Chola Nadu சோழநாடு Cauvery Delta, Cholamandalam |
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region | |
Nickname(s): Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu | |
Location of Chola Nadu in Tamil Nadu state |
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Country | India |
States and territories | Tamil Nadu, Puducherry |
Core Districts |
Karaikal (Puducherry), Nagapattinam, Parts of Pudukkottai, Thanjavur, Parts of Tiruchirapalli, Tiruvarur |
Named for | Chola dynasty |
Area | |
• Total | 24,667 km2 (9,524 sq mi) |
Population (2001) | |
• Total | 10,191,035 |
• Density | 410/km2 (1,100/sq mi) |
Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
PIN | 609-614xxx,620xxx |
Vehicle registration | TN45,46,48-51,68,82. |
No. of districts | 8 |
Largest city | Tiruchirapalli |
Chola Nadu (Tamil: சோழநாடு) is a region of Tamil Nadu state 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 most of South India and parts of Sri Lanka and South-East Asia between the 9th and 13th centuries AD. 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 the 11th century.
The boundaries of the region roughly correlates with those of the British India districts of Tanjore and Trichinopoly. Culturally, the region also includes Pudukkottai District, Ariyalur District, Perambalur District and the territory of Karaikal.
The Cholanadu region covers Central Tamil Nadu and East-Central Tamil Nadu. The region is sandwiched between the historical regions of Tondai Nadu in the north, the Madurai region in the south and Kongunadu in the west and roughly extends from Chidambaram in north to the southern frontier of the erstwhile Pudukkottai kingdom and from Tiruchirapalli in the west to the Bay of Bengal in the east.