Why devotees come here
Uthamar Kovil is a Vishnu temple in Uthamarkoil village, about 5 km from Tiruchirappalli city, on the north bank of the Kollidam river. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams, and one of the few historical temples in India where images of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma stand together.
The temple is dedicated to Vishnu, worshipped here as Purushothaman Perumal, also called Purushothamar, with his consort Lakshmi known as Poornavalli Thayar. Local legend says Vishnu emerged here as a Kadamba tree, which gave the village the name Kathambanur, later changed to Karambanur. Another legend says Shiva came here to atone for cutting off one of Brahma's heads.
The temple is believed to have been built by the Medieval Cholas in the late 8th century, with later contributions from Vijayanagara kings and Madurai Nayaks. It is built in the Dravidian style, and a granite wall encloses all its shrines. The roof over the central shrine is called the Udhyoga Vimana. Inside the central shrine, which faces east, Vishnu is shown as Purushottamar in a reclining pose.
It is one of two temples in Chola Nadu where the Trinity is seen in the same premises. Its Kadambha tank is part of the temple. During the Kadambha Tiruvila festival, the festival image of Ranganatha is taken to it for Theerthavari, the ritual bath.
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