King Tipu Sultan (lived from 1750 to 1799) called the Tiger of Mysore during his rule of Mysore visited the Madurai Aadheenam in the years 1786, 1790. He prostrated at the feet of the 282nd ruling Pontiff Sri La Sri Pambaninatha Sri Jnanasambandha Desika Paramacharya Swamigal and had a very amicable communication with him. It is recorded that he gifted the following items to the Aadheenam as endowments:
- Silver plates
- Town crier drums made of leather (used to gather people when wanting to communicate official messages to them from the rulers)
- The “Tiru” symbol made in silver
- Punugu (gel secreted by the gland of an Indian Civet that is used in temple rituals)
- Javvaathu, an expensive natural perfume made of sandal oil as base and other herbs
- High quality Athar (natural perfume oil made from flowers, herbs, spices and barks) from Arabia
- Silver Sword
- One male elephant
Tipu Sultan’s prestigious legacy was aggrandized soon after his death in the year 1839.