 Sri Vanchiyam is an ancient temple, situated in Nannialam, Thanjavur. The temple is so old that mention about is found in the 9th canto of Brahmanda Purana. Sri Vanchiyam is also known as Gandaranya since the area abounds with sandalwood trees.
Ganda in Sanskrit means fragrance and
aranya is forest. The name Gandaranya literally means ‘a forest of fragrance’. Sandalwood tree is the
‘sthala vrksha’ of Sri Vanchiyam. The shrine is counted as one of the six
mukthi sthalas in Tamil Nadu - Thiruvenkaadu, Thiruvaiyaaru, Vedaranyam, Mayuram, Thiruvidaimarudhur, Thiru Vanchiyam or Sri Vanchiyam, all in the banks of Cauvery - and is equated to Kashi.
The presiding deity is known as Vanchinatha and his consort is Mangalambika. There is no evidence to prove who built the temple and how old this temple could be. Tradition has it that Lord Shiva saw this place sparkling during deluge, along with Kashi and a few other places. He created a
‘thirtha’ in Sri Vanchiyam with his trident for Devi to bathe.
 According to the legends, Brahma, the creator bathed in the
‘pushkarani’ of Sri Vanchiyam and hence it is known as
Brahma-pushkarani. It was here that Brahma started his work of creation of lives after the deluge, after having his holy dip in the
Brahma-pushkarani. The temple tank is known as Gupta Ganga and a dip in this tank is considered to be equivalent to a dip in the Holy Ganges itself. It is believed that Ganga herself had a holy dip in Gupta Ganga as advised by Lord Shiva to wash away the sins left in her waters that people leave behind when they take their holy dip in Her.
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The shrine has the additional distinction of a visit by sage
Agastya, when he was on a pilgrimage to Vedaranyam - or Thirumaraikadu, its Tamil name.
There is a shrine for Yama, the Lord of Death, in Thiru Vanchiyam. He is seated in deep penance in the outer
prakara in veerasana. The
‘Yama vahana’ is found in the inner hall of the main temple, for the Lord to ride. The shrine is unique in that Lord Yama has a separate shrine only in Sri
Vanchiyam.
 There are also statues of Surya, Chandra, Rahu, Ketu and Shani. In the inner prakara, Daksnina murthy, Kaasi Vishwanaatha, Chandramouleeswara, Bhairava, Meenakshi, Sundareshwara, Shanmukha, Mahishasura Mardhani have separate shrines. There is the Ananda Vinayaka in the
maha mantapa. The Yoga Bhairava is also found in the
maha mantapa.
The old books on astrology describe Thiru Vanchiyam as Kethu sthala. Both Rahu and Kedhu are worshipped here and it is believed that such worship would give relief from
‘sarpa dosha.’ Apart from this the evil effects of Sani (Saturn) are neutralised with a pilgrimage to
Vanchiyam.
There is a separate shrine for Sani while Rahu and Kethu are consecrated in the same shrine. People come in large numbers to worship them during ‘Rahu and Kethu peyarchi’ and to have a holy dip in Gupta
Ganga.
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