1564–1572).

Govindaraja Perumal Temple is located inside the premises of Thillai Natarajar Temple is similar to Ekambareswar temple in Kanchipuram wherein Lord Vishnu’s shrine named as Sri Nilathingal Thundathan Perumal Temple or ‘Thiru Nilathingal Thundam’ is located inside a Shaivite temple. Six daily rituals and two major yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Chittirai festival, celebrated during the Tamil month of Chittirai (March–April), is the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.