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Chola Nadu is an ancient region spanning on the current state of Tamil Nadu and union territory of Puducherry in southern India. It encompasses the lower reaches of the Kaveri River and its delta, and formed the cultural homeland and political base of the Chola Dynasty which ruled large parts of India and Sri Lanka between the 9th and 13th centuries CE. Uraiyur (now part of Tiruchirapalli city) served as the early Chola capital, then medieval Cholas shifted to Thanjavur and later cholas king Rajendra Chola I moved the capital to Gangaikonda Cholapuram in Ariyalur district in the 11th century CE. Chola Nadu is therefore larger than the Tanjore region or the Cauvery delta in the strict sense. Although it essentially corresponds to these two overlapping areas.
The boundaries of the region roughly correlates with those of the British India districts of Tanjore and Trichinopoly, and the établissement of Karaikal in French India. Historically, the region also encompassed at time present Ariyalur and Perambalur districts (parts of erstwhile South Arcot), parts of Pudukkottai district (erstwhile Pudukkottai State) and southern reaches of Cuddalore district (taluks of Chidambaram and Kattumannarkoil).
According to the Gazetteer of the Trichinopoly District, Vol II, 1931, p 67, "the traditional meeting place of the three Tamil kingdoms was the temple of Cellānti Amman on the banks of the Kāvēri, twelve miles west of Kulittalai and three miles below the junction of the Amarāvati and the Kāvēri. The temple was the common place of worship for the kings of the three Tamil dynasties; a bund which runs to the south of the river marks the boundary between the Cōla and the Pāntya territories, and the Karaipōttanār on the opposite bank of the river was the boundary between the Cōla and the Cēra kingdoms".
| Interregnum (c. 200 – c. 848) | ||
| { class="wikitable" | Vijayalaya Chola | 848–891(?) |
| Aditya I | 891–907 | |
| Parantaka I | 907–950 | |
| Gandaraditya | 950–957 | |
| Arinjaya | 956–957 | |
| Sundara Chola | 957–970 | |
| Aditya Karikalan | (co-regent) | |
| Uttama Chola | 970–985 | |
| Rajaraja Chola I | 985–1014 | |
| Rajendra Chola I | 1012–1044 | |
| Rajadhiraja Chola | 1044–1054 | |
| Rajendra Chola II | 1054–1063 | |
| Virarajendra Chola | 1063–1067 | |
| Athirajendra Chola | 1067–1070 |
| Kulothunga Chola I | 1070–1120 |
| Vikrama Chola | 1118–1135 |
| Kulothunga Chola II | 1133–1150 |
| Rajaraja Chola II | 1146–1173 |
| Rajadhiraja Chola II | 1166–1178 |
| Kulothunga Chola III | 1178–1218 |
| Rajaraja Chola III | 1216–1256 |
| Rajendra Chola III | 1246–1279 |
| Telugu Cholas of Andhra |
| Chodagangas of Kalinga |
| Rajahnate of Cebu |
Irrespective of the source, no list of the kings has a high level of historic fact and, while they generally are similar to each other, no two lists are exactly the same. Modern historians consider these lists not as historically reliable sources but as comprehensive conglomerations of various Hindu deities and Puranic characters attributed to local chieftains and invented ancestry of dynasty attempting to re-establish their legitimacy and supremacy in a land they were trying to conquer.
Apart from music, dance and drama have also flourished in the Cauvery Delta. The Bhagavata Mela, a series of dance-dramas, written almost entirely in Telugu, were introduced by migrants who sought refuge in the town of Melattur following the collapse of the Vijayanagar kingdom at the Battle of Talikota.
Bharatanatyam, a popular dance form by Bharatha muni, flourished in the dance of sadir which was practised in the temples of Chola Nadu by ritual temple dances or devadasis. Patronized and financed by dharmakarthas and rich mirasidars, sadir was popular until the early years of the 20th century when a strong voiced campaign resulted in the devadasi practised being outlawed. Sadir has, since, purged itself of its erotic symbolism and movements and gradually evolved into the commoners' dance Bharathanatyam.
More than 90% of the population speak Tamil language. There is a significant Telugu language speaking minority, who had descended from migrants who had mostly moved in during the Vijayanagar and Thanjavur Nayak periods. There are smaller populations speaking Saurashtra, Kannada. There are also a considerable body of Marathi speaking people who are mostly present in the urban areas of Thanjavur and Tiruchirappalli districts, as well as in both of these cities.
Recent time politicians include the former Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa whose ancestors are from Tiruchirapalli and Thanjavur, Former Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu K. Anbazhagan, Former President of India R. Venkataraman, Kaduvetti Guru, PMK, Former Cabinet Minister and Leader of the House R.M.Veerappan and late Veteran Congress leader G.K. Moopanar, Ko. Si. Mani Former minister for local administration of Tamil Nadu, Former Union Minister Andimuthu Raja, VCK Leader Thol. Thirumavalavan, V. K. Sasikala Indian businesswoman turned politician, T. T. V. Dhinakaran, La Ganesan, H. Raja, Karunas, S. Ve. Shekher and Union Ministers G.K. Vasan, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Murasoli Maran, T. R. Baalu, S. S. Palanimanickam, Su. Thirunavukkarasar. Film personalities such as directors K. Balachander, S. Shankar and actors T. Rajendar, Sivakarthikeyan, Ramesh Aravind, Arvind Swamy, Hema Malini, M. S. Bhaskar, Rajesh and Dhivyadharshini are from the Cauvery Delta region.
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