Thondaimandala Mudaliar
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Tondai Nadu, Chola Nadu | |
| Languages | |
| Tamil | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Karkathar, Tirunelveli Saiva Pillai, Tamil people |
Thondaimandala Mudaliar is a Forward caste community in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sekkizhar, the author of the Periyapuranam, was from this community.
Sekkizhar, one of the most prominent members of this community, is referred to as Ganga-Kula Tilaka, and his lineage is extolled in various pieces of medieval Tamil literature, the most notable among them being his biography by Umapati Sivacharya. He was born in Kunrattur and would soon rise to become the Chief Minister of Kulothunga Chola II.
48,000 Vellalars migrated north with the Chola King Karikala Chola (ruled around 270 BCE) after he conquered Thondaimandalam from the Kurumbars, a nomadic tribe also known as the Aruvalars. He parcelled out the land to the Vellalar chiefs, now known as the Thondaimandala Mudaliars, and divided the territory into 24 Kottams or districts: Pulal, Puliyur, Eekadu, Manavur, Chenkkadu, Payur, Eyil, Thamal, Uttukadu, Kalathur, Chembur, Amur, Eethoor, Venkundram, Palkunram, Ilankadu, Kaliyur, Chriukarai, Paduvur, Kadikai, Chenthirukai, Kunrapattiram, and Venkadam Velur.
The members of this community held the right of handing over the crown at the time of coronation ceremony (mudi-sootu vizha) of kings and religious heads. In the Tamil classical literature, Kamba-ramayana, Kavi-chakravarthy Kambar stated that "the great sage Vashista took the crown from ancestors of Sadayappa Vallal and crowned the King Rama".
Citations
Bibliography
...
Wikipedia