Chariot festival
Kulothunga Chola II (1133–50 CE) enlarged the temple ritual to have fifty six festivals, some of which are followed in modern times.The annual chariot festival of the Thygarajaswamy temple is celebrated during April – May, corresponding to the Tamil month of Chitrai. The chariot is the largest of its kind in Asia and India weighing 300 tonne with a height of 96 ft (29 m). The chariot comes around the four main streets surrounding the temple during the festival.
The event is attended by lakhs of people from all over Tamil Nadu. The chariot festival is followed by the "Theppam", meaning float festival.The memorial for Thiruvalluvar, Valluvar Kottam, is inspired from the design of the Thiruvarur chariot.
Processional Dance
The Thyagarajar Temple at Tiruvarur is famous for the ajapa thanam (dance without chanting), that is executed by the deity itself. According to legend, a Chola king named Mucukunta obtained a boon from Indra and wished to receive an image of Thyagaraja Swamy. reposing on the chest of reclining Lord Vishnu. Indra tried to misguide the king and had six other images made, but the king chose the right image at Tiruvarur.
The other six images were installed in Thirukkuvalai, Nagapattinam, Tirukarayil, Tirukolili, Thirukkuvalai and Tirumaraikadu.All the seven places are villages situated in the river Cauvery delta. All seven Thyagaraja images are said to dance when taken in procession (it is the bearers of the processional deity who actually dance). The temples with dance styles are regarded as Saptha Vidangam (seven dance moves)and the related temples are as under:
Gopurams of the temple
The temple priests perform the puja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Shaiva community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed six times a day; Ushathkalam at 5:30 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 10:00 a.m.,
Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 7:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 8:00 p.m. It is believed that during Sayarakshai all the 33 crore devas (celestial beings) are present to worship Lord Thiyagarajar. Further attending the Sayarakshai at Thiruvarur and then attending the Ardha Jamam pooja at Chidambaram is considered to be highly auspicious and beneficial.
There are weekly rituals like somavaram (Monday) and sukravaram (Friday), fortnightly rituals like pradosham and monthly festivals like amavasai (new moon day), kiruthigai, pournami (full moon day) and sathurthi.The idol of Thiyagarajar is covered with a piece of cloth and flowers, so that only his and amman's face is visible.
His right foot and parvathy's right foot are revealed on Aarudhra Dharshan in the month of Margazhi, while his left foot and amman's left foot are revealed on Panguni Uthiram.
Music, dance and literature
Image of Kamalambal shrine
Historically, Thiruvarur has been a centre of eminent people in religion, arts and science. Sundarar, an 8th-century Saivite saint, mentions "I am the slave of all those born in Thiruvarur" in his works in Tevaram.[29] Two of the 63 nayanmars of Saivite tradition namely, Kalarsinga Nayanar and Tandiyadigal Nayanar were born in Thiruvarur.The Periyapuranam, a 12th-century Saiva canonical by Sekkizhar, dedicates a chapter to those born in Thiruvarur, including these two saints.
The town was a traditional centre of music and dance – the inscriptions from Rajaraja Chola associate a large body of dancers associated with the temple.Thiruvarur is home to Trinity of Carnatic music, namely Thyagaraja (1767–1847 CE), Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775–1835 CE) and Shyama Shastri (1762–1827 CE).[30] Muthuswami Dikshitar has sung eulogies of the temple deities of the Thyagarajaswami temple.
Thyagaraja was named after the deity of this temple. There was large influx of the acumen of South Indian culture to the town during the 17th century CE due to the political unrest in Thanjavur and increased patronage of the Maratha kings to Thiruvarur, resulting in developments in music and dance. A unique musical instrument called panchamuga vadyam with each of its five ends ornamented differently is used in the temple.
A type of nadaswaram (pipe instrument) called Barinayanam is also a unique instrument found only in Thiruvarur. Thyagaraja Leelaikal is a work on the playful nature of the deity Thyagaraja of Thiruvarur. It is similar to the Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam in that it identifies Thyagaraja with the Cholas in the same way that the former identifies Meenakshi with the Pandyas. It is dated to the twelfth century CE.
Mahasamprokshanam
The Mahasamprokshanam also known as Kumbhabhishekam of the temple was held on 8 November 2015. The heavy rains blow in Tiruvarur at the time of mahasamprokshanam, the people came in lot.