Uraiyur (also spelt Woraiyur) is a posh locality in

Tiruchirapalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

city in

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Uraiyur was the ancient name of

Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bei ...

City. Now, it became the one of the busiest area in

Trichy Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

City. It was the capital of the early Cholas, who were one of the three main kingdoms of the

ancient Tamil country Tamiḻakam ( Tamil: தமிழகம்; Malayalam: തമിഴകം), refers to the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Na ...

. Sometimes spelt as ''Urayur'', this location is also known as ''Thirukkozhi'', ''Nikalaapuri'', ''Uranthai'', and ''Kozhiyur'' or ''Koliyur''. It has a history dating back to before 300 BCE There is definite mention of the Cholas, and their capital in Ashokan inscriptions in

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of S ...

pushing back the antiquity of the Cholas as well as Uraiyur to 272–232 BCE, which was the period of

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

(ca. 304–232 BCE) who was ruler of the

Maurya Dynasty The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

Pataliputra Pataliputra ( IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at the ...

(modern

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

). Inscriptions and rock edicts of Ashoka and the

Satavahanas The Satavahanas (''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the lat ...

describe Urayur as "the citadel and centre of the Cholas". Uraiyur was ruled by Karikala Cholan. A revered Digambar Jain Acharya, Samantabhadra, was born here in the later part of the second century CE. His notable works include Ratnakarandaka Shravakachara, Aaptamimamsa and Swambhu Stotra.

History

Uraiyur is also mentioned as the capital of the ancient great Chola King Karikalan before the 1st century CE until the dynasty was revived by

Vijayalaya Chola Vijayalaya Chola ( Tamil: விஜயாலய சோழன்) was a king of South India () who founded the imperial Chola Empire. He ruled over the region to the north of the river Kaveri. Dark age of Cholas The ancient Chola kingdom once ...

c. 850 CE. The Cholas were one of the four great Tamil dynasties; (

Pallavas 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 ...

, Cheras and Pandyas are the other three) who ruled over the Tamil country in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

, the Konkan coast, Deccan Plateau and during the peak reached beyond the Narmada up to the Ganges Damodar delta from early antiquity. The word ''Urayur'' in

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, nativ ...

literally means "the residence". Urayur was an ancient Chola city with a fortress and city wall on the southern banks of the river

Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri (hill), Karnataka, Brahmagiri range in th ...

. The Imperial Cholas of the 9th century CE and later made

Tanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

their capital, and Urayur slowly lost its place in the Chola administration.

Temples

Several notable temples are situated here: *

Panchavarnaswamy Temple Panchavarnaswamy Temple (An ancient Tamil temple)(பஞ்சவர்ணஸ்வாமி கோயில்) :ta:உறையூர் பஞ்சவர்ணேசுவரர் கோயில் (usually Panjavarnaswamy Temple) is a Tam ...

Sri Azhagiya Manavala Perumal Temple Azhagiya Manavalan Perumal Temple (also called Thirukozhi or Nachiyar Koil) in Uraiyur, a suburb Tiruchirappalli in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, ...

* Vekkali Amman Temple * Thanthoneeswarar Temple

Notes

References

*Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. (1935). The CōĻas, University of Madras, Madras (Reprinted 1984). {{Tiruchirappalli Medieval India Chola dynasty Former capital cities in India Neighbourhoods and suburbs of Tiruchirappalli