Presiding Deity : Swayambunathar
Speciality : Exists of its own
Devi : Brahma Sakthi
Wonder : Spring on sea sand
Tree of the place : Kadamba tree
Holy water : Teppakulam
Beauty : Sea shore
Place : Uvari
District : Tirunelveli
Prayers, offerings, specialities and glory of the place, general informations, festivals and a short history are given below:
Diseases of any seriousness are cured if the afflicted devotees take the vow to bathe in the sea and worship the Lord for 41 days continuously. Also effects of spells and witchcrafts, possession by evil spirits are brushed off.
Devotees are blessed with happy wedlock, children and happiness and peace of mind. Devotees carry 1 or 41 baskets of sea sand here as a mark of their prayer to Swayambunathar. They also make Nagar (snake idols) and place it here.
Specialities:
Lingothbava idol is one of the 25 forms of the Lord here. This is not manmade but a Swayambu. It is here Sun worshipped the Lord. The one wonder here is that Sunlight falls on the deity throughout the 30 days of Tamil month of Margazhi , (December-January). Though Sunlight falls on the deity in some other temples also, it is just on a day or two only and not the whole month as is in Uvari.
Glory:
The presiding deity is not a sculptor-made idol but is one that exists of itself. Nature offers cooling the Lord by waving the fan (kavari) in Uvari. The water for Abishek of the Lord is drawn from the 4 Springs in the sea shore flowing pure water. Those suffering from stomach and the mentally retarded are cured by the grace of the Lord. Uvari is a tourism center of exceptional beauty both for devotees and the general visitor.
Location:
Uvari is just 70 Km far from Tuticorin, 50 Km from Kanyakumari and 70 Km from Tirunelveli. Lodgings are available for accomodation, the charges ranging from Rs. 100 to Rs. 400. Adequate transport facilities are available. Uvari is on the Tiruchendur-Kanyakumari road. Nearest railway station is Tiruchendur. Thiruvananthapuram and Madurai are the nearest airports.
Festivals:
3 days Vaikashi Vishakam (May-June)is a great festival here, the Lord offers Darshan to the Makara fish. The crowd exceeds 3 lakhs these days.
During the last Fridays of each month devotees crowd the temple. Thai Poosam (January-February), Panguni Uthiram (March-April) New moon day-Amavasya in Tamil Thai month (December-January) and Thiruvadhirai day.
Also Karthikai Deepam is devotionally celebrated in Uvari. Full moon days, Kruthika star day, ganesh chaturthi, each beginning of the Tamil months, Thaipoosam, Paradosham, Deepavali and Pongal are the festive days in the temple. The strength of the visitors would be heavy these days.
History:
A milk vendor, passing through this way usually had a hindrence while passing a particular spot. He was prevented from progressing by the root of a Kadamba tree here. When the root was cut to clear the way, blood began to flow from the spot. There was a saying from the sky (Asareeri) that the Lord was there and directed the milk vendor to construct a temple there. The temple was first built with palm leaves which later grew into a stone construction. The temple in Uvari is very popular as even leprosy is cured here by the blessisngs of the Lord.