Vaikunda Perumal Temple, Uthiramerur, Hindu temple in Kanchipuram district, India.
The Vaikunda Perumal Temple is a Hindu sanctuary in Kanchipuram district with an assembly hall where the roof rests on outer walls without interior supporting pillars. This open layout gives visitors an unobstructed view through the space and demonstrates skilled construction.
The Pallava king Nandivarman II founded this temple around 750 CE and gifted the surrounding village to Vedic Brahmins of the Srivaishnava community. This donation linked religious authority with local governance.
The temple walls display inscriptions about the Kudavolai system, an early voting method where community members used palm leaves to cast their choices. This practice reveals how people here made decisions together long ago.
The temple sits roughly one kilometer from Uthiramerur bus station and is set in a rural setting. Morning and late afternoon visits tend to be quieter and offer better conditions for viewing the inscriptions.
The inscriptions detail rules that candidates had to meet to run for community office, including age requirements and property qualifications that extended through seven generations. This ancient system of vetting candidates was remarkably detailed.
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