Eri-Katha Ramar Temple, Hindu temple in Maduranthakam, Tamil Nadu, India

The Eri-Katha Ramar Temple in Maduranthakam has a standing Rama image about 8 feet (2 m) tall, made of stucco and facing east, with Sita and Lakshmana beside him. Sita is worshipped here as Janakavalli, and her shrine stands to the right of the main sanctum. The sage Vibandaka is enshrined inside the sanctum itself.

Built in the Pallava era and estimated at 1,600 years old, the temple is among the oldest Rama temples in South India. Inscriptions record gifts from Chola king Parantaka I, and the village was known as Maduranthaga Chaturvedi Mangalam under Uttama Chola (973–985 CE). Around 1798, Collector Lionel Blaze built the Janakavalli Thayar shrine after the tank was saved, giving rise to the name Eri-Katha Ramar.

Rama Navami is celebrated here with five different alangarams (decorations) of the deity on a single day, and a temple car festival is also held. During the Ani Brahmotsavam in the Tamil month of Aani (July–August), Rama rides a car shaped like the Pushpaka Vimana while the processional deity Karunakara Perumal rides a separate car. The Panchasamskaram festival marks Ramanuja's initiation at this site.

The temple stands near the Maduranthakam bus stand on the Chennai–Tindivanam highway in Chengalpattu district. The main shrine faces east, with the Janakavalli Thayar shrine to the right of the swami sanctum. The Rama Navami festival draws crowds, so plan around it if you want a quieter visit.

The name Eri-Katha means 'Rama who saved the tank (eri)', from the 1798 episode when Collector Lionel Blaze saw Rama and Lakshmana guarding the Madurantakam tank bunds during torrential rain. Grateful, Blaze funded the Janakavalli Thayar shrine, and his edict naming him a benefactor is still visible in the temple.