The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

As per Hindu legend, a Pandya king Parakrama Pandyan wanted to construct a temple for Hindu god Shiva at Tenkasi and went to Kasi to bring a lingam, an iconic representation of Shiva in South India.

[3] Between 1428 and 1460, a Pandya king Parakrama Pandyan ruled the southern part of Madurai region, comprising the modern day Tenkasi and it surroundings.

There was contrasting dates on the rule of Parakrama Pandyan, with some mentioning the year as 1309, while the inscription in the temple indicating as 1309.

Madurai became independent from Vijayanagar Empire in 1559 under the Nayaks and the temple started receiving gifts from the rulers of the dynasty.

The images of Vinayaka and Subramanya are located on either side of the hall leading to the sanctum.

[6] The composite columns of Virabhadra holding sword and horn are found be additions of the Vijayanayagara kings during the early 1500s.