Kandaradita Chozha Devar is one among the nine devotees who sung the divine Tiruvisaippa, the ninth Tirumurai. His composition is a part of the fourth set in the Tiruvisaippa. Kandaraditar was the king of the Chozha empire. He ruled the empire between 950 CE – 957 CE. He succeeded the throne after his father Parantaka I, who had served the Lord by tiling the roof of the Tiruchitrambalam (Tillai) with gold.

King Kandaraditar took the empire to a moral and spiritual high state. He was an expert in Tamil literature and a great composer. He had submitted his heart to the Dancing Lord. This royal devotee apart from serving the Lord by nurturing Shaivam in the empire, building and developing shrines of the Lord, composed His praises in beautiful Tamil. It is apparent that he took lots of interest in the Devaram sung by the Muvar (Sambandhar, Appar and Sundarar). A rock-cut inscription calls this king as “Shiva Gnana Kandaraditar”.

The king while adhering to Shaivam, nurtured Vaishnavam and other religions also. He built a temple called Kandaradita Vinnagaram for Lord Vishnu. He regularly worshiped the Lord of Tillai and Tiruvarur. His wife, the queen, Sembiyan Madeviyar was also a highly respectable devotee of the Lord. She gave endowments for the development of many shrines of Lord Shiva and made them stone temples. Prominent among them are Konerirajapuram and Thiruvakkarai. She nurtured king Rajaraja, who later spread the fragrance of Shaivam across the Indian Ocean. One of the inscriptions refers to Kandaraditar as “Merkezhundaruliya Devar”, which is believed to indicate his renouncing the royal throne and going on a pilgrimage to the western parts of Bharata.

Near Tiruchirappalli, on the north bank of Kollidam there is a Kandaradita Chaturvedi Mangalam. In the South Arcot Ulagapuram there is a Kandaradita Pereri (grand lake).

Har Har Mahadev

See Also:
1. Thiruvichappa 
2. Chembiyan Madeviyar
3. Thirumurai Kanda Chozan - Rajarajan