Appakkudathaan Perumal Temple

As per Hindu legend, the king Upamanyu earned the wrath of sage Durvasar and lost all his physical strength. To get rid of the curse, he was asked to feed one lakh people everyday. One day, Hindu god Vishnu disguised himself as an old man, appeared before the king and asked for a meal. The king went on donating and the old man consumed all the food prepared for the people. The king was shocked and bewildered at this strange act. The old man asked for a kudam (pot) of Neyyaappam (a sweatmeal), stating that only it can fulfill his hunger. The king fulfilled the wish and later realised that it was Vishnu who had appeared as the old man. The king was relieved of the sage’s curse by the blessings of Vishnu. Because of the legend, Vishnu is called “Appakkudathaan” in the temple. Appam is a sweet preparation offered to Gods as nivedhana. Perumal got the name Appakudathan as he received the pot of Appam from king Upamanyu.
It is believed that this temple is where sage Markandeya was liberated from his curse from Yama (god of death), who cursed Markandeya to die at 16 years old. The central deity is Ranganatha, who is believed to have crushed Indira’s (a celestial deity) pride. The place is called “Koviladi” because it is located downstream of the Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple, which is referred as kovil in Vaishnava tradition. The azhwars refer the place as “Tiruppernagar” in Nalayira Divya Prabandam, a Vaishnava canon.