The Tondaiman family were

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

rulers of the ancient Tondai Nadu (

Tondaimandalam Tondaimandalam, also known as Tondai Nadu, is a historical region located in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh and northernmost part of Tamil Nadu. The region comprises the districts which formed a part of the legendary kingdom of Athondai Ch ...

) division of Tamilakkam in South India. Their capital was at

Kanchipuram Kanchipuram ('; ) also known as ''Conjeevaram,'' is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from Chennaithe capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the ''City of Thousand Temples'', Kanchipuram is known for its temple ...

. They ruled with the

Pallava dynasty The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as f ...

, which controlled northern

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

and

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and had its capital at

. Hundreds of records and edicts exist pertaining to the Tondaiman rulers of

Chola dynasty The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BC ...

Sangam literature

Ruler Tondaiman

Ilandiraiyan Tondaiman Ilandiraiyan or Ilamtiraiyan () was a ruler of Kanchipuram and a contemporary of the Early Chola king, Karikala. He is traditionally regarded as the founder of the Pallava dynasty. Ilandiraiyan is referred to in the literature of the S ...

was mentioned in Purananuru (புறநானூறு) (in one of the poems written by

Avvaiyar Avvaiyar ( Tamil: ஔவையார்) was the title of more than one female poet who were active during different periods of Tamil literature. They were some of the most famous and important female poets of the Tamil canon. Abidhana Chint ...

) as a king confronting Adhiaman; battle was avoided by the tactics of Avvaiyaar. He is said to be the founder of

. Pathupaattu (பத்துப்பாட்டு) a sangam literature work mentioned that Tondaiman Ilandriyan ruled

town before 2500 years.

Chola Empire

The Tondaiman title was borne by various chiefs in the

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

empire, notable ones being Karunakara Tondaiman and Naralokaviran alias ''Porkoyil Tondaiman'' who served as generals under Kulottunga I. The poet Kambar wrote Silaiyezhupathu about Karunagara Tondaiman.

Origin

Aranthangi Tondaimans

The Aranthangi Tondaimans ruled Aranthangi from the 15th to the 18th centuries in southern Tamil Nadu. There are references to the Aranthangi Tondaimans in temple inscriptions at Avudayarkovil, Alapiranthan, Palaiyavanam, Pillaivayal, Aranthangi, Kovilur, Paramandur, Palankarai,

Piranmalai Piranmalai is a village located in Singampunari Taluk in Sivaganga district, Tamil Nadu, India. The nearest town is Singampunari located at away. Piranmalai is a fortified hill at an elevation of over . This is a last outcrop of the Easter ...

, Thiruvarankulam and Kurumbur. Similarly, the Aranthangi Tondaimans were an independent line of chieftains ruling from Aranthangi; they flourished about 200 years before the rule of the

Thondaman dynasty The Thondaimans are chieftains who ruled the region in and around Pudukottai from the 17th to 20th century. The Pudukkottai Thondaiman dynasty was founded by Raghunatha Thondaiman, the brother-in-law of the then Raja of Ramnad, RaghunathaKil ...

of Pudukottai (which began about 1640).C.Sivaratnam: The Tamils in early Ceylon, page 116 The Aranthangi Tondaimans were the chief patrons of the Avudayarkovil temple, and liberally donated to its maintenance (as indicated by copper plates in the possession of the Tiruvavaduthurai Adheenam). They donated land to the

Tiruvarur Thiruvarur () also spelt as Tiruvarur is a town and municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Thiruvarur district and Thiruvarur taluk. The temple chariot of the Thyagaraja temple, weighing and ...

Rameswaram Rameswaram (; also transliterated as Ramesvaram, Rameshwaram) is a municipality in the Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about 40 ...

and Benares temples. About 25 copper plates indicating grants from the Aranthangi Tondaimans have been recorded so far; 16 are in the Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam.Their direct descendants were the Palayavanam Zamin " Vanangamudi Pandarathar". The Thondaiman kings of the Pudukkottai principality who came to power in the 17th century were their descendants.

Notes

References

*''The Imperial and Asiatic quarterly review and oriental and colonial record''. Oriental Institute (Woking, England), East India Association (London, England). *Bhavaraju Venkatakrishna Rao, Bhāvarāju Vēṅkaṭakr̥ṣṇarāvu, ''History of the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, 610-1210 A.D.''. *C. Sivaratnam, ''The Tamils in Early Ceylon''. *M. Krishna Kumari, ''History of Medieval Andhradesa''. *Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri, ''The Cōḷas'' *N. Sethuraman, ''The Cholas: Mathematics Reconstructs the Chronology'' *K.V. Raman, ''Sri Varadarajaswami Temple, Kanchi: A Study of Its History, Art and Architecture'' *Sakkottai Krishnaswami Aiyangar, ''Ancient India: collected essays on the literary and political history of Southern India'' *Ramachandra Dikshitar, ''Studies in Tamil Literature and History'' *''Tamil culture, Volume 4''. Tamil Literature Society, Academy of Tamil Culture {{DEFAULTSORT:Tondaiman Chola dynasty Tamil monarchs