Thiruvarur is a town and municipality in Tiruvarur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Tiruvarur district. The town was one of the five traditional capitals of the Chola empire, with one of the emperors of the dynasty, Kulothunga Chola I, having it as his capital. The town is believed to be of significant antiquity and has been ruled, at different times, by the Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Later Pandyas, Vijayanagar Empire, Marathas and the British. The town is known for the Thyagaraja temple, and the annual chariot festival held in the month of April. The temple chariot of the Thyagaraja temple, weighing 300 tonnes (660,000 lb) and measuring 90 feet (27 m) tall is the largest temple chariot in Tamil Nadu. Thiruvarur is the birthplace of Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri, popularly known as the Trinity of Carnatic music of the 18th century CE.
Thiruvarur was a part of Thanjavur district till 1991 and Nagapattinam district until 1997; it became the headquarters of Tiruvarur district when it was carved out of Nagapattinam district in 1997. The Odambokki river passes through the centre of the town. Thiruvarur covers an area of 10.47 km (4.04 sq mi) and had a population of 56,341 as of 2001. It is administered by a first grade municipality. The town is a part of the Cauvery delta region and agriculture is the major occupation. Roadways are the major means of transportation with a total of 94.06 km (58.45 mi) of district roads including three national highways passing through the town
