Tondaimandalam also known as Tondai Nadu is a historical region located in the northernmost part of Tamil Nadu.^[1] The region comprises the districts which formed a part of the traditional Pallava kingdom. The boundaries of Tondaimandalam are ambiguous – between the Rivers basins of Penna River and Ponnaiyar River.

Geography[edit]

The region includes Chennai, Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur, Vellore, Tiruvannamalai and the northern part of Viluppuram district in Tondaimandalam, and group the southern part of Viluppuram District, the Union Territory of Pondicherry and Cuddalore District under a separate region called "Nadu Naadu"in Tondaimandalam. A larger Tondaimandalam include all of these. Also, The Tondaimandalam region extend to cover Chittoor and Nellore districts which is now in Andhra Pradesh.^[2]

History[edit]

Neolithic burial urn, cairn circles and jars with burials dating to the very dawn of the Christian era have been discovered near Mamallapuram. The Sangam age poem Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai relates the rule of King Thondaiman Ilam Thiraiyar at Kanchipuram of the Tondai Nadu port Nirppeyyaru which scholars identify with the present-day Mamallapuram. A Sangam Period classic, Manimekalai, attributes the origin of the first Pallava King from a liaison between the daughter of a Naga king of Manipallava named Pilli Valai (Pilivalai) with a Chola king, Killivalavan, out of which union was born a prince.^[3] who was lost in ship wreck and found with a twig (pallava) of Cephalandra Indica (Tondai) around his ankle and hence named Tondai-maan. This region was ruled by the tribal chiefs who also called as Irular or Aravar. It then came under the rule of Cholas during first century CE with the capital of Tondai Nadu as Kanchipuram.The Proceedings of the First Annual Conference of South Indian History Congress also notes: The word Tondai means a creeper and the term Pallava conveys a similar meaning.^[4] In the 3rd century CE, Tondai Nadu was ruled by Ilandiraiyan, the first king with the title "Tondaiman", whom P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar identifies with a Pallava prince. Pallavas moved southwards, adopted local traditions to their own use, and named themselves as Tondaiyar after the land called Tondai.^[4][5]. The medieval Pallavas ruled Andhra and Northern Tamil Nadu, from the 4th to the 9th centuries, with their seat of capital at ancient Kanchipuram. When the ancient king Adondai captured Tondainadu, he brought Vellalars from Srisailam.^{[citation needed]}

It was captured by the second Chola monarch, Aditya (r. ca. 871-907). he defeated the armies of the Pallavas of Kanchipuram and claimed all of Tondai Nadu; the region north of the Kaveri basin around Palar river basin including present day Chittoor and Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, as Chola territory^[6].The region was then a part of Vijayanagara Empire, first ruling from Hampi and then headquartered at Chandragiri in present-day Andhra Pradesh. The Vijayanagar rulers who controlled the area, appointed chieftains known as Nayaks who ruled over the different regions of the province almost independently. During the British Rule, the whole region was a part of the Madras Presidency.

References[edit]

This India-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e