Around 125 years ago, the village of Thennangur was a prosperous place. A Sanyasi visited the village one day. Many people in the village had locked their houses to attend a festival. Only a few remained. When the Sanyasi knocked on a few doors, no one responded.  Eventually, a lady opened a door. However, she dismissed him without offering anything. “At least give me a glass of water, if you do not have food,” pleaded the Sanyasi. Others joined the lady and berated the Sanyasi. Angered by the attitude of the people of the village, the Sanyasi cursed them, “Let there be no water in your village and may you all suffer due to famine.” In the meanwhile, many of the people who returned from the festival were crestfallen when they heard of the curse. They implored the Sanyasi to accept their apologies. The Sanyasi said that he could not take back his curse. However, he comforted them and said that a great Gnani would be born in the village and he alone could redeem the villagers from the curse. From that day onwards, there was no rain in the village, resulting in famine.

In the early part of the twentieth century, a woman hailing from this village, Lakshmi Amma married Sri Nott Annaji Rao. Sri Nott Annaji Rao was considered the foremost proponent of Dakshina Sampradhaya Namasankirtana.  The couple was blessed with sons and daughters. One of their sons was born in Thennangur and they named him Hari. Hari grew to become an illustrious and famed disciple of Swami Gnanananda Giri of Thapovanam. He received Gnana Deeksha from Swami Gnanananda and came to be known as Swami Haridhos Giri. Although Swami Haridhos Giri was born in Thennangur, he had not visited the village in several years.   In the year 1985, he was travelling from Kanchipuram to Chennai. On the highway, he came across a signboard that said “Thennangur”. He immediately proceeded to the village curious to see the place of his birth.   To his dismay, the village was in a terrible condition without access to water and other amenities. Some villagers approached Swami Haridhos Giri and spoke to him about the curse that had struck the village.  They sought his blessings. The compassionate Swami Haridhos Giri prayed to his Guru Swami Gnanananda Giri to protect the people of Thennangur.  He also decided to build an ashram in Thennangur, dedicated to his Guru Swami Gnanananda Giri. The aim of the Ashram is to uphold the tenets of Sanatana Dharma through the path of Namasankirtan. Swami Haridhos Giri founded the GA Trust to look into the construction and administrative activities of the ashram.

He first renovated the Sri Chelliamman temple, the village deity.  In the agraharam of the village, he found another   dilapidated temple of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu.  He also renovated the Shiva-Vishnu temple.  Subsequently, he laid the foundation for the ashram and constructed a majestic temple for Panduranga and Rakhumayi In parallel; plans were made to construct two more temples of Maha Shodasi and Meenakshi Sundareshwar. The idol of Shiva was taken from the Shiva-Vishnu temple and consecrated in the Meenakshi Sundareshwar temple. A new idol of Mahalakshmi was consecrated along with Lord Vishnu and the temple came to be known as Lakshmi Narayan Temple.

Subsequently, the conditions in the village started improving with predictable climate and people have been able to restore their lives. The ashram provides livelihood to many people and the temple economy has ushered prosperity. The curse has been removed with the everflowing grace of Swami Haridhos Giri.

After Swami Haridhos Giri, his successor Swami Namananda Giri looked into the rituals and administration of the ashram till 2009.

Today, in the ashram complex, there are 4 temples. In the Panduranga Rakhumayi temple, the magnificent idols of Panduranga and Rakhumayi stand tall at 12 ft. and 10ft. respectively.