In recent times, an alarming narrative has emerged within the Malaysian blogosphere, suggesting a historical event that appears to be a misinterpretation or perhaps a deliberate misinformation campaign. The claim revolves around a so called Malay prince named Manabharana from Srivijaya, purportedly attacking and conquering the Chola kingdom. This misleading story has gained traction and is spreading like wildfire across various social media platforms. The need to address and rectify such inaccuracies is crucial not only for the sake of historical accuracy but also for fostering a responsible and informed online community. To delve into the matter, it is essential to clarify that historical records reveal the existence of multiple individuals named Manabharana throughout history. However, a nuanced understanding reveals that all these figures were Tamils (Damila) hailing from the Pandya kingdom, with references to their exploits documented in Tamil inscriptions and Sri Lankan chronicles
DISCLAIMER
I will have to re-examine the origins of the Thondaimans (Pudukottai) and their connection with the Pallavas due to several reasons. Although there are text such as Kalingathuparani that confirms that Karunakara Thondaiman was a Pallava prince, we will also have to look into etymological terms and if this relates to those in Pudukottai. There is also another branch of Thondaimans known as the Aranthangi Thondaiman.
The root word of Thondaiman and Thondai Nadu/Mandalam comes from the creeper known as Kovai (Coccinea Indica). Kovai is known as Donde in Telugu. It was customary for royal families to have a particular leaf or flower as symbols.
Pallava comes from the Sanskrit root word Pallav which means any new leaf. It may or may not be in reference to kovai. It may also be a corruption of Pahlava. The later explains the Persian connection.
Nevertheless, I encourage my readers to continue reading and engage in discussions.
Whenever we speak about Tamil kingdoms, we make reference to the Chera, Chola and Pandya kingdom.
There were many more little kingdoms which existed too. There was also a large kingdom which began in the Thondai region. It included northern parts of Tamil Nadu and southern parts of Andhra and Karnataka.
That is the kingdom of Pallava. They have a mix of Persia, Telugu and Tamil ancestry. They eventually became Tamilized and went on to build one of the most powerful Tamil empires in history.
In the olden days, linguistic identity was not a barrier. The royal dynasties intermarried freely with royalties of other kingdoms.
For example, the Cholas intermarried with the Chalukyas of Karnataka. Pandyan royalties intermarried with Sinhala royalties of Sri Lanka.
Such marriages were needed to strengthen ties between dynasties and forge alliances. These dynasties also intermarried with the royal families of Southeast Asia.
The descendants of the Pallava kings are still around.
Have you heard about the kingdom of Pudukottai?
It is presently a district in Tamil Nadu. Pudukottai was ruled by a line of kings known as the Thondaimans. You would have seen some people with the surname Thondaiman.
It is said that after the fall of the Pallava kingdom. The Thondaimans took refuge in the area near Tirupathi. Centuries later, when the kingdom of Vijayanagra expanded south, the Thondaimans traveled with them. They then went to Pudukottai and became the rulers.
Interestingly, Pudukottai actually belonged to another line of Pallava kings known as the Pallavarayars. By that time, they were no longer kings and served as feudal lords under the Sethupathis.
Vijaya Ragunatha Thevar @ Kilavan Sethupathi, the then ruler of Ramnad killed the ruling Pallavarayar chieftain and gave the land to his brother in law Ragunatha Raya Thondaiman. Pudukottai then became an independent state.
This is how the Thondaimans became the rulers of Pudukottai. The Thondaimans and Pallavarayars do intermarry.
Two centuries after the Thondaimans took over Pudukottai from the Pallavarayar dynasty, Ramachandra Thondaiman (20 October 1829 - 15 April 1886) became the king. He had 2 wives. The first wife gave him two daughters and the second wife gave him a son and a daughter.
But his son, Sivarama Raghunatha Thondaiman died before him leaving him no other male heirs. So Ramachandra Thondaiman adopted his grandson, Marthanda Bhairava Pallavarayar born to his daughter Brihadambal and son in law Kolandaswamy Pallavarayar.
Marthanda Bhairava Pallavarayar (26 November 1875 - 28 May 1928) then becomes the new ruler of Pudukottai. There were some issues with him remaining as the king. This is because he married an Australian woman named Molly Fink. They had a son.
Marthanda Bhairava Pallavarayar was then succeeded by his nephew Rajagopala Thondaiman. The throne goes back to the Thondaimans.
Rajagopala Thondaiman is the last ruler of Pudukottai. His grandson R.Rajagopala Thondaiman is currently the head of the Pudukottai royal house.
Although no longer in power, the descendants of the ancient Pallava kings, the Thondaimans and the Pallavarayars, are still around. There are even some of them who lives in Malaysia and other parts of the world.
Will the Pallava Kingdom return?
