ABOUT

The Vaikunta Perumal Temple in Uthiramerur, a village in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. The temple is constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture. Vishnu is worshipped as Vaikunta Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Anandavalli. The temple was originally built by Pallavas, with later additions from the Cholas. The temple is known for the inscriptions indicating the democratic practises of electing representatives for the village bodies during the regime of Parantaka Chola (907-55 CE).The building is declared as a heritage monument and administered by the Archeological Survey of India. Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India was inspired by the system after paying a visit to the temple and insisted on improving Panchayat Raj, India's system of local bodies in villages.