Nilathingal Thundam Perumal temple

Nilathingal Thundam Perumal temple
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
Deity	Nilathingal Thunda Perumal (Vishnu) Nilathingal Thunda Nayagi (Lakshmi)
Location
Location	Kanchipuram
State	Tamil Nadu
Country	India
Geographic coordinates	12°50′51″N 79°42′00″E / 12.84750°N 79.70000°E / 12.84750; 79.70000
Architecture
Type	Dravidian architecture
Creator	Pallava, Chola kings

Nilathingal Thundam Perumal temple (also called Chandrasoodeswarar Perumal temple) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, located in Kanchipuram in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is located in a shrine in Ekambareswarar Temple, the largest temple in the town of Kanchipuram, located in the northern part of the town.^[1] The temple gopuram (gateway tower) is 59 m tall, which is one of the tallest gopurams in India.

The temple is glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshiped as Nilathingal Thunda Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Nilathingal Thunda Nayagi.

Six daily rituals and two major yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Vaikuntha Ekadashi festival, celebrated during the Tamil month of Margali (December–January), is the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Unlike other Vaishnavite temples where a Vaishnavite priest officiates, the temples has a Saiva priest as it in inside a Shiva temple.