INSCRIPTIONS OF THE TANJAVUR TEMPLE
INSCRIPTIONS ON THE WALLS OF THE CENTRAL SHRINE
NO. 22. ON THE SOUTH WALL, FIRST AND SECOND TIERS
This inscription is dated on the 64th day of the 35th year of the reign of Tribhuvanachakravartin Konerinmai-mondan and records the grant of the village of Sungandavirtta-Soranallur,[13] which formed part of the town of Karundittaikudi,[14] and which was situated on both banks of the Vira-Sora-Vadavaru[15] and on the northwestern extremity of the city of Tanjavur.
The village was divided into 108 shares, of which 106 were to be enjoyed by the Brahmanas of the village of Samantanarayana-chaturvedimangalam near Tanjavur, and 2 by the temple of Samantanarayana-Vinnagar-Emberuman in this village. Both this village and this temple had been called after his own name, and the granted village had been purchased from its former owners, by a person, who is designated in the text as the Tondaimanar, but whose proper name must accordingly have been Samantanarayana.
He was apparently a feudatory or high officer of the king, who made the grant at his instance and on his behalf. At the present time the title of Tondaiman is borne by the chiefs of the state of Pudukkottai in the Trichinopoly district. Their ancestor is reported to have ousted one Pallavarayan Tondaiman about 1680 A.D.[16] This chief was probably a descendant of Samantanarayana Tondaiman and of Karunakara Tondaiman, who, according to the Tamil poem Kalingattu-Parani,[17] was king of the Pallavas, resided at Vandai[18] and was the prime minister of the Chola king Kulotltunga.
The title Tondaiman means the king of Tondai[19] or Tondaimandalam, the Tamil name of the Pallava country, the ancient capital of which was Kanchipuram. The numerous Chola inscriptions found at this town prove that the Pallava kingdom must have fallen a prey to the Cholas. From the kalingattu-Parani it further appears, that the former rulers of Tondaimandalam were allowed to retain possession of their dominions as feudatories. In the subjoined inscription they appear in the same position during the time of Konerinmai-kondan.
The chief difficulty in this inscription is the numerous fiscal terms mentioned in connection with the grant. A good many of them had to be left untranslated,[20] while the translation of others is only tentative.
TRANSLATION
Hail! Prosperity! (the following is an order of) Tribhuvanachakravartin Konerinmai-Kondan.
“From the rainy seas (kar) in the thirty-fifty (year of our reign), (the village of) Sungandavirtta-Soranallur, — which forms part of the town (nagara) of Karundittaikudi in Tanjavur-parru, (a subdivision) of Tanjavur-kurram[21] in Pandikulapati-valanadu,[22] and which the Tondaimanar had purchased from Tennagangadevan, Sinattaraiyan and other partners (ullittar), — was given for (providing) one hundred and eight shares (pangu), viz., one hundred and six shares for one hundred and six Chaturvedi-Bhattas, who had studied the Vedas and Sastras and were able to interpret (them), (and who lived) at Samantanarayana-chaturvedimangalam, — a village (agaram) in (the neighbourhood of) Tanjavur, (a city) in Tanjavur-kurram, (a subdivision) of Pandikulapati-valanadu, — which the Tondaimanar had bestowed (on them and called) after his own name; and two shares for (the image of) Samantanarayana-Vinnagar-Emberuman,[23] which he had set up in this village (and called) after (his own) name. The eastern boundary of (this village) is to the west of the boundary of Kulottunga-Soranallur, which forms part of Karundittaikudi, and of the boundary of the sacred flower-garden (called after) Gengaikonda-Soran, which forms part of Karundittaikudi; (that part of) the eastern boundary, which is to the south of the Vira-Sora-Vadavaru (river), is to the west of the boundary of Nandavanapparru,[24] (a quarter of) Tanjavur. (That part of) the southern boundary, which is to the east of the wall (madil) of Mummadi-Soran, is to the north of the boundary of Nandavanapparru; (that part of the southern boundary, which is) to the west of the (same) wall, is to the north of the boundary of Palatalipparru,[25] (a quarter of) Tanjavur. The western boundary is to the east of the highroad (peru-vari) of Kodivanm-udaiyal; (that part of the western boundary, which is on) the northern bank of the Vira-Sora-Vadavaru, is (at the same time) to the east of this river.[26] The northern boundary is to the south of the boundary of Kadavan-mahadevi, alias Virudarajabhayamkara-chaturvedimangalam.