Nitya Kalyana Perumal Temple

A granite wall surrounds the temple. The sacred pond, Kalyāṇa Teertham, lies opposite the temple outside the main entrance, and the vimāna is called Kalyāṇa Vimāna. Besides the main shrine of Nithya Kalyāṇa Perumāḷ there are separate shrines for Komalavalli Thāyār, Andal, Ranganātha and Ranga Nāyaki.

The sanctum is reached after crossing a sixteen-pillared hall whose pillars carry carved sculptures depicting scenes from the Puranas and an exact replica of the principal deity. The second precinct houses the temple chariot. The rare seven-foot-tall Varāha Perumāḷ in the sanctum has his right leg on Adiśeṣa, the serpent, with Bhudevi seated on his left thigh. Garuda faces the sanctum. The Punnai tree, usually associated with Śiva, is the sthala vṛkṣam here.

Tiruvidanthai and Mahabalipuram were port towns of the Pallavas. The Pallavas originally built the temple in the 7th century and the Chōḷas expanded it in the 11th century. The temple was likely built around the same time as the Mahabalipuram temples.

The temple holds many inscriptions. The earliest concerns the Rashtrakuta king Krishna III (959 CE) and records the donation of a lamp. Raja Raja Chōḷa commissioned the Panguni Uthiram festival in 1003 CE. Another inscription notes contributions by Kulottunga Chōḷa I in 1115 CE, and further inscriptions relate to Jatavarman Vira Pandiyan II (1253-1275 CE) offering gifts to the goddess.

Legend holds that the demon Hiranyaksha captured the earth, Bhudevi, and hid it under the ocean. He had a boon from Brahma that no animal or human could kill him, but in his list the boar was not included. When the celestial beings complained, Viṣṇu took the form of Varāha, the boar with long tusks, fought Hiranyaksha and conquered him, then carried the earth up on his tusks and kept Bhudevi on his lap, which became the standard form of Varāha Roopam.

Many maidens wished to marry Varāha, having fallen in love with his form. Sage Kalava asked Varāha to marry his 360 daughters, and the god agreed to marry one each day through the year. Hence he is known as Nithya Kalyāṇa Perumāḷ, the one who marries every day. The name Tiruvidanthai comes from Bhudevi being seated on his left: Tiru refers to Lakshmi and idandhai to being seated on the left.

Thirumangai Alvar glorified the temple in the Naalayira Divya Prabandam, and it finds mention in the later works of Nadamuni, Tirukachi Nambi, Ramanuja and Manavala Mamunigal. The 17th century poet Pillai Perumal Iyengar praised it in his 108 Tirupati Anthathi. The temple follows the Tenkalai tradition, with Brahmotsavam and Vaikunta Ekadasi as important festivals. It is believed that the unmarried will be married if they worship here, so the temple is often a venue for weddings.