Kothandaramar temple, Vaduvur

Kothandaramar Temple is a Hindu temple located in Vaduvur, Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to Rama, the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu. The temple is glorified by Maharishi Valmiki and classified as one of the 108 Abhimana Kshethrams of the Vaishnavate tradition. This temple is called as the Dakshina Ayodhya(Ayodhya of South India). This temple one of Pancha Rama Kshethrams. All these temples are said to be particular locations mentioned in Ramayana.

Location
It is located in the village of Vaduvur in Thanjavur-Mannargudi road. This temple is also known as Dakshina Ayodhya.

Presiding deity
The presiding deity of this temple is known as Kothandaramar. He is found with Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman. The utsava moorthy of Rama in this temple is very famous for its beauty.

Other shrines
In the prakara, shrines of Hayagriva, Viswaksena, Andal and Alvars are found in this temple. In the front mandapa, another form of Vishnu Krishna with the name of Venugopalan is found in a separate shrine with Rukmani and Satyabama. Krishna was earlier the central deity of the temple before Rama. Sarayu theertham is found outside the temple. The vimana of this temple is known as Pushpaka vimana.

Origin of the Temple
The idol of Rama and family was found inside a forest (hidden underground) by Raja Serfoji of Thanjavur Maratha clan. On his way to Thanjavur, he took rest under a tree where he heard the chant of Jai Shri Rama coming from the ground when he dug up the earth he found the idol of Rama, Sita, Bharata, Lakshmana, Shatrugana and Hanuman. The people of the nearby villagers banned the exit of idols from the village. So the King ordered the statue of Bharata and Shatrugana be placed instead of Rama and Lakshmana for worship in the village temple. The villagers constructed a temple with Bharata as  Rama and Shatrugana as Lakshmana with the new Sita Devi statue. When the procession of idol neared Vaduvur area they took rest. In the dream of Maratha King, Rama appeared and told the king to place the statues in the nearby  Krishna Temple. The Maratha Raja built the Sarayu tank and renovated the temple.

Religious significance
This temple is one of the *Pancha Rama Kshetras and considered the foremost among the five temples. Pancha means five and Kshetrams refers to holy places. All the five temples are situated in Tiruvarur district, Tamil Nadu.


 * Sri Kodhanda Ramar Temple, Mudikondan
 * Sri Kodhanda Ramar Temple, Adambar
 * Sri Ramar Temple, Paruthiyur
 * Sri Kodhanda Ramar Temple, Thillaivilagam
 * Sri Kodhanda Ramar Temple, Vaduvur

Festivals
Rama Navami, Garuda Seva and car festival are celebrated in a grand manner.