Sri Ashtabhuja Perumal Temple

Temple tradition links this shrine directly to the Gajendra Moksha episode, one of the most beloved devotional stories in the Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana traditions: the elephant-devotee Gajendra worshipped Vishnu daily with lotuses gathered from the temple tank, until one day a crocodile seized his leg while he bathed. Gajendra struggled for what tradition describes as a very long time, eventually losing all physical strength, and in his final moment of helplessness called out to Vishnu with a single lotus held aloft in surrender. Vishnu is said to have responded instantly, arriving on Garuda and releasing his discus (Sudarshana chakra) to slay the crocodile and free the elephant, an episode devotees frequently cite as the ultimate example of complete, unconditional surrender (prapatti) being answered without delay, regardless of the devotee's outward form.

This episode gives the deity here two of his distinctive names (Gajendra Varadhan ("boon-giver to Gajendra") and Chakradharan ("bearer of the discus")) alongside the temple's principal name, Ashtabhuja, referring to Vishnu's eight-armed form, each arm bearing a different divine weapon or symbol. The temple tank itself, Gajendra Pushkarini, is directly identified in local tradition as the site of the crocodile's attack, giving pilgrims a specific physical setting for the story rather than a purely symbolic association.

Ashtabujagaram is one of several Divya Desams located within Kanchipuram town itself, a temple city that uniquely hosts more than a dozen Divya Desams within its boundaries, a concentration unmatched anywhere else among the 108. The shrine is glorified by both Peyalvar and Thirumangai Alvar, placing its literary recognition among both the earliest and later generations of Alvar poets.

The temple stands under the Chakrakruthi Vimanam, its name directly recalling the discus (chakra) at the heart of the Gajendra Moksha narrative. As with several of Kanchipuram's Divya Desams, the shrine's relatively compact footprint within the dense temple town contrasts with the much larger scale of the nearby Varadaraja Perumal Temple complex.

Festival observances here often draw thematic connection to the Gajendra Moksha story, alongside the standard Sri Vaishnava calendar of Vaikunta Ekadashi and other major observances shared across Kanchipuram's cluster of Divya Desams.

Daily worship follows the customary schedule of Kanchipuram's Divya Desam cluster, with many pilgrims visiting Ashtabujagaram as part of a wider circuit covering the town's many Vishnu shrines in a single day.