The Tondaiman family were Tamil People rulers of the ancient Tondai Nadu (Tondaimandalam) division of Tamilakkam in South India. Their capital was at Kanchipuram.
They ruled with the Pallava dynasty, which controlled northern Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and had its capital at Kanchipuram. Hundreds of records and edicts exist pertaining to the Tondaiman rulers of Chola dynasty.
Sangam literature
Ruler Tondaiman
Ilandiraiyan was mentioned in
Purananuru (புறநானூறு) (in one of the poems written by Avvaiyar) as a king confronting Adhiaman; battle was avoided by the tactics of Avvaiyaar.
[History of the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, 610-1210 A.D., page 446.] He is said to be the founder of
Pallava dynasty.
Pathupaattu (பத்துப்பாட்டு) a sangam literature work mentioned that Tondaiman Ilandriyan ruled
Kanchipuram town before 2500 years.
Chola Empire
The Tondaiman title was borne by various chiefs in the
Chola empire, notable ones being Karunakara Tondaiman and
Naralokaviran alias
Porkoyil Tondaiman who served as generals under
Kulottunga I.
The poet Kambar wrote Silaiyezhupathu about Karunagara Tondaiman.[ Silaiyelupathu (in Tamil) Retrieved 2012-07-17.]
Origin
Aranthangi Tondaimans
The Aranthangi Tondaimans ruled
Aranthangi 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,
Aranthangi, 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 of Pudukottai (which began about 1640).
[C.Sivaratnam: The Tamils in early Ceylon, page 116]
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, Kanchipuram and Benares temples. About 25 copper plates indicating grants from the Aranthangi Tondaimans have been recorded so far; 16 are in the Tiruvavaduturai.Their direct descendants were the Palayavanam Zamin "Vanangamudi Pandarathar".[
]
Pudukottai Tondaimans
The Thondaimans are chieftains who ruled the region in and around Pudukottai from the 17th to 20th century.
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]
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Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman (1686–1730)
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Vijaya Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman I (1730–1769)
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Raya Raghunatha Tondaiman (1769 – Dec 1789)
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Vijaya Raghunatha Tondaiman (Dec 1789 – 1 February 1807)
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Vijaya Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman II (1 February 1807 – June 1825)
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Raghunatha Tondaiman (June 1825 – 13 July 1839)
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Ramachandra Tondaiman (13 July 1839 – 15 April 1886)
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Marthanda Bhairava Tondaiman (15 April 1886 – 28 May 1928)
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Rajagopala Tondaiman (28 October 1928 – 4 March 1948 {as Official} 5 March 1948-16 Jan 1997 {as Titular} )
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R. Rajagopala Tondaiman (16 Jan 1997 – present) (Titular)
Notes
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The Imperial and Asiatic quarterly review and oriental and colonial record. Oriental Institute (Woking, England), East India Association (London, England).
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Bhavaraju Venkatakrishna Rao, Bhāvarāju Vēṅkaṭakr̥ṣṇarāvu, History of the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, 610-1210 A.D..
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C. Sivaratnam, The Tamils in Early Ceylon.
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M. Krishna Kumari, History of Medieval Andhradesa.
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Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri, The Cōḷas
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N. Sethuraman, The Cholas: Mathematics Reconstructs the Chronology
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K.V. Raman, Sri Varadarajaswami Temple, Kanchi: A Study of Its History, Art and Architecture
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Sakkottai Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Ancient India: collected essays on the literary and political history of Southern India
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Ramachandra Dikshitar, Studies in Tamil Literature and History
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Tamil culture, Volume 4. Tamil Literature Society, Academy of Tamil Culture
