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Paranjothi (), popularly known as Sirruthondar was an army general of the great Pallava king Narasimavarman I who ruled South India from 630–668 CE. He also led the
Pallava The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of South India, the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The Pallavas played a crucial role in shaping in particular southern Indian history and heritage. The ...
army during the invasion of Vatapi in 642 CE. In the later years of his life, Paranjothi gave up violence and became a wandering Saivite monk, Sirruthonda nayanar. He is venerated as one of the 63 Nayanmars.


Early life

Paranjothi, was born in a
Sengunthar Sengunthar (), also known as the Kaikolar and Senguntha Mudaliar is a caste commonly found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and the neighboring country Sri Lanka. In Andhra Pradesh, they are known as Kaikalas, Kaikala or Karika ...
family, who served as soldiers in Chola army, in Chengattankudi (now Thiruchenkkatukudi) village of
Nagapattinam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam district. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval ...
district, Tamil Nadu during the 7th century AD. Tamil Nadu was ruled by Mahendravarman I of 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 Pallavas played a crucial role in shaping in particular southern Indian history and heritage. The dynasty ros ...
with
Kanchipuram Kanchipuram (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: '; ), also known as Kanjeevaram, is a stand alone city corporation, satellite nodal city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from ...
as its capital. Paranjothi, who had mastered the art of war moves to Kanchipuram to learn literature and saivite scriptures, Kanchipuram was then a renowned knowledge capital in India.


Conquest of Vatapi

King Mahendravarman I, impressed by the courage and valour of Paranjothi appointed him as a commander in his army. After the death of Mahendravarman in 630 CE, his son Narasimavarman became the ruler of the Pallava dynasty and Paranjothi became his army general. Paranjothi was also a close friend of king Narasimavarman. Paranjothi as a trusted general of Narasimavarman, led his forces to Vatapi in 642 CE for war against the Chalukya king, Pulakeshin. Pulakeshin was killed in the battle and Vatapi was burnt to the ground to avenge the defeat of Mahendravarman by Pulakeshin in the battle of Pullalur in 618 CE.


Vatapi Ganapathi

During the dawn of war, Paranjothi worshipped a
Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...
sculpture on the walls of Vatapi fort. On the return from the victorious battlefield, he took the statue of Ganesha to his birthplace Tiruchenkattankudi to be worshipped as Vatapi Ganapathi. The statue and shrine to Vathapi Ganapathi is located in a temple in Tiruchenkattankudi in
Nagapattinam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam district. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval ...
district in the Tamil Nadu state of India.


Sirutthondar

On the victorious battle field Paranjothi underwent a change of heart and devoted himself to Lord
Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
. Paranjothi became an ardent devotee of Lord Siva and was then called as Sirutthondar. He later became one of 63 Nayanmar Saints. Sirutthondar's life and devotion are narrated in Sekkizhar's
Periya Puranam The ''Periya‌ Purāṇa‌m'' (Tamil: பெரிய‌ புராண‌ம்), that is, the ''great purana'' or epic, sometimes called ''Tiruttontarpuranam'' ("Tiru-Thondar-Puranam", the Purana of the Holy Devotees), is a Tamil poet ...
.


In popular culture

Several Kongu section of Senguntha Kaikolars have Irayamangalam, the descendant of Paranjothi Nayanar as their guru. His seat is at Irayamangalam by the Kaveri in the Namakkal District. Paranjothi is one of the prominent characters in
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...
novel '' Sivagamiyin Sapatham'' by Kalki Krishnamurthy. This talks about the young years of Pranjothi where he raises in the ranks of the Pallava army and becomes the army general, his deeds in securing the Kachi fort from the imminent Vatapi invasion, his war on Vatapi Pulikesi and his eventual win over the Chalukyas.


Further reading

*
Parthiban Kanavu '' Parthiban Kanavu '' (, , lit. Parthiban's dream) is a Tamil language, Tamil novel written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. Details The story is a sequel to Sivagamiyin Sapatham and a curtain-raiser to Ponniyin Selvan. In 2004, Nirupama Raghavan p ...
* Sivagamiyin sabatham * Vatapi Ganapathi


References


External links

* * * {{Nayanars Nayanars 7th-century monarchs in Asia Year of birth missing Year of death missing Pallava people