Anandarayar Sahib was a poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 and administrator

Public administration

Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....

 who served as a minister in the courts of the Thanjavur Maratha kings Shahuji I, Serfoji I

Serfoji I

Serfoji I , also called Sarabhoji I, was the son of the Maratha ruler of Thanjavur Ekoji I and the Raja of Thanjavur from 1712 to 1728. He was the third Raja of the Bhonsle dynasty. He consolidated the hold of Marathas over Thanjavur and patronised arts and literature.- The Marava War of...

 and Tukkoji

Tukkoji

Tukkoji was the fourth Maratha ruler of Thanjavur. He was from the Bhonsle dynasty and was the son of Ekoji I as well as the younger brother of Shahuji I and Serfoji I...

. He was given the honorific title "Peshwa

Peshwa

A Peshwa is the titular equivalent of a modern Prime Minister. Emporer Shivaji created the Peshwa designation in order to more effectively delegate administrative duties during the growth of the Maratha Empire. Prior to 1749, Peshwas held office for 8-9 years and controlled the Maratha army...

".

Biography

Anandarayar Sahib hailed from a prominent Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

 family of the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom. He was dharmadhikari during the reign of Shahuji I and dalavoy in the reign of his successor Serfoji I

Serfoji I

Serfoji I , also called Sarabhoji I, was the son of the Maratha ruler of Thanjavur Ekoji I and the Raja of Thanjavur from 1712 to 1728. He was the third Raja of the Bhonsle dynasty. He consolidated the hold of Marathas over Thanjavur and patronised arts and literature.- The Marava War of...

.

Anandarayar Sahib is mentioned in literary works as "Aiyavayyan". He is credited with having duggen a canal called "Aiyavayyanaru" and dedicated agraharams as Mangamatam and Sarabhojirajapuram

Sarabhojirajapuram

Sarabhojirajapuram is a village in the Papanasam taluk of Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India. The village was established as an agraharam by the Thanjavur Maratha ruler Serfoji I.- Demographics :...

.

Military Campaigns

Anandarayar led the Thanjavur Maratha forces during the Ramnad

Ramnad estate

The Ramnad Estate is a permanently settled Zamindari estate in the Ramnad subdivision of the Madura district of the erstwhile Madras Presidency in British India. It comprises the southern and eastern parts of Madura district.The estate was ruled by a Zamindar who bore the title "Raja"...

 war of succession in support of Bhavani Sankar.

Literary works

There are a number of literary works attributed to Anandarayar Sahib or dedicated to him. Anandarayar composed two works, one in Tamil (Advaita Kirtana) and another in Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 (Sarabhoji Charitra).

Later years

While some sources claim that Anandarayar Sahib fell out of favour with the king and was thrown in jail where he died broken-hearted, others claim that Seroji lated pardoned the minister who retired to Thiruvenkadu

Thiruvenkadu

Swetharanyeswarar Temple is a Hindu temple located in the town of Thiruvenkadu near Sirkazhi. The main deity is Shiva - Swetharanyeswarar and the goddess is Brahma Vidya ambal. There is a separate Sannidhi for Bhudhan...

where he died.