| Pundarikakshan Perumal Temple | |
|---|---|
Thiruvellarai | |
.jpg) View of the unfinished southern gateway | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Tiruchirapalli |
| Deity | |
| Features |
|
| Location | |
| Location | Thiruvellarai |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Country |  India |
  | |
| Geographic coordinates | 10°57′21.6″N 78°40′03.7″E / 10.956000°N 78.667694°E[1] |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Dravidian architecture |
| Creator | Cholas |
| Specifications | |
| Temple(s) | One |
| Elevation | 136.79 m (449 ft) |
The Pundarikakshan Perumal Temple or Thiruvellarai Temple in Thiruvellarai,a a village in the outskirts of Tiruchirappalli in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Naalayira 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 worshipped as Pundarikakshan and his consort Lakshmi as Pankajavalli.
According to legends, the temple is said to have been built by Sibi Chakravarthy. The temple has three inscriptions in its two rock-cut caves, two dating from the period of Nandivarman II (732–796 CE) and the other to that of Dantivarman (796–847). It also has Pallava sculptural depictions of Narasimha and Varaha, two of the ten avatars of Vishnu.
A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines and six of its seven bodies of water. The rajagopuram, the temple's gateway tower, is unfinished. A swastika shaped temple tank built in 800 CE by Kamban Araiyan during the reign of Dantivarman is outside the temple complex. The Vijayanagar and Nayak kings commissioned paintings on the walls of the shrine of Pudarikakshan, some of which are still present.
Pundarikakshan is believed to have appeared and showered his divine grace to Garuda (vahana of Vishnu), Sibi Chakravarthy, sage Markandeya and Hindu gods Bhoomadevi, Brahma, Shiva, Indra and Chandra. Six daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the chariot festival, celebrated during the Tamil month of Chaitra (March–April), is the most prominent. The festival is unique in the state as a community feast is offered, a custom stretching back many centuries. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.