[27] Altogether, (the land) included within these four boundaries, — excluding the cultivated land (vilai-nilam) and the dry land (punsey) of) Ava-kamallakulam, alias Jagadekavira-Suvarnamangalam, the cultivated land and the dry land of Palatalipparru, and the cultivated land and the dry land of Nandavanapparru, — (is divided into) fifty blocks (karani).[28] Of (these), the wet land (nanse[y]-nilam), — excluding ancient gifts to temples (devadana), (and) including the portion on the bank of the river (padugai-irai) and the portion consisting of the causeways between fields (tala-varamb-irai), — (contains), according to the book (pottagam),[29] sixty veli; the land on which the (village) servants subsist, (contains) fourteen veli; the land (which is occupied by) the village-site (agara-nattam), the place used for sacrificing to the gods (deva-yajana-bhumi), and the place used as pasture for the cows (go-prachara-bhumi),[30] (contains) six veli; the land which includes the houses of the cultivators (Vellan), the ponds, channels, hills, jungles and mounds, (contains) twelve (veli), one quarter and one eighth. Altogether, the land which includes the wet land and dry land, the site of the village, the places used for sacrificing to the gods and as pasture for the cows, and the houses of the cultivators, the ponds, channels, hills, jungles and mounds, (contains), according to the book, ninety-four (veli), one quarter and one fortieth. Deducting from this nine blocks in possession (kani) of Tennagangadevan, which contain sixteen (veli) of land, three quarters, four twentieths, one eightieth and one hundred-and-sixtieth, (there remain) forty-one blocks, containing seventy-seven (veli) of land, six twentieths and one hundred-and-sixtieth.[31] These seventy-seven, six twentieths and one hundred-and-sixtieth (veli) of land, which may be more or less,[32] we gave, — including the trees over ground and the wells underground in this land, and all other benefits (prapti) whatever kind,[33] having first excluded the former owners and the hereditary proprietors, and having purchased (it) as tax-free property (kani) for the one hundred and six Bhattas of this village and for the two shares (of the image) of Samantanarayana-Vinnagar-Emberuman – from the rainy season in the thirty-fifth (year of our reign), as a meritorious gift (dharmadana), with libations of water, with the right to bestow, mortgage or sell (it), as a tax-free grant of land, to last as long as the moon and the sun. (This grant) includes all kinds (varga) of taxes (kadamai) and rights (kudimai), viz., (the right) to cultivate kar,[34] maruvu,[35] single flowers (?oru-pu), flowers for the market (kadai-pu), lime-trees, dry crops, red water-lilies, areca-palms, betel-vines, saffron, ginger, plantains, sugar-cane and all other crops (payir); all kinds of revenue (aya), including the tax in money (kasu-kadami), odukkum-padi, urai-nari, [36](the share of) the village watchman (? Padi-kaval) (who is placed) over the Vettis, (the share of) the Karanam who measures (the paddy?), the unripe (fruit?) in Karttigai, the tax on looms (tari-irai), the tax on oil-mills (sekk-irai), the tax on trade (sett-irai), tattoli, the tax on goldsmits (tattar-pattam), (the dues on) animals and tanks,[37] the tax on water-course (orukku-nir-pattam), tolls (vari-ayam), inavari,[38] the tax on weights (idai-vari), (the fine for) rotten drugs (arugal-sarakku), the tax on bazaars (angadi-pattam), (and) the salt-tax (upp-ayam); . . . . . . . . . . . the elephant-stalls (and) the horse-stables. Thus, in accordance with this order (olai), it shall be engraved on stone and copper. On the sixty-fourth day of the thirty-fifty year (of our reign).”
This is the signature of Gangayan, a native of Tunjalur in Miralai-kurram.
This is the signature of Pallavarayan, a native of Tunjalur in Miralai-kurram.
கலிங்கத்துப்பரணி (KALINGATTUPARANI)
Kalingattuparani is a poem written by Jayamkondar in the 12th century. It celebrates the victory of king Kulathungga Chola over the Kalingas. Kulathungga Chola had a commander named Karunakara Thondaiman. He was a Pallava prince.
3. கருணாகரத் தொண்டைமான்
குலோத்துங்க சோழனுக்குப் படைத் தலைவனாய் அமைந்திருந்த
கருணாகரத் தொண்டைமான் தொண்டை நாட்டை ஆண்டுவந்த
அரசர் குலத்தைச் சார்ந்தவன் என்பது அவன் பெயராலேயே
அறியக்கிடக்கின்றது. இவனைத் தொண்டைமான் என்றே பல இடங்களில்
ஆசிரியர் கூறுகின்றார்.
