Therefore, the Kanchi mutt, then based in Kumbakonam, shifted to Trichy with all its retinue in order to conduct a Tatanka-Pratishta ceremony for consecration of the earrings.

However a lawsuit delayed the proceedings and the court case along with the ceremonies that followed incurred such heavy debts on the part of the Mutt that they were unable to return to Kumbakonam.

At this juncture, the administrator-in-charge of the ceremonies, a young Brahmin, went to the court of Shivaji and requested that the retinue be allowed to stop at Thanjavur to receive donations from the people.

Nevertheless, as the palanquin of the Shankaracharya and his retinue were making their way to Kumbakonam, they were stopped on the banks of the Cauvery at Thiruvaiyaru by the Raja's sepoys, who surrounded them and respectfully escorted them into the city of Thanjavur.

On the death of Shivaji, due to the absence of a legitimate heir to the throne, the kingdom was annexed by the British East India Company as per the Doctrine of lapse.