The Thiyagaraja temple at Thiruvarur is one of the ancient heritage sites of India and is a representation of the religio-socio-cultural history of the Tamil region for a period spanning over a millennium and a half. Little is known about this shrine to much of India. The vast temple complex today is truly a standing monument to centuries of history and tradition.

This big temple was, constructed at Tiruvarur by Viswakarma. Then the King installed a Siva Lingam (now known as Achaleeswar) in a portion of the temple and worshipped it for many years. The peculiar feature about this Lingam is that its shadow can be seen only in the eastern direction and it is also said that this shadow will not be visible to a man who is going to die within a period of six months.

There are four gopurams on four sides. The tower on the west is particularly noteworthy for the fine sculpture in brick and mortar. The colossal structure of the temple could be well imagined from its length of 846 feet with breadth of 666 feet.There are several tanks attached as an adjunct to the temple wherein devout pilgrims take their bath before entering into the precincts of the temple.

On the western side of the temple there is a famous tank known as Kamalalayam where Goddess Kamala (Lakshmi) took her birth. It is considered to be the biggest tank in the whole of South India, having an island temple in the middle dedicated to the Goddess.She was born with the nectar during the course of churning of the Milky Ocean by the Devas and the Asuras. Varuna, the God of Water brought up Kamala, and after devoted penance she was married to Vishnu at Tiruvarur. Hence the name Kamalalayam

Besides the tank, a peculiar musical instrument called Panchamukha Vadya and Sivalingam made of sapphire and called Marakatalingam are worth seeing. The musical instrument has got five faces and is ornamented with the snake, the swastika and the lotus on three. The fourth face is plain without decorations. The central face shows the face of a deer. It is said that Nandi played on this when Siva danced. The circumference of the instrument is fifty-six inches.