annual rituals and important festivals being celebrated at Sri Tyagaraja Swami Temple Tiruvarur, and Sri Rajagopala Swami Temple, Mannargudi. Title In commemoration of the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1887, Raju Sastrigal was selected from the south for the title Mahamahopadhyaya and was invited to Delhi for the award ceremony. Since Sri Sastrigal refused to go to receive the award, the then Governor General directed the then Collector of Thanjavur to confer the title at his residence. Mannargudi Raju Sastri was the first from the south to receive such a prestigious title. After this title, gifts and felicitations were sent to him from the Thanjavur Collector. Learned scholars came from far away places to meet him every day. Raju Sastri had formed the "Kumbakonam Advaita Sabha" for propagating the tenets of the Advaita faith. After him, his chief disciple Shi Ganapathy Sastrigal, who was invested the title of Mahamahopadyaya, became the accredited pundit for this Sabha. Works on Raju Sastri Thyagaraja Vijayam in Sanskrit written by Mahamahopadyaya Yegnaswami Sastrigal grandson of Sri Raju Sastri, is an elaborate history of Sri Mannagudi Raju Sastri. The main features of this book were then translated into Tamil in the name "Sri Raju Sastrigalin Mahimai" by great grandson Sri Ya: Mahalinga Sastri MABL. The book describes Sri Mannargudi Raju Sastri’s life, scholarship in Veda Sastras, his faith in daily rituals, his love for his students, his compositions and greatness of some of his popular disciples. Both Thulasendrapuram Ganapathy Sastri and Paruthiyur Sri Krishna Sastri had written wonderful slokas in praise of Guru Raju Sastri. One of his main disciples, late Mahamahopadhyaya Painganadu Ganapathi Sastrigal, wrote Gururajasapthathy, a set of seventy slokas on his great Guru. He has described therein the great qualities of Raju Sastri, his keen intellect, his benign treatment of his students, and his great devotion to Lord Shiva. Last days In 1903 Raju Sastri, at 88 years old, became very weak and he could not even get up or move around without help. His daughter-in-law took very good care of him. Aged Guru Raju Sastri wanted to hear Krishna Sastri's Pravachans and he sent his wish through a student. Considering his old Guru's age and health, Krishna Sastri immediately went to Mannargudi and stayed there for a few months and did Ramayana Pravachans exclusively for guru Raju Sastri and his family, friends and students. Raju Sastri was delighted and was very