499 Kasî Mutt (Tirupanandal) The oldest reference to Kasi Mutt is in a record of 1737, and Kasi Tambiran was favoured with an endowment of a village near Tirupanandal fetching an annual income of 1000 chakrams to conduct feeding at Benares. The Pontiff referred to here could have been no other than Tillai Nayaka Swamigal who founded the Mutt at Tirupanandal in 1720. He was referred to as the disciple of the Dharmapuram Atheenam. It seems that during the time of Kumaragurupara Swamigal ll (1756-1770), a sum of 2000 chakrams was given to him to conduct some charities at Rameswaram. The charities were conducted till 1828 and the capital was returned to the Rajah because it remained unproductive. In 1836 Kasivasi Ganapati Swamigal paid a courtesy visit to the Raja at Thanjavur as soon as he became the head of the Mutt. A sum of Rs. 2500 was given to Kasi Tambiran by Saidamba Bóito erect a Temple at Benares in 1850. The Tambiran, who was in charge of the affairs of the Mutt at Benares was always a subordinate of the Head of the Mutt at Tirupanandal. Once there was a complaint that the endowments of Thanjavur were not properly conducted at Benares. The Tambiran at Benares gave an explanation to the Raja which was perhaps sent to the Raja direct from Benares Though it was not sent through the proper channel the Tambiran defended the cause of the Mutt saying that the Brahmins and the ryots were at fault, that he was also in charge of Cochin, Madurai, Setupati, Tondaiman, Calicut, Venkatagiri, Nellore, Arcot, Hyderabad, Vijayanagaram and Thanjavur Charities and that in spite of the pressure of work, he was bestowing personal attention to the endowments of the Thanjavur Raj. Many Palm leaf manuscripts were copied and supplied to Thanjavur by the Pontiffs of Kasi Mutt from Benares. About 8 villages in Tiruloki Maganam and a few more were earmarked for feeding at Benares. An yield of 82,000 kalams was estimated in 1772. But as the actual yield in the previous years were 22,000 and 21,000 kalams less than the estimated income, it was ordered that 72,000 Kalams should be given at any rate for the conduct of the charity. This belongs to the period of Kasivasi Kumara gurupara Swamigal ll. Tirupanandal Kasi Mutt also served as a counting house for the Mahratha Rajahs. A discount of about 10% was allowed for sending money from Thanjavur to Benares,
