The word ‘Thirumayam’ is derived from the word ‘Thiru-meyyam’ (திருமெய்யம்)
which means the ‘place of truth’ in Tamil. It is from 'satya-kshetra' (சத்யக்ஷேத்திரம்)
do the two deities of the place, namely, Siva and Vishnu, get their name,
Sathya-girisvara (சத்தியகிரீஸ்வரர்) and Sathya-moorthi (சத்தியமூர்த்தி),
respectively.
The earliest monument, the Siva cave temple is assigned to first half of
7th century AD on epigraphical evidences and its architectural style. The
Vishnu cave temple may be ascribed to a date not latter than the first half
of the 8th century.
Thirumayam later formed part of the territories of the imperial Chozhas.
In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Hoysala-s ruled this place, first as
the allies of the Chozhas and later of the Pandya-s. Two inscriptions here
refer to Appanna, a Danda-nayaka (தண்டநாயகர், General) of the Hoysala army,
who, while returning from his victorious march to Rameswaram, presided over
an important tribunal, held at Thirumayam to settle a longstanding dispute
between the trustees of the Vishnu and Siva temples.
In the 13th century, Thirumayam passed under Pandya rule, and there are
inscriptions dated in the reigns of Mara-varman Sundara Pandya II (இரண்டாம்
மாரவர்மன் சுந்தர பாண்டியன்), Jatavarman Veera Pandya III (மூன்றாம் ஜடாவர்மன்
வீர பாண்டியன்), Jatavarman Parakrama Pandya (ஜடாவர்மன் பராக்கிரம பாண்டியன்),
and an unidentified Veera Pandya (வீரபாண்டியன்).
The Vijayanagara inscriptions are dated in the reigns of Virupaksha I (முதலாம்
விருப்பக்ஷன்) and Krishnadeva-raya (கிருஷ்ண தேவராயர்) (15th and 16th century
AD).
In the 16th century, the chiefs of Chooraikkudi (சூரைக்குடி)
administered Thirumayam.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the town was a northern outpost of the
territories of the Sethupathi (சேதுபதி) of Ramanathapuram (இராமநாதபுரம்),
but was directly administered by the Pallava-rayar-s (பல்லவராயர்).
About the year 1686, Vijaya Raghunatha (விஜய ரகுநாதர்), popularly known
as Kizhavan Sethupathi (கிழவன் சேதுபதி), of Ramanathapuram, brother-in-law
of Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman (இரகுநாத ராயத் தொண்டைமான்) made over to the
latter the area of Thirumayam. Sethupathi Thanda-thevan (தண்டத்தேவன்)
confirmed this cession in 1723 in return for military help that he received
from the Tondaiman against Bhavani Sankar (பவானி சங்கர்), a rival claimant
to the chief ship of Ramanathapuram.
In 1733, Thirumayam was the only place of refuge left to the Tondaiman
when the Thanjavur general Ananda Rao overran the whole of the Pudukkottai
country. Here Vijaya Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman (விஜய ரகுநாத ராயத் தொண்டைமான்)
lay besieged for about a year until Ananda Rao raised the siege and retired.
In 1755, The Raja of Thanjavur (தஞ்ஞாவூர்) submitted to the East India
Company a claim for Thirumayam, but did not seriously maintain the claim.
There is an unauthenticated tradition that, at the time of the ‘Poligar
War’ of 1799, the famous Katta-bomman (கட்டபொம்மன்) of Panchalankurichchi (பாஞ்சாலங்குறிச்சி)
and his dumb brother had taken refuge in the jungles of Tondaiman territory
near Thirukkalambur (திருக்களம்பூர்). They were captured by the Tondaiman
and imprisoned for a time in the Thirumayam fort. He then handed over them
to the English.
During the second ‘Poligar War’, Thirumayam was a depot for Lieutenant
Colonel Agnew’s army.
Thirumayam is a place of historical importance and contains three
celebrated monuments. They are the Thirumayam Fort and the famous rock-cut
shrines of Siva and Vishnu, hewn out of the same rock. The old fort-entrance
is also a noteworthy structure.
The Vishnu temple is closer to the diversion road and the Siva temple is
to west of this. The Siva temple is in the eastern side of the Vishnu
shrine.
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