Later, the control was split and presently this Samayapuram Mariamman temple is under an independent trust which is under the Government of Tamil Nadu. The management of this temple was initially under the control of the Thiruvanaikaval temple, another popular shrine in the region. And accordingly they built his temple on tasting success. It is believed that the Vijayanagara ruler vowed to build a temple for his goddess if they get to win the war. Sometime around the 17th century CE, the region surrounding Trichy is said to have been ruled by the Vijayanagar kings who used the area primarily as an army base. Thus the idol was moved out of the Srirangam town, and was later identified by some of the by passers, who is said to have built a temple for this deity called the Kannanur Mariamman temple. There was a common belief of the people from that in region that such local Gods possess immense powers and so must always be appeased by making appropriate offerings and sacrifices. When one of that temple’s chief priests believed that the idol caused illness in him, he is said to have ordered for its removal from the temple. According to a legend, the current deity was initially at the famous Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam. The Goddess is believed to have been worshipped by locals even before the construction of this temple, but those details still remain unauthenticated. The present temple structures were constructed during the early 18th century by King Vijayaraya Chakkaravarthi. The actual history behind the temple’s origin remains unclear. This vigraha is placed in front of the main idol. Instead abisheka is performed to a small secondary vigraha that is carved out of stone. The main deity’s idol is made up of sand and clay and thus the ritual of abhisheka is not performed to the Moolavar, (main idol) unlike many other Hindu deities. The principal deity of this shrine is Goddess Mariamman, also called popularly as Goddess Samayapurathal. Samayapuram Mariamman Temple is a renowned shrine situated in the town of Samayapuram, near Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) in Tamil Nadu, India.
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