Kothandaramar Temple, Mudikondan

The Kothandaramar Temple at Mudikondan, in Nannilam taluk of Tiruvarur district, 20 km from Mayiladuthurai and 15 km from Thiruvarur, is dedicated to Rama. It is one of the 108 Abhimana Kshetrams and one of the five Pancha Rama Kshetrams, and stands where the sage Bharadwaja is said to have had his hermitage.

Legend says that on his way into exile Rama declined the sage's offer of a feast, promising to return. Coming back from Lanka in the Pushpaka Vimana, he stopped here, asked first to worship Ranganatha, whom the sage installed, and then appeared to Bharadwaja crowned as king before his coronation in Ayodhya; Mudikondan means the place of coronation. Unlike most Rama temples, which face south, this one faces east, while the Ranganatha image faces south towards Vibhishana's Lanka. Hanuman's shrine stands opposite, with the tank behind it.