i. 'அடைய அத்திசைப் பகைது கைப்பன் என்
றாசை கொண் டடற் றொண்டைமான்'
ii. 'தொண்டையர் வேந்தனைப் பாடீரே' '
என வருமாறு காண்க. இவன் தமையன், காஞ்சியில் இருந்து
தொண்டை நாட்டை ஆண்டுவந்த பல்லவ அரசனாவன். இப்பல்லவன்
பெருமன்னனான குலோத்துங்கனுக்கு உட்பட்ட பல சிற்றரசர்களுள்
ஒருவனாய் நெருங்கிய நண்பனாகவும் இருந்தான் எனத்
தெரிகிறது. இந்நட்புக்காரணமாகவே பெருமன்னனாகிய குலோத்துங்கன்
காஞ்சியில் வந்து படைகளுடன் தங்கியிருந்தனன் என்க. கலிங்கத்தின்
மேல் கருணாகரன் படைத் தலைவனாய்ப் போர்க்கெழுந்தபொழுது,
இவன் தமையனும், குலோத்துங்கனுக்கு நட்புரிமை பூண்டவனுமான
பல்லவனும் துணைப்படைத் தலைவனாக உடன்சென்றானாகக்
குறிக்கப்படுகின்றான்.
'தொண்டை யர்க்கரசு முன்வருஞ்சுரவி
துங்க வெள்விடை உயர்த்த கோன்
வண்டையர்க்கரசு பல்ல வர்க்கரசு
மால்களிற்றின் மிசை கொள்ளவே'
எனவருமாறு காண்க. தமையன் தொண்டைநாடு முழுதும் ஆட்சி
செய்து கொண்டிருப்ப, குலோத்துங்கனுக்குப் படைத்தலைவனாய்
அமைந்த கருணாகரன், வண்டைநகரின் கண் இருந்து தொண்டை
நாட்டுப்பகுதியை ஆட்சி செய்து கொண்டிருந்தவனாக அறியப்படுகின்றான். மேற்குறித்த
3. Karuṇākarat toṇṭaimāṉ
kulōttuṅka cōḻaṉukkup paṭait talaivaṉāy amaintirunta
karuṇākarat toṇṭaimāṉ toṇṭai nāṭṭai āṇṭuvanta
aracar kulattaic cārntavaṉ eṉpatu avaṉ peyarālēyē
aṟiyakkiṭakkiṉṟatu. Ivaṉait toṇṭaimāṉ eṉṟē pala iṭaṅkaḷil
āciriyar kūṟukiṉṟār.
I. 'Aṭaiya atticaip pakaitu kaippaṉ eṉ
ṟācai koṇ ṭaṭaṟ ṟoṇṭaimāṉ'
ii. 'Toṇṭaiyar vēntaṉaip pāṭīrē' '
eṉa varumāṟu kāṇka. Ivaṉ tamaiyaṉ, kāñciyil iruntu
toṇṭai nāṭṭai āṇṭuvanta pallava aracaṉāvaṉ. Ippallavaṉ
perumaṉṉaṉāṉa kulōttuṅkaṉukku uṭpaṭṭa pala ciṟṟaracarkaḷuḷ
oruvaṉāy neruṅkiya naṇpaṉākavum iruntāṉ eṉat
terikiṟatu. Innaṭpukkāraṇamākavē perumaṉṉaṉākiya kulōttuṅkaṉ
kāñciyil vantu paṭaikaḷuṭaṉ taṅkiyiruntaṉaṉ eṉka. Kaliṅkattiṉ
mēl karuṇākaraṉ paṭait talaivaṉāyp pōrkkeḻuntapoḻutu,
ivaṉ tamaiyaṉum, kulōttuṅkaṉukku naṭpurimai pūṇṭavaṉumāṉa
pallavaṉum tuṇaippaṭait talaivaṉāka uṭaṉceṉṟāṉākak
kuṟikkappaṭukiṉṟāṉ.
'Toṇṭai yarkkaracu muṉvaruñcuravi
tuṅka veḷviṭai uyartta kōṉ
vaṇṭaiyarkkaracu palla varkkaracu
mālkaḷiṟṟiṉ micai koḷḷavē'
eṉavarumāṟu kāṇka. Tamaiyaṉ toṇṭaināṭu muḻutum āṭci
ceytu koṇṭiruppa, kulōttuṅkaṉukkup paṭaittalaivaṉāy
amainta karuṇākaraṉ, vaṇṭainakariṉ kaṇ iruntu toṇṭai
nāṭṭuppakutiyai āṭci ceytu koṇṭiruntavaṉāka aṟiyappaṭukiṉṟāṉ. Mēṟkuṟitta
'வண்டை வளம்பதி பாடீரே
மல்லையும் கச்சியும் பாடீரே
பண்டை மயிலையும் பாடீரே
பல்லவர் தோன்றலைப் பாடீரே'
'Vaṇṭai vaḷampati pāṭīrē
mallaiyum kacciyum pāṭīrē
paṇṭai mayilaiyum pāṭīrē
pallavar tōṉṟalaip pāṭīrē'
SRI VARADARAJASWAMI TEMPLE, KANCHI: A STUDY OF ITS HISTORY, ART AND ARCHITECTURE
By K.V. Raman
The Chola army was led by Karunakara Tondaiman, a scion of the old Pallava family, who now served under the Cholas. The parani has it that when Kulottunga held a durbar in his palace at Kanchipuram, it was reported to him that the Kalinga king Anantavarman was in default of his annual tribute which caused the expedition.
