 When the Vijayanagar Empire fell in 1565, there was a mass influx of poets, musicians and cultural artists from the kingdom.According to the chronicles of the Hindu monastic institution, the Kanchi matha, the "matha" was temporarily transferred to Kumbakonam in the 1780s following an invasion of Kanchipuram by Hyder Ali of Mysore.When Tipu Sultan invaded the east coast of South India in 1784, Kumbakonam bore the brunt of his invasion.