Arni Satya Vijaya Nagaram Palace
Arani is a historic town in Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu state in India. Satya Vijaya Nagaram, shortly called S.V. Nagaram, was a village near Arani. Now, it has become a part of the town.
Who were these Zamindars of Arani? Vedaji Bhaskar Pant, a Maharashtra Brahmin, accompanied Shahji, the father of Sivaji, in his expedition in South India. Shahji gifted the Jagir of Arani to Pant in 1640 CE. Since then, the Zamindars ruled Arani. They remained powerful in this area till 1948 CE.
Sri Satya Vijaya Teertharu was a pontiff of Uttaradhi Mutt. The Jagirdar of Arani, Venkatanatha Rao Sahib, the descendant of Pant, was an ardent devotee of this saint. The Jagirdar constructed the mutt and Moola Brindavan for this saint and renamed the village after the saint. Later, the King shifted from Arani, built a magnificent palace near the Brindavan, and settled down here.
The palace is in terrible shape now. It might collapse at any time. The building built at the beginning of the 19th century CE could have been an important monument had it been maintained properly. The main palace building is in ruins. However, some of the adjoining buildings are in better shape and are used by the Government to run a Veterinary hospital and a few other offices.
Although the palace is in a dilapidated state now, the designs of windows, entrances, ceilings, the stucco works featuring human and lion faces, and many other features of the building are all still attractive. The entrance of the Queen's Palace has Jagir's emblem and Latin letters etched.
The palace and its surroundings definitely take us to the 19th century CE. The current poor state of the palace makes us wonder how and why the lavish building of the super-rich family is finally ill-fated.
Happy travelling.
Note:
I collected the details about Jagirdars and the palace from the below two sites.
www . arnijagir.com
srisatyavijaya . org
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My birthplace
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