The Pazhuvettaraiyar were one of the feudatories of the medieval
Cholas
The Chola dynasty () was a Tamil dynasty originating from Southern India. At its height, it ruled over the Chola Empire, an expansive maritime empire. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd cen ...
in southern India. They ruled over the regions of Kizha-Pazhuvur, Mela-Pazhuvur and Keezhaiyur in the
Ariyalur taluk
Ariyalur taluk is a taluk of Ariyalur district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The headquarters of the taluk is the town of Ariyalur
Ariyalur () is a town and district headquarters of Ariyalur district in the South Indian state of Tami ...
of the
Ariyalur district in present-day
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
.
They contributed significantly to the local temples through various benefactions and were known to have been related to the imperial Cholas by marriage.
Origins
According to the Anbil Plates of
Sundara Chola
Parantaka II (r. 958 – 973 CE) was a Chola emperor. He is also known as Sundara Chola as he was considered an epitome of male beauty.''Early Chola temples:Parantaka I to Rajaraja I, A.D. 907-985'Journal of Indian museums, Volumes 14-16, pa ...
, his paternal grandmother—the queen of
Parantaka I
Parantaka Chola I (Tamil: பராந்தக சோழன் I; 873–955) was a Chola emperor who ruled for forty-eight years, annexing Pandya by defeating Rajasimhan II and in the Deccan won the Battle of Vallala against Rashtrakutas whic ...
and the mother of
Arinjaya—was a member of the Pazhuvettaraiyar family.
She is described as the daughter of a "Chera mandala" prince called "Pazhuvettaraiyar". This suggests that the Pazhuvettaraiyar were of Chera or Kerala origin.
However, it is unclear whether they already possessed the regions of Kizha-Pazhuvur, Mela-Pazhuvur, and Keezhaiyur or if these dominions were granted to them after their alliance with the
Cholas
The Chola dynasty () was a Tamil dynasty originating from Southern India. At its height, it ruled over the Chola Empire, an expansive maritime empire. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd cen ...
.
Epigraphical records
About a dozen inscriptional records related to the Pazhuvettaraiyar family have been found. According to these inscriptions, copied at Kizha-Pazhuvur and Mela-Pazhuvur in Tiruchirapalli district, the Pazhuvettaraiyar was a Chera or Kerala prince.
According to the Anbil Plates of
Sundara Chola
Parantaka II (r. 958 – 973 CE) was a Chola emperor. He is also known as Sundara Chola as he was considered an epitome of male beauty.''Early Chola temples:Parantaka I to Rajaraja I, A.D. 907-985'Journal of Indian museums, Volumes 14-16, pa ...
, the queen of
Parantaka I
Parantaka Chola I (Tamil: பராந்தக சோழன் I; 873–955) was a Chola emperor who ruled for forty-eight years, annexing Pandya by defeating Rajasimhan II and in the Deccan won the Battle of Vallala against Rashtrakutas whic ...
(and the mother of
Arinjaya) was a member of the Pazhuvettaraiyar family.
She is described as the daughter of a "Chera mandala" prince called "Pazhuvettaraiyar".
A record dated to the 12th regnal year of the Chola ruler
Parantaka I
Parantaka Chola I (Tamil: பராந்தக சோழன் I; 873–955) was a Chola emperor who ruled for forty-eight years, annexing Pandya by defeating Rajasimhan II and in the Deccan won the Battle of Vallala against Rashtrakutas whic ...
(A.R. No. 231 of 1926) states that certain Pazhuvettaraiyar named Kandan Amudanar fought a victorious battle at Vellur on behalf of his Chola overlord against the forces of the Pandya king and his Ceylonese ally, in which the Pandya ruler lost his life. To commemorate this victory, the Chola commander Nakkan Sattan of Paradur made a gift of a perpetual lamp to the temple of Tiruvalandurai-Mahadeva at Siru-Pazhuvur. It is likely that this "Kandan Amudanar" is the same individual mentioned in the Anbil Plates of
Sundara Chola
Parantaka II (r. 958 – 973 CE) was a Chola emperor. He is also known as Sundara Chola as he was considered an epitome of male beauty.''Early Chola temples:Parantaka I to Rajaraja I, A.D. 907-985'Journal of Indian museums, Volumes 14-16, pa ...
as the Kerala prince whose daughter married Parantaka I and became the mother of prince
Arinjaya. The term "Kerala prince" probably indicates that he was a relative of the Chera or Kerala king.
Other notable chiefs from the Pazhuvettaraiyar family include Kumaran Maravan and Kumaran Kandan. They are credited with building the
Twin Temples of Keezhaiyur.
It is also recorded that the Pazhuvettaraiyar regiment was a military division involved in the Chola invasion of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
in the 10th century.
[Historical perspectives of warfare in India: some morale and matérial determinants By Sri Nandan Prasad, Centre for Studies in Civilizations (Delhi, India) p.193]
References
See also
*
Chola
The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paluvettaraiyar
People from Tiruchirappalli district