Thiruvaiyaru is a panchayat town in Thanjavur District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thiruvaiyaru is situated on the banks of the riverKaveri, 11 km from North of Thanjavur. National Highway No.136 from Thanjavur connect Thiruvaiyaru, Ariyalur, Perambalur byepass and Aththur byepass. State roads to Kumbakonam at 37 km in the East and Kallanai 33 km in the West connect Thiruvaiyaru. Thiruvaiyaru has an old Siva temple dedicated to Aiyarappar or Panchanatheeswar. Though pilgrims flock to this temple throughout the year, Thiruvaiyaru is more renowned for its association with Saint Thyagaraja, who, along with Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Sastri, comprised the Trinity of Carnatic music. Thiruvaiyaru means Five Rivers around the city. The Five Rivers are Vadavaar, Vennaar, Vettaar, Kudamurutti and Kaveri. Thiruvaiyaru is the headquarters of the Thiruvaiyaru taluk. Thiruvaiyaru is a small, quiet town. But due to the National Highway and State Highways going across the center of the town, frequent traffic jams happening for a long time. However, its modesty belies in its importance as a pilgrim Centre. On the highway from Thanjavur, you pass five bridges over the Vadavar, Vettar, Vennar, Kudamurutti and Kaveri, the five rivers from which Thiruvaiyaru gets its name. The presiding deities of the Shiva temple here,God Panchanadeeshvara and Goddess Dharmasamvardhani in Sanskrit both mean the same thing,`Panchanadeeswara got his name as the Lord of these Five Rivers. Thiruvaiyaru is considered as holy as Varanasi and bathing in the Kaveri here is as guaranteed to rid devotees of sins as bathing in the Ganges. Near the Shiva temple is the one-roomed house where Thyagaraja composed some of his greatest works. Thyagaraja was interred on the banks of the river Kaveri and it is called the revered Samadhi of the saint composer and it is here that the greatest music festival in the country takes place annually. Nearby are the Samadhis of some of the other saints like Shiva Prakasha Swamigal and Bangalore Nagaratnamma, who actually identified and rebuilt the Samadhi of Sri Tyagaraja. The Thyagaraja Aradhana festival is held in the Bahula Panchami Thithi of Margazhi Tamil month which falls on December or January when most of the leading exponents of Carnatic music come to perform and are watched by thousands of ardent fans of classical music. A huge complex is built at this site to accommodate the large audience that come to the concert in ever increasing numbers every year.
History
The vast temple in this town, known as "Dakshina Kailasam", built in an area of approximately 60,000 square meters, has five prakaram and many 'mandapams'. Several inscriptions in the temple affiliates the temple to the Cholas, Pandyas, and other rulers. Karikala Chola, Rajaraja the great, Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan, and Krishna Devarayar are associated with Thiruvaiyaru. The temple has two distinct divisions called 'Uttarakailasam' and 'Dakshinakailasam'. Uttarakailasam was built by Rajaraja Chola's chief queen Dantisaktivitanki alias Lokamahadevi in the late 10th century who also made several endowments. It was called Lokamahadevi Isvaram Udaiyar Mahadevar after the queen herself. She endowed several musical instruments during the time of Rajaraja while his daughter Gangamahadevi alias Arumoli Chandramalli gifted several fly-whisks to the presiding deity. Dakshina kailasam was renovated by Rajendra Cholan's queen. The Tevaram trinity have composed more than 100 songs on the presiding deity of this temple town. The town is called as "Ai-aaru", meaning five rivers, by them. The Tiruvaiyaru temple has also a shrine for Aatkondar or Kala Samharamoorthy, which is unique in the world. A Homa Kund started by saint Shri Adi Sankara can be found outside the shrine of Aatkondar. In the Kund a sort of incense-like called "Kungaliyum" powder is dropped in it. It is believed this wards of scorpion stings or some such bites and also gives longevity of life. The Kungaliyum is available from vendors around there hand-packed in loose papers. Thiruvaiyaru is greatly praised by "Kalki Krishnamurthy" in his novel "Ponniyin Selvan". This temple is among the six temples in Kaveri river bank which are equivalent to Kasi. The list of temples on Kaveri river bank which are equivalent to have powers of Kasi Visvanatha temple are mentioned below ° Thiruvaiyaru ° Thiruvidaimarudur ° Mayiladuthurai ° Sayavanam ° Thiruvengadu ° Thiruvanjiam
Geography
Thiruvaiyaru is located at. It has an average elevation of 38 metres.
Demographics
The Thiruvaiyaru Town Panchayat has population of 16,164 of which 7,895 are males while 8,269 are females as per report released by Census India 2011.. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Thiruvaiyaru has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 70%. In Thiruvaiyaru, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.
By Air: The nearest airport to reach Thiruvaiyaru is at Thiruchirapalli, which is located at a distance of about 56 km. Regular flights are operated from this airport. Thus, the place is well connected to the major cities of the country by air. By Rail: Nearest railway station is situated at Thanjavur, which is very well linked to the important cities such as Chennai, Thiruchirapalli, Mathurai, Koyampuththoor, Nagoor etc. By Road: There is a direct bus service from Thanjavur, which lies at a distance of 11 km from Thiruvaiyaru.
