Thiruvisanallur also called Thiruvisalur (formerly known as Shahajirajapuram) is a village in the

Thanjavur district Thanjavur District is one of the 38 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur. The district is located in the delta of the Cauvery River and is mostly agrarian. As of 2011, Thanjavur district ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. The village is known for the

Sivayoginathar Temple Sivayoginathar Temple also known as Yoganandeswarar temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in is located in Thiruvisanallur in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India. Shiva is worshiped as Sivayoginathar, and is represented by the ' ...

, a

Hindu Temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hin ...

dedicated to

Lord Siva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hind ...

. The Tirundudevankudi Karkadeswarar Temple is located nearby. The history of Thiruvisanallur can be traced to the time of the

Medieval Cholas Medieval Cholas rose to prominence during the middle of the 9th century CE and established one of the greatest empires of South India. They successfully united South India under their rule and through their naval strength extended their influen ...

who established the village as Vembarur or Solamarthanda chaturvedimangalam. There are inscriptions dating to the time of

Raja Raja Chola I Rajaraja I (947 CE – 1014 CE), born Arunmozhi Varman or Arulmozhi Varman and often described as Raja Raja the Great or Raja Raja Chozhan was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE. He was the most powerful Tamil king in South ...

. The Thanjavur Maratha king

Shahuji I Shahuji I Bhonsle (Marathi: शाहुजी १/शहाजी तंजावरचे)(b.1672) also called Shahji of the Bhonsle dynasty was the second Maratha ruler of Thanjavur. He was the eldest son of Ekoji I, who was a half brothe ...

endowed Thiruvisanallur to forty-six

Brahmins Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

as a ''

brahmadeya Brahmadeya (Sanskrit for "given to Brahmana") was tax free land gift either in form of single plot or whole villages donated to Brahmanas in the early medieval India. It was initially practiced by the ruling dynasties and was soon followed up by t ...

'' in the year 1695. Following this endowment, the name of the village was changed to Shahajirajapuram. At about this time, a Hindu saint by name

Sridhara Venkatesa Ayyaval Sridhara Venkatesa Dikshitar (13 August 1635–1720), popularly known as Ayyaval, was a Hindu saint and composer who lived in the village of Thiruvisanallur in the then Thanjavur Maratha kingdom. Ancestry and early life Sridhara Ayyaval w ...

a companion of the

Shankaracharya Shankaracharya ( sa, शङ्कराचार्य, , " Shankara-''acharya''") is a religious title used by the heads of amnaya monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. The title derives from Adi Shankara; te ...

Bodhendra Saraswathi settled down in Thiruvisanallur and founded the

Sri Sridhara Ayyaval Mutt The Sri Sridhara Ayyaval Mutt is a Hindu mutt in the village of Thiruvisanallur. The mutt was established by a Saivite saint Sridhara Venkatesa Ayyaval Sridhara Venkatesa Dikshitar (13 August 1635–1720), popularly known as Ayyaval, was a H ...

Sivayoginathar Temple & Clock

The

is old and is believed to be built at the spot where eight Siva ''yogis''(sages) attained salvation and merged with the ''

lingam A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary '' murti'' or devotional ...

''. The shrine is dedicated to ''Chatur Kala Bhairavar'', one of the four

Bhairava Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव ) or Kala Bhairava is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshiped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva associated with annihilation. In Trika system ''Bhaira ...

s. The ''

Sthala Vriksha A Sthala Vriksha (), also rendered Sthala Vruksham refers to a sacred tree associated with a site, most often a Hindu temple. Such trees form a prominent feature of koils, Hindu temples of the Dravidian style. Besides the dominant feature of a ...

''(temple tree) of the temple is ''vilva''. The temple is frequented by people who were born under the sign

Rishabha Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain co ...

. A 1,400-year-old sun clock mounted on the 35-feet-high inner wall, built during Parantaka Cholan’s rule does not require battery or electricity. Carved out of granite and shaped like a semi-circle, it has is a three inch-long brass needle permanently fixed at the center of a horizontal line. As the sun casts its rays on the needle, the shadow of the needle indicates the right time. Tiruvasanallur is most famous for the Karkateswarar temple, the village deity of Tiruvisanallur, as well as for the notable figure Sridhar Ayyaval Mutt.

References

{{Thanjavur district Villages in Thanjavur district