It is indeed interesting to note that an epigraph dated 43rd year of Kulottunga 1 in our temple mentions Karunakara Tondaiman and his wife Alagiyamanavalini Mandaiyalvar. He is said to have belonged to Vandalanjeri in Tirumaraiyur Nadu in Kulotunga Chola Valanadu. His wife donated a lamp to the temple .
Alagiyamanavalini is the name of the consort of Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam and the adoption of this name and her gift to this Vishnu temple at Kanchi may show us that she was a devotee of Vishnu.
 |
| Thondai region in present day Tamil Nadu. |
Whenever we speak about Tamil kingdoms, we make reference to the Chera, Chola and Pandya kingdom.
There were many more little kingdoms which existed too. There was also a large kingdom which began in the Thondai region. It included northern parts of Tamil Nadu and southern parts of Andhra and Karnataka.
That is the kingdom of Pallava. They have a mix of Persia, Telugu and Tamil ancestry. They eventually became Tamilized and went on to build one of the most powerful Tamil empires in history.
In the olden days, linguistic identity was not a barrier. The royal dynasties intermarried freely with royalties of other kingdoms.
For example, the Cholas intermarried with the Chalukyas of Karnataka. Pandyan royalties intermarried with Sinhala royalties of Sri Lanka.
Such marriages were needed to strengthen ties between dynasties and forge alliances. These dynasties also intermarried with the royal families of Southeast Asia.
The descendants of the Pallava kings are still around.
 |
| The royal emblem of Pudukottai. |
 |
| Flag of Pudukottai with lion. |
It is presently a district in Tamil Nadu. Pudukottai was ruled by a line of kings known as the Thondaimans. You would have seen some people with the surname Thondaiman.
It is said that after the fall of the Pallava kingdom. The Thondaimans took refuge in the area near Tirupathi. Centuries later, when the kingdom of Vijayanagra expanded south, the Thondaimans traveled with them. They then went to Pudukottai and became the rulers.
Interestingly, Pudukottai actually belonged to another line of Pallava kings known as the Pallavarayars. By that time, they were no longer kings and served as feudal lords under the Sethupathis.
Vijaya Ragunatha Thevar @ Kilavan Sethupathi, the then ruler of Ramnad killed the ruling Pallavarayar chieftain and gave the land to his brother in law Ragunatha Raya Thondaiman. Pudukottai then became an independent state.
This is how the Thondaimans became the rulers of Pudukottai. The Thondaimans and Pallavarayars do intermarry.
 |
| Ramachandra Thondaiman |
 |
| Marthanda Bhairava Pallavarayar |
But his son, Sivarama Raghunatha Thondaiman died before him leaving him no other male heirs. So Ramachandra Thondaiman adopted his grandson, Marthanda Bhairava Pallavarayar born to his daughter Brihadambal and son in law Kolandaswamy Pallavarayar.
Marthanda Bhairava Pallavarayar (26 November 1875 - 28 May 1928) then becomes the new ruler of Pudukottai. There were some issues with him remaining as the king. This is because he married an Australian woman named Molly Fink. They had a son.
Marthanda Bhairava Pallavarayar was then succeeded by his nephew Rajagopala Thondaiman. The throne goes back to the Thondaimans.
Rajagopala Thondaiman is the last ruler of Pudukottai. His grandson R.Rajagopala Thondaiman is currently the head of the Pudukottai royal house.
Although no longer in power, the descendants of the ancient Pallava kings, the Thondaimans and the Pallavarayars, are still around. There are even some of them who lives in Malaysia and other parts of the world.
Will the Pallava Kingdom return?
 |
| Prince Prithviraj Thondaiman, son of R.Rajagopala Thondaiman. PICTURE CREDIT M. Srinath |
INSCRIPTIONS OF THE TANJAVUR TEMPLE
INSCRIPTIONS ON THE WALLS OF THE CENTRAL SHRINE
NO. 22. ON THE SOUTH WALL, FIRST AND SECOND TIERS
This inscription is dated on the 64th day of the 35th year of the reign of Tribhuvanachakravartin Konerinmai-mondan and records the grant of the village of Sungandavirtta-Soranallur,[13] which formed part of the town of Karundittaikudi,[14] and which was situated on both banks of the Vira-Sora-Vadavaru[15] and on the northwestern extremity of the city of Tanjavur.
