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

Thanjavur district Thanjavur District is one of the Districts of Tamil Nadu, 38 districts of the States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur (Tanjore) . The district is located in the delta of the Cauv ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. 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 purathaneshwarar in krutha yuga,yoganandhe ...

, a

Hindu Temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

dedicated to

Lord Siva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as ''The Destroyer' ...

. The

Tirundudevankudi Karkadeswarar Temple Tirundudevankudi Karkadeswarar Temple(திருந்துதேவன்குடி கற்கடகேசுவரர் கோயில்) :ta:திருந்துதேவன்குடி கற்கடகேசுவரர் ...

is located nearby. The history of Thiruvisanallur can be traced back to the time of the

Medieval Cholas The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...

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

Raja Raja Chola I Rajaraja I ( Middle Tamil: ''Rājarāja Cōḻaṉ''; Classical Sanskrit: ''Rājarāja Śōḷa''; 3 November 947 – January/February 1014), also known as Rajaraja the Great, was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 to 1014. He was known for ...

. The Thanjavur Maratha king

Shahuji I Shahuji I (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 brother of Shivaji, the first Maratha ruler of Thanjavur. He reigned from 1684 to 1712 ...

endowed Thiruvisanallur to forty-six

Brahmins Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

as a ''

brahmadeya Brahmadeya (Sanskrit for "given to Brahmin, Brahmana") was tax free land gift, either in the 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 fo ...

'' 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 a companion of the

Shankaracharya Shankaracharya (, , " 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; teachers from the successive line of te ...

Bodhendra Saraswathi, settled in Thiruvisanallur and founded the Sri Sridhara Ayyaval Mutt.

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 ( , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or Aniconism, aniconic representation of the Hinduism, Hindu Hindu deities, god Shiva in Shaivism. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Up ...

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

Bhairava Bhairava (, ), or Kāla Bhairava, is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva.Kramrisch, Stella (1994). ''The Presence of Śiva''. Princeton, NJ: P ...

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 zodiac sign Vrishabha. 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