Kanchipuram: Vardaraja Temple

This is the largest temple in Vishnu Kanchi (the smaller part of Kanchipuram dedicated to Vaishnavite temples). I only got to explore the outer enclosure of this temple because the temple was closed for the afternoon, as so many temples are in Tamil Nadu. This was a pity because the inner enclosures contain structures right from the 12th to the 17th c AD.

 

The west gopuram of the outer enclosure, which is possibly from the late-Chola era, 12th or 13thc

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The inner west gopuram leading to the inner enclosures

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The outer enclosure contains this Vijaynagar-era mandapa, with elaborately carved composite columns

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The east gopuram of the outer enclosure is from the Vijaynagar period

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