legendary Chola king, Manu Needhi Cholan, who killed his own son to provide justice to a cow. Thiruvarur was one of the five traditional capitals of the Chola empire and the history of town revolves around the Thyagarajaswamy temple. Thiruvarur is mentioned in the saiva canonical work, Tevaram by Thirugnana Sambanthar, Tirunavukkarasar and Sundarar, the foremost Saivite saints of seventh–eighth century CE and classified as Padal petra stalam. Tirunavukkarasar mentions several traditions of the temple like Marghazhi Aathirai Vizha, Panguni Uttirai Perunaal and Veedhivitakanin Veedhi Panni. The granite structure of the temple was first constructed by Aditya Chola I (871–907 CE) in the ninth century CE and revamped during the reign of Rajaraja Chola I (985–1014 CE). The temple was upgraded and rebuilt with stone by Rajendra Chola I (1012–44 CE). The temple has inscriptions from both the emperors, later Cholas and Pandyas. The temple is believed to be an inspiration for Rajaraja Chola to build the Brihadeeswarar Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Inscriptions from the temple indicate Thiruvarur as the capital of Kulothunga Chola I (1070–1120 CE), during which the town emerged a centre of saivism. After the fall of Cholas during the reign of Rajendra Chola III in the 13th century CE, the town was caught under a power struggle between the Pandyas and Hoysalas. The royal patronage continued and the town flourished as a cultural centre during the rule of the Nayaks, Vijayanagar kings and Marathas. During the period of Marathas, the town became a temporary home to the Nataraja of Chidambaram temple. The town was briefly captured by French troops led by Lally (1702–66 CE) in 1759 CE. The Thyagarajar temple was ransacked in a failed attempt to discover hidden treasure. During the attempt, six members of the temple, suspected to be spies of the British, were killed in an encounter. The province and Tanjore were annexed by British after the failed attempt of the French to attack the King of Tanjore. After independence, Thiruvaur continued to be a part of the Thanjavur district and Nagapattinam district until 1991 and 1997 respectively. Thiruvarur was made the headquarters of Tiruvarur district when it was carved out of Nagapattinam district in 1997. In modern days, Thiruvarur regarded as the origin of Carnatic music because of the birth of great three musicians of Carnatic music (Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri - The trinity of Carnatic Music). Geography