The village was divided into 108 shares, of which 106 were to be enjoyed by the Brahmanas of the village of Samantanarayana-chaturvedimangalam near Tanjavur, and 2 by the temple of Samantanarayana-Vinnagar-Emberuman in this village. Both this village and this temple had been called after his own name, and the granted village had been purchased from its former owners, by a person, who is designated in the text as the Tondaimanar, but whose proper name must accordingly have been Samantanarayana.
He was apparently a feudatory or high officer of the king, who made the grant at his instance and on his behalf. At the present time the title of Tondaiman is borne by the chiefs of the state of Pudukkottai in the Trichinopoly district. Their ancestor is reported to have ousted one Pallavarayan Tondaiman about 1680 A.D.[16] This chief was probably a descendant of Samantanarayana Tondaiman and of Karunakara Tondaiman, who, according to the Tamil poem Kalingattu-Parani,[17] was king of the Pallavas, resided at Vandai[18] and was the prime minister of the Chola king Kulotltunga.
The title Tondaiman means the king of Tondai[19] or Tondaimandalam, the Tamil name of the Pallava country, the ancient capital of which was Kanchipuram. The numerous Chola inscriptions found at this town prove that the Pallava kingdom must have fallen a prey to the Cholas. From the kalingattu-Parani it further appears, that the former rulers of Tondaimandalam were allowed to retain possession of their dominions as feudatories. In the subjoined inscription they appear in the same position during the time of Konerinmai-kondan.
The chief difficulty in this inscription is the numerous fiscal terms mentioned in connection with the grant. A good many of them had to be left untranslated,[20] while the translation of others is only tentative.
TRANSLATION
Hail! Prosperity! (the following is an order of) Tribhuvanachakravartin Konerinmai-Kondan.
“From the rainy seas (kar) in the thirty-fifty (year of our reign), (the village of) Sungandavirtta-Soranallur, — which forms part of the town (nagara) of Karundittaikudi in Tanjavur-parru, (a subdivision) of Tanjavur-kurram[21] in Pandikulapati-valanadu,[22] and which the Tondaimanar had purchased from Tennagangadevan, Sinattaraiyan and other partners (ullittar), — was given for (providing) one hundred and eight shares (pangu), viz., one hundred and six shares for one hundred and six Chaturvedi-Bhattas, who had studied the Vedas and Sastras and were able to interpret (them), (and who lived) at Samantanarayana-chaturvedimangalam, — a village (agaram) in (the neighbourhood of) Tanjavur, (a city) in Tanjavur-kurram, (a subdivision) of Pandikulapati-valanadu, — which the Tondaimanar had bestowed (on them and called) after his own name; and two shares for (the image of) Samantanarayana-Vinnagar-Emberuman,[23] which he had set up in this village (and called) after (his own) name. The eastern boundary of (this village) is to the west of the boundary of Kulottunga-Soranallur, which forms part of Karundittaikudi, and of the boundary of the sacred flower-garden (called after) Gengaikonda-Soran, which forms part of Karundittaikudi; (that part of) the eastern boundary, which is to the south of the Vira-Sora-Vadavaru (river), is to the west of the boundary of Nandavanapparru,[24] (a quarter of) Tanjavur. (That part of) the southern boundary, which is to the east of the wall (madil) of Mummadi-Soran, is to the north of the boundary of Nandavanapparru; (that part of the southern boundary, which is) to the west of the (same) wall, is to the north of the boundary of Palatalipparru,[25] (a quarter of) Tanjavur. The western boundary is to the east of the highroad (peru-vari) of Kodivanm-udaiyal; (that part of the western boundary, which is on) the northern bank of the Vira-Sora-Vadavaru, is (at the same time) to the east of this river.[26] The northern boundary is to the south of the boundary of Kadavan-mahadevi, alias Virudarajabhayamkara-chaturvedimangalam.[27] Altogether, (the land) included within these four boundaries, — excluding the cultivated land (vilai-nilam) and the dry land (punsey) of) Ava-kamallakulam, alias Jagadekavira-Suvarnamangalam, the cultivated land and the dry land of Palatalipparru, and the cultivated land and the dry land of Nandavanapparru, — (is divided into) fifty blocks (karani).