Uttirakosamangai (உத்திரகோசமங்கை) is a name that is a portmanteau of three single words – Uttiram (Upadesam) Kosam (secret) Mangai (maiden, here denoting Parvati) – Uttirakosamangai is considered to be the place older than any other, where Shiva imparted the secrets of vedagamas to Parvati and 1000 sivacharyas. Uttirakosamangai, situated in the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, is steeped in history, mythology, and spirituality, and is a testament to the richness of Hindu culture.

The location history (sthala puranam) is inextricably associated with Mānikkavachagar (மாணிக்கவாசகர்) as it is the place where he is considered to have incarnated as one of the 1000 sivacharyas, prior to his birth as Thiruvadāvūrār near Madurai.  Mānikkavachakar was a famous Tamil poet and one of the 63 Nayanmars. Some life events of Ravana, the ardent Shiva devotee and asura king of Lanka and his wife Mandodari, are also associated with this location.

In his Thiruvāchagam (திருவாசகம்), Manikkavachagar refers to Uttirakosamangai  multiple times and is said to have composed many verses here, after his birth as Thiruvadāvūrār and returns to visit this place before he finally attains moksha at Chidambaram.

Uttikosamangai is also called Adhichidambaram (ஆதி சிதம்பரம்), as it is here that Shiva also dances his ānandhatāndavam only for Parvati before He shows that vision to Patanjali and Vyagrapada at Chidamabaram. The maragadha (emerald) Nataraja depicting that dance is a star attraction on Arudra day and as celebrated as the one in Chidambaram.

As always, mysticism and cross references abound in puranas associated with many temples and the philosophical concepts, and this temple is also one such. The temple also hosts some beautiful murals on the ceilings of the Nataraja shrine.The temple, as it stands now, is believed to be built during the 16th century AD.