Sridhara Venkatesa Ayyaval

Sridhara Venkatesa Dikshitar (13-8-1635–1720), popularly known as Ayyaval, was a Hindu saint and composer who lived in the village of Thiruvisanallur in the then Thanjavur Maratha kingdom.

Very little is known about Ayyaval's ancestry or early life. According to some accounts, Ayyaval was the son of one Sridhara Lingarayar, a Brahmin who settled in Thiruvisanallur, during the reign of Shahuji I. Some accounts mention that Ayyaval's father was the Diwan of the Mysore kingdom. When Ayyaval, a staunch devotee of the Hindu god Shiva, was offered the post of Diwan upon his father's death, he rejected the offer and instead, chose to become a sanyasi or Hindu monk and embarked on a pilgrimage of the Saivite temples of the Cauvery Delta region.

On Ayyaval's arrival in Thanjavur, he was offered all assistance and respect by Shahuji, the then ruler of the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom. Shortly afterwards, he restored a Brahmin dead of snakebite to life and thus acquired a reputation as a miracle-worker. He was attracted to the Mahalingeswarar shrine at Thiruvidaimarudur and set up his house at the neighbouring village of Thiruvisainallur.

Various events are associated with the life of Sridhara Ayyaval. Chastised for feeding a hungry Dalit by orthodox Brahmins who insisted that Ayyaval should bath in holy Ganges and thus purify himself, Ayyaval prayed to Shiva and recited the Gangashtakam sloka appealing to the goddess Ganges. According to the traditions of the Sri Sridhara Ayyaval Mutt, when Ayyaval had finished reciting the Gangashtakam, water from the holy Ganges river flowed out of the well in his house.

Ayyaval outlived his wife and most of his contemporaries. He is believed to have died in 1720 at the age of 85. According to most accounts, he disappeared mysteriously while on a visit to the Mahalingeswarar Temple. Ayyaval's followers believe that on entering the temple, Ayyaval's soul entered the idol of the presiding deity, Mahalingeswarar, and became one with him.

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