Sivayoginathar
Temple, Thiruvisainallur – History
The history of Thiruvisanallur
can be traced to the time of the medieval Cholas who established the
village as Vembarur or Chola Marthanda Chaturvedi Mangalam. Sambandar is
believed to have visited Tirumangalakudi nearby
before visiting Tiruvisalur
and Thirundudevankudi.
The
temple was converted to granite structure during the reign of Parantaka
Chola I (907-955 A.D.).
There are about 97 inscriptions
dating back to Parantaka Chola I, Rajaraja Chola I, Rajendra
Chola II, Kulothunga Chola I, Vikrama Chola and Kulothunga Chola III, Varaguna
Pandya and Krishna Devaraya of Vijayanagara Kingdom. The Thanjavur Maratha
king Shahuji I endowed Thiruvisanallur
to forty-six Brahmins as a brahmadeya 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 Bodhendra Saraswathi settled down in Thiruvisanallur and founded the Sri Sridhara Ayyaval Mutt. This temple is considered as one of the 88 temples controlled by Tanjore Palace Devasthanam. This temple is under the administrative control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of Government of Tamil Nadu (HR&CE).
