Perumbanappadi was the original home of the historic Bana Chieftains of the early

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 ...

period. It extended from the South Pennar ( Ponnaiyar River) to the

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the administrative headquarters of Tirupati district. It is known for its significant religious and cultural heritage, being home to th ...

(Thirumala) hills. Perumbanappadi was made up of sub-divisions such as the Thiruvenkata-Kottam (or Vengada Kottam), and many Nadus such as Tuy-nadu, Puli-nadu, Vada Pulinadu, and Silai-nadu within it. During the

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 ...

period, Perumbanappadi was a major division of the Jayakonda Chola Mandalam. and also represented the north-western portions of Thondai-Mandalam.

Boundaries

Perumbanappadi is rendered in Tamil as Perum-pana-p-pati and Pana Rashtra (Bana Rashtra). The boundaries of Perumbanappadi were made up of Kolar, Punganur and Srisailam in the west, and Kalahasti and Sholingur in the east. The river Palar (aka South Pennar and Ponniyar) formed its Southern boundary. The capital of Perumbanappadi was Thiruvallam, which lies 22 km from

Vellore Vellore ( ), also spelled Velur, is a sprawling city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River and surrounded by the Javadi Hills in the northeastern ...

. Mavali Vanadarayan was the title of chiefs of the Bana country in the basin of the Palar river, the extent of whose territory changed according to the vicissitudes of history. Territorial changes are deducible from epigraphies. However, the personal names of many Bana Chieftains are not known, especially with regard to the wars they waged against their opponents. One such example is the Thiruvallam record of Vijaya Nandivikrama Varman (792-793 AD) which states that a certain Mavali-Vanaraya was ruling Vadugavali-12000. However, the personal name of this Mahavali-Banaraja is not known. Most epigraphies / inscriptions mention just the title of the Bana Chieftain as "Mahabali Banaraja". The Banas were identified by their geographical location as Pulinadu Banas, Tuynadu Banas, etc. Their genealogy was puranic and was narrated on copper-plates or temple grants. One example is the Udayendiram grant of Bana Vikramaditya III which narrates the puranic connection of Mahabali with Vishnu.

Bana Chieftains

The Bana chieftains claimed descent from the asura

Mahabali Mahabali (IAST: Mahābalī), also known as Bali, Indrasenan, or Māveli, is a daitya king featured in Hinduism. He is the grandson of Prahlada, and a descendant of the sage Kashyapa. There are many versions of his legend in ancient texts suc ...

. They were called or addressed as Perumbanadiyarasar (Brihad Bana Adhirajas) or Mahabali Banarajas. Chiefs in the early period held names such as Perumbana-araicar and figured in the hero-stones (vira-kal). The Bali Vamsa claimed traditional lordship over

Kishkinda Kishkindha (, ) is a kingdom of the vanaras in Hinduism. It is ruled by King Sugriva, the younger brother of Vali, in the Sanskrit epic ''Ramayana''. According to the Hindu epic this was the kingdom that Sugriva ruled with the assistance of hi ...

. They had over their banner the figure of an Ape and as their heraldic device the figure of a

Turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

Chieftains of Perumbanappadi

Names of some Bana chieftains who ruled in different parts of Perumbanappadi are: * From the epigraphies of kings who made endowments to Sri Varadarajaswami Temple of Kanchipuram, we find the name of Mahabalivanarayar * Vikramaditya I Bana had a daughter named Kundadevi who was given in marriage to the Ganga King, Prithvipati I Ganga in the 9th century. This however did not prevent the Gangas and Nolambas from combining to fight against the Banas * The Chirrur plate of Nripatunga Varman mentions a Bana Chieftain, titled Paranjaya and called as Kadupatti Muttaraiyan.

References

{{reflist Pallava dynasty