Sri Vatapatrasayee Perumal Temple

Srivilliputhur is the birthplace of Andal, the only woman among the twelve Alvars, and temple tradition holds that Ranganatha of Srirangam himself came here in spirit to wed her, making this one of the few Divya Desams whose central legend is a marriage rather than a rescue, a boon, or an act of grace.

Andal is remembered above all for the Soodikodutha Sudarkodi episode: as a girl, she would secretly wear the fresh flower garland intended for the deity before it was offered, admiring herself in it, then replace it so no one would notice. When Periyalvar discovered this and was horrified at the impropriety, Vishnu is said to have appeared to him in a dream insisting he preferred the garland only after Andal had worn it, a story still central to how the temple's own daily garland-offering ritual is understood today.

According to temple tradition, Andal was found as an infant beneath a Tulsi (basil) plant in the temple garden by Periyalvar, himself a temple priest and one of the twelve Alvars, who raised her as his own daughter. She grew into a poet-saint of extraordinary devotion, refusing all human marriage proposals and insisting she would wed only Ranganatha, eventually composing the Tiruppavai (thirty verses on devotion and longing still recited across Tamil Nadu every Margazhi (December–January) morning) and the Nachiyar Tirumozhi. Temple tradition holds that she was ultimately taken into the sanctum at Srirangam and merged with the deity there, her Srivilliputhur temple remaining as her earthly birthplace and principal shrine.

The temple's towering rajagopuram is among the tallest in this stretch of Tamil Nadu and a recognised regional landmark, distinctive enough to appear on the Tamil Nadu state government's official emblem, a rare honour not shared by any other Divya Desam. Its processional temple chariot (ther) is among the largest in the state, requiring substantial numbers of devotees to draw it during the annual car festival. The complex houses separate sanctums for Vatapatrasayee Perumal (in reclining posture) and for Andal, reflecting her dual status as both Alvar-saint and, in her own separate shrine, a directly worshipped goddess.

Andal Jayanti, marking her birth, and the temple's annual car festival are the most prominent celebrations, drawing large numbers of devotees from across Tamil Nadu. The Margazhi month (December–January) recitation of the Tiruppavai draws particular devotional attention here, given that the temple is where the verses' author was born and raised.

Daily worship follows the customary schedule of major Pandya Nadu Divya Desams, with the Andal shrine observing its own additional daily rites alongside the main Perumal sanctum, and considerably expanded rituals during the Andal Jayanti and Margazhi festival calendar.