 Thanjavur has a total of four Universities , namely the Tamil University , SASTRA University , <unk> University and Periyar Maniammai University . The Tamil University is a state run institute , started during 1981 and obtained its statutory recognition from the University Grants Commission in 1983 . It is the only one of its kind for the Tamil language doing higher research in <unk> and advanced study in various allied branches like linguistics , translation , <unk> , music , drama and <unk> . 
