Sri Vijayaraghava Perumal Temple

Temple tradition holds that this is the very spot where the giant eagle Jatayu fell after his battle with Ravana over the abducted Sita, and where Rama, arriving in his search for her, is said to have performed Jatayu's last rites himself, an act of gratitude toward a creature who died trying to protect Sita rather than a human devotee or sage. The temple tank is named Jatayu Theertham in direct memory of this episode, and the entire shrine functions as a devotional monument to sacrifice made in Vishnu's service, regardless of the form the devotee takes.

Thirumangai Alvar sang two pasurams of mangalasasanam in praise of this temple, placing Thiruputkuzhi formally within the 108 Divya Desams and linking its Ramayana-era legend to the later Vaishnava devotional tradition of Tamil Nadu.

The village name Thiruputkuzhi is generally explained as a combination of "pul," referring to the bird family to which Jatayu belonged, and "kuzhi," meaning pit or burial ground, together describing the site as the resting place of the bird, consistent with the Jatayu legend the temple is built around. Inscriptional evidence places temple activity here as early as the 13th century, with grants and endowments recorded under Pandya rule, suggesting an established shrine that predates those inscriptions by some margin.

The temple's Veerakoti Vimanam and the sanctum housing Vijayaraghava Perumal follow the layout typical of Divya Desams in the Kanchipuram region, but with one detail that sets it apart: the consort Sridevi (Maragadhavalli here) is positioned to the Perumal's left rather than the more conventional right. Temple tradition explains this as an expression of grief. Sridevi is shown in a posture of mourning for Jatayu, tying the sanctum's very iconography back to the temple's founding legend rather than treating it as a stock architectural arrangement.

Sri Rama Navami holds particular resonance at Thiruputkuzhi given the temple's Ramayana foundation, and is observed here with special significance alongside the more widely celebrated Masi Brahmotsavam, the temple's principal annual festival, held in the Tamil month of Masi (February–March) over several days and including a Garuda Sevai procession in which the utsavar is carried through the streets mounted on the eagle-vahanam, a detail that resonates directly with the temple's Jatayu legend.

Pavitrotsavam is observed in the Tamil month of Avani (August–September), and the temple also celebrates Navaratri and Thiru Karthikai Utsavam in the later part of the year, giving Thiruputkuzhi a fuller festival calendar than its relatively remote, rural location might suggest.

The temple follows the customary six-times-daily pooja schedule observed at Agamic Vishnu temples in the region: Ushatkalam in the early morning, Kalasanthi shortly after, Uchikalam at midday, Sayarakshai in the evening, Irandamkalam following soon after, and Ardhajamam as the final rite of the night, each carried out with the standard sequence of decoration, food offering and lamp worship.

Given its rural setting away from Kanchipuram's dense temple town, darshan at Thiruputkuzhi is generally calm and unhurried outside the Masi Brahmotsavam period, allowing visitors time to take in the sanctum's distinctive iconography (including the mourning posture of Sridevi beside the Perumal) without the crowding common to more centrally located Divya Desams.