[28] Of (these), the wet land (nanse[y]-nilam), — excluding ancient gifts to temples (devadana), (and) including the portion on the bank of the river (padugai-irai) and the portion consisting of the causeways between fields (tala-varamb-irai), — (contains), according to the book (pottagam),[29] sixty veli; the land on which the (village) servants subsist, (contains) fourteen veli; the land (which is occupied by) the village-site (agara-nattam), the place used for sacrificing to the gods (deva-yajana-bhumi), and the place used as pasture for the cows (go-prachara-bhumi),[30] (contains) six veli; the land which includes the houses of the cultivators (Vellan), the ponds, channels, hills, jungles and mounds, (contains) twelve (veli), one quarter and one eighth. Altogether, the land which includes the wet land and dry land, the site of the village, the places used for sacrificing to the gods and as pasture for the cows, and the houses of the cultivators, the ponds, channels, hills, jungles and mounds, (contains), according to the book, ninety-four (veli), one quarter and one fortieth. Deducting from this nine blocks in possession (kani) of Tennagangadevan, which contain sixteen (veli) of land, three quarters, four twentieths, one eightieth and one hundred-and-sixtieth, (there remain) forty-one blocks, containing seventy-seven (veli) of land, six twentieths and one hundred-and-sixtieth.[31] These seventy-seven, six twentieths and one hundred-and-sixtieth (veli) of land, which may be more or less,[32] we gave, — including the trees over ground and the wells underground in this land, and all other benefits (prapti) whatever kind,[33] having first excluded the former owners and the hereditary proprietors, and having purchased (it) as tax-free property (kani) for the one hundred and six Bhattas of this village and for the two shares (of the image) of Samantanarayana-Vinnagar-Emberuman – from the rainy season in the thirty-fifth (year of our reign), as a meritorious gift (dharmadana), with libations of water, with the right to bestow, mortgage or sell (it), as a tax-free grant of land, to last as long as the moon and the sun. (This grant) includes all kinds (varga) of taxes (kadamai) and rights (kudimai), viz., (the right) to cultivate kar,[34] maruvu,[35] single flowers (?oru-pu), flowers for the market (kadai-pu), lime-trees, dry crops, red water-lilies, areca-palms, betel-vines, saffron, ginger, plantains, sugar-cane and all other crops (payir); all kinds of revenue (aya), including the tax in money (kasu-kadami), odukkum-padi, urai-nari, [36](the share of) the village watchman (? Padi-kaval) (who is placed) over the Vettis, (the share of) the Karanam who measures (the paddy?), the unripe (fruit?) in Karttigai, the tax on looms (tari-irai), the tax on oil-mills (sekk-irai), the tax on trade (sett-irai), tattoli, the tax on goldsmits (tattar-pattam), (the dues on) animals and tanks,[37] the tax on water-course (orukku-nir-pattam), tolls (vari-ayam), inavari,[38] the tax on weights (idai-vari), (the fine for) rotten drugs (arugal-sarakku), the tax on bazaars (angadi-pattam), (and) the salt-tax (upp-ayam); . . . . . . . . . . . the elephant-stalls (and) the horse-stables. Thus, in accordance with this order (olai), it shall be engraved on stone and copper. On the sixty-fourth day of the thirty-fifty year (of our reign).”
This is the signature of Gangayan, a native of Tunjalur in Miralai-kurram.
This is the signature of Pallavarayan, a native of Tunjalur in Miralai-kurram.
கலிங்கத்துப்பரணி (KALINGATTUPARANI)
Kalingattuparani is a poem written by Jayamkondar in the 12th century. It celebrates the victory of king Kulathungga Chola over the Kalingas. Kulathungga Chola had a commander named Karunakara Thondaiman. He was a Pallava prince.
3. கருணாகரத் தொண்டைமான்
குலோத்துங்க சோழனுக்குப் படைத் தலைவனாய் அமைந்திருந்த
கருணாகரத் தொண்டைமான் தொண்டை நாட்டை ஆண்டுவந்த
அரசர் குலத்தைச் சார்ந்தவன் என்பது அவன் பெயராலேயே
அறியக்கிடக்கின்றது. இவனைத் தொண்டைமான் என்றே பல இடங்களில்
ஆசிரியர் கூறுகின்றார்.
i. 'அடைய அத்திசைப் பகைது கைப்பன் என்
றாசை கொண் டடற் றொண்டைமான்'
ii. 'தொண்டையர் வேந்தனைப் பாடீரே' '
என வருமாறு காண்க. இவன் தமையன், காஞ்சியில் இருந்து
தொண்டை நாட்டை ஆண்டுவந்த பல்லவ அரசனாவன். இப்பல்லவன்
பெருமன்னனான குலோத்துங்கனுக்கு உட்பட்ட பல சிற்றரசர்களுள்
ஒருவனாய் நெருங்கிய நண்பனாகவும் இருந்தான் எனத்
தெரிகிறது. இந்நட்புக்காரணமாகவே பெருமன்னனாகிய குலோத்துங்கன்
காஞ்சியில் வந்து படைகளுடன் தங்கியிருந்தனன் என்க. கலிங்கத்தின்
மேல் கருணாகரன் படைத் தலைவனாய்ப் போர்க்கெழுந்தபொழுது,
இவன் தமையனும், குலோத்துங்கனுக்கு நட்புரிமை பூண்டவனுமான
பல்லவனும் துணைப்படைத் தலைவனாக உடன்சென்றானாகக்
குறிக்கப்படுகின்றான்.
