History of Temple
Temple is also known as Samban Pillayar. The temple is managed by 3 generations of the Sambasiva Iyer family. Poojas are done by the third generation of the Sundresa Sivachariaor family as per Agama Sastra.
Temple poojas are done continuously without any stoppage even during the COVID 19 period
Kumbabisekam was performed in 1985 and again it was done in the year 2011. In 2011 we also constructed a temple for Lord Ayyappa as per the request of Ayyappa devotees. Again in May 2016, we started performing Anusha Pooja every month to Sri MahaPeriyava. As per the request of Sai devotes, Sai Bajans started every Thursday at our temple.
HISTORY OF MELATTUR
According to Wikipedia, it is believed that Melattur may have existed as early as the times of Vikrama Chola in 12th century AD. Earlier known as Nritta Vinoda Valanadu, the village was rechristened as Unnathapuri in honor of Unnathapureswarar, the presiding deity of the temple and the form in which Lord Shiva was worshipped in Melattur.
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When the Vijayanagar Empire fell at the Battle of Talikota in 1565, there were a prominent exodus of artistes and prominent Hindu citizens to the south. Achyuthappa Nayak of Thanjavur, a vassal of the Vijayanagar kings granted the village of Unnathapuri near Thanjavur to 501 families of Kuchipudi dancers who were a part of the exodus. The village was subsequently renamed as Achyutapuram and eventually as Melattur with the passage of time. The Kuchipudi dancers preserved their ancestral tradition and gave regular performances. This eventually gave rise to the Bhagavatha Melas as well as the unique style of Bharatanatyam which evolved here.
