Tondaimandalam, also known as Tondai Nadu, is a historical region located in the southern part of

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 northernmost part of

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 ...

. The region comprises the districts which formed a part of the legendary kingdom of Athondai Chakravarti. The boundaries of Tondaimandalam are ambiguous – between the river basins of

Penna River Penna (also known as Pinakini, Pennar, Penner, Penneru (Telugu), Pennai (Tamil)) is a river of southern India. This is a unique river in world where after originating from Nandi hills, it flows as two different streams, one in North and South ...

and Ponnaiyar River. During the reign of Rajaraja I, this region was called as ''Jayankonda Cholamandalam''.

Geography

The region includes the

Nellore Nellore is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of the district, as well as Nellore mandal and Nellore revenue division. It is the fourth most p ...

, Chittoor,

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and South Arcot and Chingleput districts of the Andhra and

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

states.

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

was part of the region. It covers the present day areas of

, Chittoor,

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirupati district. The city is home to the important Hindu shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and other historic temples and is re ...

, Annamayya, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur,

Tiruvanamalai Tiruvannamalai ( Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city, a spiritual, cultural, economic hub and also the administrative headquarters of Tiruvann ...

, Villupuram, Kallakuruchi, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram,

Chengalpattu Chengalpattu, previously known as Chingleput, is a city and the headquarters of Chengalpattu district of the state Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located near to the industrial and IT hub. It is the headquarters of the district and is away ...

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is the city and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important port during the British Raj. While the early history of Cudd ...

and

districts of modern-day

and

History

Neolithic burial urn, cairn circles and jars with burials dating to the very dawn of the

common era Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

have been discovered near Mamallapuram.It then came under the rule of Early Cholas during first century CE with the capital of Tondai Nadu as Kanchipuram. The ''Proceedings of the First Annual Conference'' of South Indian History Congress also notes: The word ''Tondai'' means a creeper and the term ''Pallava'' conveys a similar meaning. In the 3rd century CE, Tondai Nadu was ruled by Ilandiraiyan, the first king with the title " Tondaiman", whom

P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar Pillaipundagudi Thiruvengadattaiyangar Srinivasa Iyengar (1863–1931) was an Indian historian, linguist and educationist who wrote books on the history of South India. Academic career Srinivasa Iyengar served as the Principal of A. V. N. ...

identifies with a Pallava prince. Pallavas moved southwards, adopted local traditions to their own use, and named themselves as Tondaiyar after the land called Tondai. The medieval Pallavas ruled Andhra and Northern

, from the 4th to the 9th centuries, with their seat of capital at ancient Kanchipuram. It was captured by the second Chola monarch, Aditya (ruled c. 871–907 CE). he defeated the armies of the Pallavas of Kanchipuram and claimed all of Tondai Nadu as Chola territory. The ancient Tamil poem of

Kalingattuparani Kalingattuparani ( ta, கலிங்கத்துப்பரணி) is a 12th-century Tamil poem and a war song by Jayamkondar, celebrating the victory of Kulottunga Chola I over the Kalinga king, Anantavarman Chodaganga in the Chola-Kal ...

mentions the conquest of Telangana by Kulottunga I who handed the reigns of Tondaimandalam to his illegitimate son Adondai. During the reign of Uttama Chola most of Tondaimandalam had been recovered from the

Rashtrakutas Rashtrakuta ( IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing the ...

. The region was then a part of

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Mahar ...

, first ruling from Hampi and then headquartered at Chandragiri in present-day

. The Vijayanagara rulers who controlled the area, appointed chieftains known as Nayaks who ruled over the different regions of the province almost independently. During the British Rule, the whole region was a part of the Madras Presidency.

References

Pallava dynasty Chola dynasty Regions of Tamil Nadu Natural regions {{India-stub