The Kampaheswarar Temple was built in 1202 CE by Kulothunga Chola III (reigned 1178-1218 CE), one of the last great Chola emperors. Kulothunga III adopted the title Tribhuvana Vira (hero of three worlds), and the settlement that grew around the temple was named Tribhuvanam in his honour.
The Chola Empire was at its peak during the reigns of Rajaraja I and Rajendra I, and by Kulothunga III's time, the empire was facing increasing pressure from the Hoysalas under Veera Ballala II and the Pandyas under Jatavarman Sundara Pandya. Despite these external challenges, Kulothunga III continued the Chola tradition of building magnificent stone temples as assertions of royal authority and piety.
The temple is historically significant as it represents the final phase of Chola temple architecture before the dynasty's power declined and temple building shifted to the Pandya and Vijayanagara periods. Inscriptions at the temple record generous grants of land, villages, and endowments for daily rituals, festivals, and temple maintenance, revealing the economic organisation of temple-centred communities in the Later Chola period.
The temple was later patronised by the Nayakas of Madurai in the 16th-17th centuries, who added some subsidiary structures and commissioned paintings. After falling into neglect during the British colonial period, the temple was taken over by the Archaeological Survey of India in the early 20th century and underwent extensive conservation work to stabilise the vimana and restore the sculptural panels.
