Years rolled by and it was the time when King Sarabhoji II (Marathi: सर्फोजी, Tamil: ‎‎சரபோஜி) (September 24, 1777 – March 7, 1832) ruled Thanjavur.

One day, Lord Rama appeared in the king's dream and told him to unearth the idols from Thalai Gnayiru ((Thalanayar in Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu) under the aspicious Arasa Maram (Ficus religiosa or Bodhi Sattva tree). He asked the king to establish and worship the deities. 

The king woke up in a state of shock and later, with his entourage, went to Thalai Gnayiru and unearthed the idols. When the king and his entourage were preparing to leave from Thalai Gnayiru, on their way to Thanjavur, the natives of the place prevented the king from taking the idols. The king managed to convince them and as compensation left the statues of Lakshmana and Bharata behind with them.  (Now workshipped as Rama and Lakshmana at the temple there)

He took possession of Rama, Seetha and Hanuman statues and on his way rested at Vaduvur. The people of the Vaduvur village, known for their unity, came to know about the idols and pleaded with the king to install the deities in their Rukmani-Sathyabhama samedha Sri Gopalan temple. Initially, the king refused but when the villagers threatened to jump from the tower of the temple and commit suicide, he relented. He allowed them to install the idols and since then Rama has been the main deity in the Gopalan temple. 

Later, the statue of Lakshmana was also sculpted by the people of Vaduvur. It appeared like a woman and so the villagers established it as Sundari Amman and built a separate temple for Her. They sculpted the statue of Lakshmana again and today Rama with Seetha and Lakshmana stand majestically to bless the devotees. 

It is interesting to note that Saint Tyagaraja lived during the same period (May 4, 1767–January 6, 1847). Sarabhoji Maharaja came to know about the Saint and invited him to visit the temple to be rewarded, but Saint Tyagaraja rejected the offer, singing "Nidhi caala sukhama?" in kalyaani, which means "Does abundance of wealth bring happiness"? The king realized his mistake and visited the saint-composer, who also later cured him of his illness

 The Vaduvur (Vaduvoor ) temple comes under Government of Tamil Nadu, under HRCE department