Uraiyur (also spelt Woraiyur) is a locality in
Tiruchirapalli city in
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 ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. Uraiyur was the ancient name of
Tiruchirappalli City. Now, it has become one of the busiest areas in
Trichy City. It was the capital of the
early Cholas, who were one of the three main kingdoms of the
ancient Tamil country. Sometimes spelt as ''Urayur'', this location is also known as ''Thirukkozhi'', ''Nikalaapuri'', ''Uranthai'', and ''Kozhiyur'' or ''Koliyur''.
There is definite mention of the Cholas, and their capital in Ashokan inscriptions in
Orissa pushing back the antiquity of the Cholas as well as Uraiyur to 272–232 BCE, which was the period of
Ashoka
Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
(ca. 304–232 BCE) who was ruler of the
Maurya Dynasty of
Pataliputra (modern
Patna
Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...
). Inscriptions and rock edicts of Ashoka and the
Satavahanas 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. It remained the capital until it was revived by
Vijayalaya Chola around 850 CE. The
Cholas were one of the four great Tamil dynasties; (
Pallavas,
Cheras and
Pandyas are the other three). At their peak, the
Cholas ruled over the
Tamil country in
South India, the Konkan coast, Deccan Plateau and extended their empire beyond the Narmada up to the Ganges Damodar delta from early antiquity.
The name ''Urayur'' in
Tamil 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 Imperial Cholas of the 9th century CE and later made
Tanjavur their capital, and Urayur slowly lost its place in the Chola administration.
During the Sangam age, Uraiyur was also known as Koḻi lit., ‘
Rooster’.
The name is explained by the myth of a rooster boldly confronting the elephant of the king. He was taken aback for a moment but then decided to build his empire around that place after he realized the cause for the boldness was the soil. The myth appears on a Chola square copper coin of the Sangam Age assigned to ca. 1st Century BC and also in Purananuru.
Temples
Several notable temples are situated here:
*
Panchavarnaswamy Temple
*
Sri Azhagiya Manavala Perumal Temple
*
Vekkali Amman Temple
*
Thanthoneeswarar Temple
Notes
References
*Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. (1935). The CōĻas, University of Madras, Madras (Reprinted 1984).
{{Tiruchirappalli
Chola dynasty
Former capital cities in India
Neighbourhoods and suburbs of Tiruchirappalli