Utpalāvatī (Utpalavati) was a pious river whose source was in the Malaya Parvata. But according to the Vāmana Purāṇa (Vamana Purana), the source of the river Utpalāvatī (Utpalavati) lied in the Śuktimāna (Suktimana) Parvata.

Though there was a mention of the river Utpalāvatī (Utpalavati) in the Mahābhārata (Mahabharata), among the editions of the epic which are now available to us, only the Bombay edition and the translation of the epic by Kiśorīmohan Gañgulī (Kisorimohan Ganguli) mention Utpalāvatī (Utpalavati). In this context, it can be noted that the scholar, Wilson, while describing Bhāratvarṣa (Bharatvarsha), which was represented at the end of Viṣṇu Purāṇa (Vishnu Purana), mentioned the name of the river Utpalāvatī (Utpalavati) in the ‘Jaṁbukhaṇḍavinirmāṇa’ (Jambukhandavinirmana) chapter of the Mahābhārata (Mahabharata).

[Vishnu Purana (H.H.Wilson); Vol.2; p.154]

In modern thought, the river Utpalāvatī (Utpalavati) is known as the river Periyār (Periyar). This river is created in the Śivagiri Śṛñga (Sivagiri Sringa) in Tamilnadu and the river flows down through the large areas of the Kerala state. But N.L.Dey thinks that the Vypar river at the Tinnevelly region in Tamilnadu indicates the ancient river Utpalāvatī (Utpalavati).

[GP (Ali) p.123; GDAMI (Dey) p.213]