The Tondaiman family were

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 ...

rulers of the ancient Tondai Nadu ( Tondaimandalam) division of Tamilakkam in South India. Their capital was at

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 ...

. They ruled with 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 ...

, which controlled northern

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 ...

and

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

and had its capital at

. Hundreds of records and edicts exist pertaining to the Tondaiman rulers of

Chola dynasty 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 ...

Sangam literature

Ruler Tondaiman

Ilandiraiyan Tondaiman Ilandiraiyan or Ilamtiraiyan was a ruler of Kanchipuram and a contemporary of the Early Chola king, Karikala. He is traditionally regarded as the founder of the Pallava dynasty. Ilandiraiyan is referred to in the literature of the Sanga ...

was mentioned in

Purananuru The ''Purananuru'' (, literally "four hundred oemsin the genre puram"), sometimes called ''Puram'' or ''Purappattu'', is a classical Tamil literature, Tamil poetic work and traditionally the last of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') i ...

(புறநானூறு) (in one of the poems written by Avvaiyar) as a king confronting Adhiaman; battle was avoided by the tactics of Avvaiyaar. He is said to be the founder of

. Pathupaattu (பத்துப்பாட்டு) a sangam literature work mentioned that Tondaiman Ilandriyan ruled

town before 2500 years.

Chola Empire

The Tondaiman title was borne by various chiefs in 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 ...

empire, notable ones being Karunakara Tondaiman and Naralokaviran alias ''Porkoyil Tondaiman'' who served as generals under

Kulottunga I Kulottunga Chola I ('; Middle Tamil: Kulōttuṅka Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Kulottuṅgā Cōḷa; 1025–1122) also spelt Kulothunga (), born Rajendra Chalukya (Telugu language, Telugu: Rājēndra Cāḷukyuḍu), was a Chola empire, C ...

. The poet Kambar wrote

Silaiyezhupathu ''Silai Elupatu'' () indeed one of the nine books attributed to the renowned Tamil poet Kambar (poet), Kambar. The poem celebrates the victory of the Chola invasion of Kalinga (1110), Kalinga War and extols the glory of the Vanniyar, Vanniyars ...

about Karunagara Tondaiman.

Origin

Aranthangi Tondaimans

The Aranthangi Tondaimans ruled

Aranthangi Aranthangi is a town in Pudukkottai district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. As of 2011, it had a population of 40,814. Geography The town lies 10 degrees north in latitude and 70 degrees east in longitude and lies 32.31 m above mean sea l ...

from the 15th to the 18th centuries in southern Tamil Nadu. There are references to the Aranthangi Tondaimans in temple inscriptions at Avudayarkovil, Alapiranthan, Palaiyavanam, Pillaivayal,

, Kovilur, Paramandur, Palankarai, Piranmalai, Thiruvarankulam and Kurumbur. Similarly, the Aranthangi Tondaimans were an independent line of chieftains ruling from Aranthangi; they flourished about 200 years before the rule of the

Thondaman dynasty The Thondaman or Thondaiman was a dynasty ruled the region in and around Pudukkottai from the 17th to 20th century. The Pudukkottai Thondaiman dynasty was founded by Raghunatha Thondaiman, the brother-in-law of the then Raja of Ramnad, Ragh ...

of Pudukottai (which began about 1640). The Aranthangi Tondaimans were the chief patrons of the Avudayarkovil temple, and liberally donated to its maintenance (as indicated by copper plates in the possession of the Tiruvavaduthurai Adheenam). They donated land to the Tiruvarur,

Rameswaram Rameswaram (; also transliterated as Ramesvaram, Rameshwaram) is a municipality in the Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about from ...

and

Benares Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges, Ganges river in North India, northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hinduism, Hindu world.* * * * The city ...

temples. About 25 copper plates indicating grants from the Aranthangi Tondaimans have been recorded so far; 16 are in the Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam.Their direct descendants were the Palayavanam Zamin " Vanangamudi Pandarathar". The Thondaiman kings of the Pudukkottai principality who came to power in the 17th century were their descendants.

Pudukottai Tondaimans

The Thondaimans are chieftains who ruled the region in and around Pudukottai from the 17th to 20th century. The Pudukkottai Thondaiman dynasty was founded by Raghunatha Thondaiman, the brother-in-law of the then Raja of Ramnad, RaghunathaKilavan Setupati. The Pudukottai Samasthanam was under Thondaiman dynasty for one year even after Indian Independence. The Thondaiman dynasty had a special Valari regiment.

List of Pudukottai Thondaman Kings

The Thondaman lineage:Lists of Inscriptions, and Sketch of the Dynasties of Southern India By Robert Sewell, Archaeological Survey of Southern India * Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman (1686–1730) * Vijaya Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman I (1730–1769) * Raya Raghunatha Tondaiman (1769 – Dec 1789) * Vijaya Raghunatha Tondaiman (Dec 1789 – 1 February 1807) * Vijaya Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman II (1 February 1807 – June 1825) * Raghunatha Tondaiman (June 1825 – 13 July 1839) * Ramachandra Tondaiman (13 July 1839 – 15 April 1886) * Marthanda Bhairava Tondaiman (15 April 1886 – 28 May 1928) * Rajagopala Tondaiman (28 October 1928 – 4 March 1948 5 March 1948-16 Jan 1997 ) * R. Rajagopala Tondaiman (16 Jan 1997 – present) (Titular)

Notes

References

*''The Imperial and Asiatic quarterly review and oriental and colonial record''. Oriental Institute (Woking, England), East India Association (London, England). *Bhavaraju Venkatakrishna Rao, Bhāvarāju Vēṅkaṭakr̥ṣṇarāvu, ''History of the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, 610-1210 A.D.''. *C. Sivaratnam, ''The Tamils in Early Ceylon''. *M. Krishna Kumari, ''History of Medieval Andhradesa''. *Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri, ''The Cōḷas'' *N. Sethuraman, ''The Cholas: Mathematics Reconstructs the Chronology'' *K.V. Raman, ''Sri Varadarajaswami Temple, Kanchi: A Study of Its History, Art and Architecture'' *Sakkottai Krishnaswami Aiyangar, ''Ancient India: collected essays on the literary and political history of Southern India'' *Ramachandra Dikshitar, ''Studies in Tamil Literature and History'' *''Tamil culture, Volume 4''. Tamil Literature Society, Academy of Tamil Culture {{DEFAULTSORT:Tondaiman Chola dynasty Tamil monarchs