The town was subsequently ruled by various dynasties including the Chola king Rajadhiraja Chola (1018–1054 CE), Vijayanagar Empire, Delhi Sultanate, Thanjavur Nayaks, Thanjavur Marathas and the British Empire.

Majority of the people living in Mannargudi and its surrounding villages belong to the Kallar caste.

Mannargudi comes under the Mannargudi assembly constituency which elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years and it is a part of the Thanjavur constituency which elects its Member of Parliament (MP) once in five years.

Mannargudi is a fifth largest town in delta region after Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Thiruvarur and Nagapattinam The word Mannargudi is derived from the Tamil word Mannar referring to Vishnu and gudi referring to a place, meaning the "Place of Vishnu".

[4] The town is also called "Koil mattrum Madil Nagaram" referring to the compound wall around the temple.

The Rajagopalaswami temple is believed to have been constructed by Kulothunga Chola I (1070–1125 CE), with bricks and mortar, indicated by various stone inscriptions found at the site.

[4] Raghunathabhyudayam, a doctrine by Nayaks explains the donation of an armour studded with precious stones to the main deity of the temple by the king.

[11] He was also called "Mannarudasan" as he carried out extensive renovations of the Rajagopalaswami temple complex and is credited by some to have reclaimed the land from the surrounding forest.

[7] The Thanjavur Marathas gained control during the later part of 18th century until its annexation by the British East India Company in 1799.

[12] The town emerged as one of the chief centres of inland trade in the district during the British rule.

Rice, betel leaves, groundnut, oil, metal articles and clothes were the major exports.

Mannargudi is situated on the banks of Pamaniyar River, a branch of the Vettar (distributary of Kaveri) and is covered with fertile soil conducive for rice cultivation.

[5] Like in the rest of the state, the period from November to February in Mannargudi has a climate full of warm days and cool nights.

The most common trees planted in the town are jack fruit, coconut, tamarind and palmirah.

[18] The crops cultivated include paddy, cotton, sugarcane, and pulses like urad and mung bean.

The agriculture around the town mainly depends on the rivers Koraiyaru, Mullaiyar and Pamaniyar, while the other sources of irrigation are bore-wells.

[19] A 107.8 MW Combined Cycle Power plant of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) functions at Thirumakkottai, a village 18 km (11 mi) away from Mannargudi.

[18] The commercial exploration of the coal bed methane reserves located under built up and agricultural areas became difficult with the protest of farmers in the region.

During the Tamil months of Panguni (March–April), the most prominent festival of the temple, namely, Pangunith Thirivuzha, is celebrated.

Instruments like Mukhavina, Dande, Kombu, Chandravalaya, Bheri and Nagaswaram were commonly used in the temple service.

[32] Mannargudi has four mosques, located at Theradi, Keela Raja Veethi, Big Bazar Street and Thamari Kuzlam Vada Karai.

[2] The Vaduvoor Bird Sanctuary, located 12 km (7.5 mi) is a prominent visitor attraction for the people of Mannargudi.

[37][38] Until the early years of the 20th century, Mannargudi remained one of the five municipalities in erstwhile Tanjore district.

The functions of the municipality is devolved into six departments: General, Engineering, Revenue, Public Health, Town planning and the Computer Wing.

[44] The current Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the constituency is Dr. T R B Rajaa from the DMK Party.

[50] Historically, water supply to the town was provided from a 12 km (7.5 mi) long channel dug from the Vadavar canal.

[55][59] The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation operates daily services connecting cities to Mannargudi.

[60] The State Express Transport Corporation operates long-distance buses connecting the town to cities like Chennai, Tirupati and Bengaluru, other long route buses operated by government from this town to rest of the places Tiruchirapalli, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem, Erode, Vellore, Kanchipuram, Tiruvannamalai, Puducherry, Tiruppur, Palani, Theni, Pudukkottai, Karaikudi, Rameshwaram etc.

The major inter-city bus routes are to towns like Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Thiruthuraipoondi, Karaikal, Vedaranyam, Jayankondam and Pattukkottai.

[63] The expansion of the line to broad gauge was completed and opened to passenger traffic on 27 September 2011, with an express train to Chennai.