Dēva Perumāḷ, known by His honorific name Varadarāja ('the king who grants boons'), is the presiding deity of the Varadarāja Svāmi temple at Kāñcīpuram (Kanchipuram) in Tamil Nadu. Kāñcīpuram is one of the seven sacred mokṣa-puras in Hindu geography, and the Varadarāja temple is among the most architecturally magnificent Vaiṣṇava shrines in South India.
The temple's sacred history traces to a yajña performed by Brahmā on Hastagiri ('elephant hill') at Kāñcī. According to the Sthala Purāṇa, Bhagavān manifested before Brahmā in response to his tapas, granting him the vision he sought, and thereby received the name Varadarāja — 'the sovereign of boon-givers.' The presiding Tāyār (consort deity) is Śrī Perundevi Tāyār. The union of Varadarāja Perumāḷ with Perundevi Tāyār forms the heart of the temple's worship and is celebrated in the Divya Prabandham verses of Tirumāḷisai Āzhvār and Periyāzhvār.
Dēva Perumāḷ holds singular importance in Śrī Vaiṣṇava history because of His role in Rāmānuja's life. Kāñcīpūrṇa (Tirukkachi Nambi), a great devotee who served Dēva Perumāḷ by fanning Him and offering betel after the daily rites, received direct speech from the deity on six occasions. These six utterances — covering the nature of Bhagavān, the ātmā, the means, the goal, the Āchārya, and the obstacle — are known as the 'Ārttā Pañcakam' or six sacred utterances and were conveyed by Kāñcīpūrṇa to Rāmānuja. This direct communication between Dēva Perumāḷ and Rāmānuja's generation forms one of the most cherished episodes in the Guruparamparāprabhāvam.
The Varadarāja temple is also celebrated for the Atthi Varadar — an icon of Bhagavān carved from a single sacred fig (atti) tree, kept submerged in the temple tank for forty years and brought out for a forty-day festival. This deity, when given darśana, is considered among the most auspicious of all archa-vigrahas in Vaiṣṇavism. The name Varadarāja encapsulates the Śrī Vaiṣṇava conviction that Bhagavān's deepest nature is that of the eternal giver of the supreme boon — Mokṣa — to all who seek His grace.