Tiruvarur in the Thanjavur district of Tamilnadu was the centre of Saiva and
Sakta worship from very ancient times. The Saiva cult revolved around the
Tyagaraja icon enshrined in a temple bearing the name of the image.
Interestingly, Tyagaraja is not the principle deity but a processional icon and
is in fact an amalgam of three deities--Siva his consort Uma and their child
Skanda. Tyagaraja is a Somaskanda and the first visual representation of this
composite deity can be traced to the time of Pallava rule.