'தொண்டை யர்க்கரசு முன்வருஞ்சுரவி
துங்க வெள்விடை உயர்த்த கோன்
வண்டையர்க்கரசு பல்ல வர்க்கரசு
மால்களிற்றின் மிசை கொள்ளவே'
எனவருமாறு காண்க. தமையன் தொண்டைநாடு முழுதும் ஆட்சி
செய்து கொண்டிருப்ப, குலோத்துங்கனுக்குப் படைத்தலைவனாய்
அமைந்த கருணாகரன், வண்டைநகரின் கண் இருந்து தொண்டை
நாட்டுப்பகுதியை ஆட்சி செய்து கொண்டிருந்தவனாக அறியப்படுகின்றான். மேற்குறித்த
3. Karuṇākarat toṇṭaimāṉ
kulōttuṅka cōḻaṉukkup paṭait talaivaṉāy amaintirunta
karuṇākarat toṇṭaimāṉ toṇṭai nāṭṭai āṇṭuvanta
aracar kulattaic cārntavaṉ eṉpatu avaṉ peyarālēyē
aṟiyakkiṭakkiṉṟatu. Ivaṉait toṇṭaimāṉ eṉṟē pala iṭaṅkaḷil
āciriyar kūṟukiṉṟār.
I. 'Aṭaiya atticaip pakaitu kaippaṉ eṉ
ṟācai koṇ ṭaṭaṟ ṟoṇṭaimāṉ'
ii. 'Toṇṭaiyar vēntaṉaip pāṭīrē' '
eṉa varumāṟu kāṇka. Ivaṉ tamaiyaṉ, kāñciyil iruntu
toṇṭai nāṭṭai āṇṭuvanta pallava aracaṉāvaṉ. Ippallavaṉ
perumaṉṉaṉāṉa kulōttuṅkaṉukku uṭpaṭṭa pala ciṟṟaracarkaḷuḷ
oruvaṉāy neruṅkiya naṇpaṉākavum iruntāṉ eṉat
terikiṟatu. Innaṭpukkāraṇamākavē perumaṉṉaṉākiya kulōttuṅkaṉ
kāñciyil vantu paṭaikaḷuṭaṉ taṅkiyiruntaṉaṉ eṉka. Kaliṅkattiṉ
mēl karuṇākaraṉ paṭait talaivaṉāyp pōrkkeḻuntapoḻutu,
ivaṉ tamaiyaṉum, kulōttuṅkaṉukku naṭpurimai pūṇṭavaṉumāṉa
pallavaṉum tuṇaippaṭait talaivaṉāka uṭaṉceṉṟāṉākak
kuṟikkappaṭukiṉṟāṉ.
'Toṇṭai yarkkaracu muṉvaruñcuravi
tuṅka veḷviṭai uyartta kōṉ
vaṇṭaiyarkkaracu palla varkkaracu
mālkaḷiṟṟiṉ micai koḷḷavē'
eṉavarumāṟu kāṇka. Tamaiyaṉ toṇṭaināṭu muḻutum āṭci
ceytu koṇṭiruppa, kulōttuṅkaṉukkup paṭaittalaivaṉāy
amainta karuṇākaraṉ, vaṇṭainakariṉ kaṇ iruntu toṇṭai
nāṭṭuppakutiyai āṭci ceytu koṇṭiruntavaṉāka aṟiyappaṭukiṉṟāṉ. Mēṟkuṟitta
'வண்டை வளம்பதி பாடீரே
மல்லையும் கச்சியும் பாடீரே
பண்டை மயிலையும் பாடீரே
பல்லவர் தோன்றலைப் பாடீரே'
'Vaṇṭai vaḷampati pāṭīrē
mallaiyum kacciyum pāṭīrē
paṇṭai mayilaiyum pāṭīrē
pallavar tōṉṟalaip pāṭīrē'
SRI VARADARAJASWAMI TEMPLE, KANCHI: A STUDY OF ITS HISTORY, ART AND ARCHITECTURE
By K.V. Raman
The Chola army was led by Karunakara Tondaiman, a scion of the old Pallava family, who now served under the Cholas. The parani has it that when Kulottunga held a durbar in his palace at Kanchipuram, it was reported to him that the Kalinga king Anantavarman was in default of his annual tribute which caused the expedition.
It is indeed interesting to note that an epigraph dated 43rd year of Kulottunga 1 in our temple mentions Karunakara Tondaiman and his wife Alagiyamanavalini Mandaiyalvar. He is said to have belonged to Vandalanjeri in Tirumaraiyur Nadu in Kulotunga Chola Valanadu. His wife donated a lamp to the temple .
Alagiyamanavalini is the name of the consort of Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam and the adoption of this name and her gift to this Vishnu temple at Kanchi may show us that she was a devotee of Vishnu.
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