The Lord of Arur, The Tyagaraja Cult in Tamil Nadu

by Rajeshwari Ghose

Tiruvarur in the Thanjavur district of Tamilnadu was the centre of Saiva and Sakta worship from very ancient times.

The Saiva cult revolved around the Tyagaraja icon enshrined in a temple bearing the name of the image. Interestingly, Tyagaraja is not the principle deity but a processional icon and is in fact an amalgam of three deities - Siva his consort Uma and their child Skanda.

Tyagaraja is a Somaskanda and the first visual representation of this composite deity can be traced to the time of Pallava rule.

About the Author:

Rajeshwari Ghose teaches south and South East Asian Art in the Department of fine Arts at the University of Hong kong. She was a jubilee scholar of the University of calcutta and did her M.Phil. from the Universtiy of Hong Kong and Ph.D. from the school of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.