Kailasanathar Temple.
Kanchipuram pilgrims rush through the Big-Four (Kamakshi, Ekambareswarar, Varadharaja Perumal, Kumarakottam) and miss Kailasanathar 1.5km west of the temple cluster. It is the oldest structural temple in Kanchipuram (early 8th c CE under Rajasimha Pallava) — built of sandstone, not the granite the later Cholas used — and the only one in Kanchi where you can still see Pallava-era frescoes on the inner sanctum walls (faded but identifiable Shiva-Parvati panels).WHY NOBODY KNOWS
Built early 8th c CE by Narasimhavarman II / Rajasimha Pallava — the earliest stone temple in Dravidian style, predating Mahabalipuram Shore Temple by a few decades. Sandstone construction (later Cholas switched to granite). The 58 sub-shrines around the main sanctum each carved with a unique Shiva manifestation. Some original Pallava-era mural fragments survive on the inner walls — the only such site in Kanchi. Open 6am-12pm + 4-8pm. ASI-protected. The narrow sanctum makes the inner darshan a 2-person-at-a-time queue.
