Foreign Invasions and Destruction of Tiruvarur
Illegal Annexation of the Kamala Peetha Sarvajnapeetha
1759
Tiruvarur was captured by the French and ransacked. The French troops of Commander Lally invaded the temple in an attempt to look for hidden treasure. Outraged at their failure, the troops mercilessly murdered six priests of the temple. The murder of the priests meant the annihilation of the sacred knowledge that was passed down from generation to generation for centuries.
1799
In the Treaty of 1799, Tiruvarur was annexed along with Thanjavur by the British after the Anglo-Mysore Wars. At this time, all social and political legitimacy of the kingdom was lost. The kingdom’s strength slowly dwindled. A million Hindus were stripped of their sacred heritage.
1947
The religious kingdom was annexed along with the princely state of Thanjavur.
1962
The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) was formed, inflaming the interference into the temple and religious activities of the kingdom.
1997
The new district of Thiruvarur was formed.
2021
Epigraphist K. Paneerselvam found evidence of the encroachment of 150 acres of land by HR&CE which were given in donation to the Bhaktavatsala Perumal Temple.
Tiruvarur was captured by French troops led by Lally (1702–66 CE) in 1759 CE. The Tyagarajar temple was ransacked and destroyed for hidden treasure. During the destructive raid, six brahmins of the temple, were killed in an encounter. The province and Tanjore were annexed by the British after the failed attempt of the French to attack the King of Tanjore.
With the takeover by the foreign invaders, the enlightenment ecosystem or “Kailaasa” established by Paramasiva in this region of Tiruvarur was destroyed and continued to exist only at the soul level. All the social, political, religious, spiritual and economical legitimacy of Sanatana Hindu Dharma was removed and new Westernised systems were established, replacing the age-old traditional systems of Kailaasa. The enlightened civilization no long existed.