As per the legend, there was a servant who used to serve the temple and who was a sincere follower of Lord Yathothkari Perumal. Being impressed by her devotion and worship Thirumazhisai Alwar( yet another devotee of Lord) blessed her with immense beauty and the king of Kanchi fell in love with the beautiful maiden. The king married the maiden and when he came to know about the reason behind her beauty he asked Kanikannan who was a close friend of Thirumazhisai Alwar to bring Alwar in the palace. He also instructed Kanikannan to ask Thirumazhisai Alwar to sing in appreciation of the king. Kanikannan gently refused the king by saying Thirumazhisai Alwar sings only in praise of the Lord. The king told Kanikannan that he would be rewarded by great gifts if he fulfilled his wish but Kanikannan did not take heed. The king asked Kanikannan to leave the Kanchi Village. When Thirumazhisai Alwar came to know aboutwhat happened, he too left the village. Before leaving the village, he sang a last hymn in praise of Lord Yathothkari Perumal. Agitated by the incidenct, Yathothkari Perumal too decided to leave the place. The king came to know about the Lords decision and realized his mistake. He asked for forgiveness with Kanikannan and requested him to come back to the village. Lord too returned back to the village and Akwar sang a hymn describing the return of the Lord to Kanchi. Since then Vishnu Lord is known as – Sonna Vannam Seitha Perumal here, which means the Lord who abides by the request of Alwar. There are other stories in relation to this temple, according to which it is believed that Goddess saraswati had come to this place when she was angry with Lord Brahma.

The temple has an age old history of ritual and festivals. The daily rituals are conducted around 6 times in a day. There is also a Brahmostsavam conducted on yearly basis here.