Athi varadhar Utsav - A Grand Celebration Once In Forty Years.

The Arulmigu Varadharaja Perumal Temple in Kanchipuram commemorates the reappearance of Lord Athi Varathar a 10foottall idol devoted to Lord Vishnu once every forty years In 2019 thousands of worshippers gathered at the temple to witness this occasion The temple also celebrates the auspicious occasions of Vaikunta ekadesi Chitra Pournami Purataasi and Aadi Velli in a grand manner The Varadharaja Perumal Temple also known as Hastagiri is devoted to Lord Vishnu and is situated in Tamil Nadus holy city of Kanchipuram The temple is one of the 108 Divya Desams of Lord Vishnu The most outstanding aspect of Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple is the 100pillared hall including its excellent carvings of the Ramayana and Mahabaratha This event is unique as Lord Athi Varathar who was carved from a large fig tree resides within Pushkarnis Anantha Saras Mandapam a pond that has four pillars The diety was worshipped as the presiding god inside the sanctum up till the 16th century The statue was partially destroyed during the Mughal conquest and as a result it was submerged in the temple tank as the priests believed that damaged statues should not be kept in the Garbhagraha Once every 40 years he is retrieved and he is given 48 days of adoration with special poojas and homams In 2019 Athi Varadhar Utsav was held in the Devarajaswamy temple Kancheepuram as the crowd expectancy for darshan reached up to 1 crore It is believed to be quite valuable to worship Lord Athi Varathar just once in a lifetime In both reclining and standing postures Lord Athi Varadar grants worshippers darshan for 48 days The Athi Varadhar Festival was held in the preceding years of 1854 1892 1937 1979 and 2019 These timeframes make it quite clear that we will only be entitled to seek the darshan of Lord Athi Varadhar once or twice in our lifetimes The upcoming Athi Varadhar Utsav is expected to take place in 2059