Chola Nadu
Encyclopedia
Chola Nadu 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 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
.
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.
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".
in the 4th century BC. The Early Cholas ruled from the town of Uraiyur near Tiruchirapalli and their kingdom comprised the whole of the present-day Cauvery Delta. Flourishing centres of Roman trade have been excavated at Poompuhar stand testimony to a prosperous civilization.
, Syama Sastri
and Muthuswami Dikshitar
who form the Great Trinity of Carnatic music hailed from the Chola Nadu region as also the music composers Muthu Thandavar
, Arunachala Kavi
and Marimutthu Pillai
who form the Tamil Trinity of Carnatic music.
Apart from music, dance and drama have also flourished in the Cauvery Delta. The Bhagavathar Melas, 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 native to Tamil Nadu, had its origin 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 percent of the population speak Tamil
. There is a significant Telugu
speaking minority, who had descended from migrants who had mostly moved in during the Vijayanagar and Thanjavur Nayak periods. There are smaller populations speaking Kannada
, Saurashtrian
and Urdu
. There are also a considerable body of Marathi
speaking people who are mostly present in the urban areas of Thanjavur district
and the city of Tiruchirappalli.
, V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, V. P. Madhava Rao
and R. Raghunatha Rao
dominated the bureaucracy. The maternal ancestors of Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer
hailed from Kumbakonam
. Tamil writers V. V. S. Aiyar
and Kalki Krishnamurthy
, journalists Kalki Sadasivam, G. A. Natesan
and Kasturi Ranga Iyengar, Indian independence activist G. Subramania Iyer
who founder The Hindu
, politicians M. R. Sethuratnam Iyer
and S. Muthiah Mudaliar
and Indian media mogul S. S. Vasan
were some prominent individuals from the Chola Nadu region. Yesteryear film actors Sivaji Ganesan
, M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
, Gemini Ganesan
and T. R. Rajakumari
, Indian scientist and Nobel Prize winner Sir C. V. Raman and mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan
were other important people from the region.
Recent time politicians include the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi
, former President of India R. Venkataraman
, late Tamil Nadu Congress leader G. K. Moopanaar and Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar
. Film personalities such as directors K. Balachander
, S. Shankar
and Mani Ratnam
and actors Arvind Swamy
and Hema Malini
hail from the region.
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
state in southern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It encompasses the lower reaches of the Kaveri River
Kaveri River
The Kaveri , also spelled Cauvery in English, is a large Indian river. The origin of the river is traditionally placed at Talakaveri, Kodagu in the Western Ghats in Karnataka, flows generally south and east through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and across the southern Deccan plateau through the...
and its delta, and formed the cultural homeland and political base of the Chola Dynasty
Chola Dynasty
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which was one of the longest-ruling in some parts of southern India. The earliest datable references to this Tamil dynasty are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BC left by Asoka, of Maurya Empire; the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until...
which ruled most of South India and parts of Sri Lanka and South-East Asia between the 9th and 13th centuries AD. Uraiyur served as the early Chola capital, then medieval Cholas shifted to Thanjavur and later cholas king Rajendra Chola I
Rajendra Chola I
Rajendra Chola I was the son of Rajaraja Chola I and was one of the greatest rulers of Tamil Chola dynasty of India. He succeeded his father in 1014 CE as the Chola emperor...
moved the capital to Gangaikonda Cholapuram
Gangaikonda Cholapuram
Gangaikonda Cholapuram was erected as the capital of the Cholas by Rajendra Chola I, the son and successor of Rajaraja Chola, the great Chola who conquered a large area in South India at the beginning of the 11th century C.E. It occupies an important place in the history of India. As the capital...
in the 11th century.
The boundaries of the region roughly correlates with those of the British India districts of Tanjore
Tanjore District (Madras Presidency)
Tanjore district was one of the districts in the erstwhile Madras Presidency of British India. It covered the area of the present-day districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam and the Aranthangi taluk of Pudukkottai district in Tamil Nadu...
and Trichinopoly
Trichinopoly District (Madras Presidency)
The Trichinopoly district was a district of the erstwhile Madras Presidency of British India. It covered the present-day districts of Tiruchirappalli, Karur, Ariyalur and Perambalur in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The administrative headquarters was the town of Trichinopoly, Trichy or Tiruchi,...
. Culturally, the region also includes Pudukkottai District
Pudukkottai District
Pudukkottai District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Pudukkottai is the district headquarters...
, Ariyalur District
Ariyalur district
Ariyalur is an administrative district in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The district headquarters are located at Ariyalur...
, Perambalur District and the territory of Karaikal
Karaikal
Karaikal is a major port city of east coast of India and a municipality in Karaikal district in the Union Territory of Pondicherry, India. Several explanations are offered for the word 'Karaikal'. The imperial Gazetteer gives it the meaning 'fish pass'. According to Julien vinson the town is said...
.
Location
The Cholanadu region covers Central Tamil Nadu and East-Central Tamil Nadu. The region is sandwiched between the historical regions of Tondai NaduTondai Nadu
Tondai Nadu is a historical region located in the northernmost part of Tamil Nadu. The region comprises the districts which formed a part of the traditional Pallava kingdom...
in the north, the Madurai region in the south and Kongunadu in the west and roughly extends from Chidambaram
Chidambaram
Chidambaram is a fast growing industrial city in Eastern part of Tamil Nadu and the taluk headquarters of the Cuddalore district. It is located in 58 km from Pondicherry, 60 km from Karaikal, and 240 km south of Chennai by rail...
in north to the southern frontier of the erstwhile Pudukkottai kingdom
Pudukkottai state
Pudukkottai was a princely state in the Madras Presidency which existed from 1680 to 1948. It was one of the five princely states that were under political control of the Government of Madras.- Location :...
and from Tiruchirapalli
Tiruchirapalli
Tiruchirappalli ) , also called Tiruchi or Trichy , is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli District. It is the fourth largest municipal corporation in Tamil Nadu and also the fourth largest urban agglomeration in the state...
in the west to the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
in the east.
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".
History
The history of the region begins with the rise of the Early Chola kingdomEarly Cholas
The Early Cholas of the pre and post Sangam period were one of the three main kingdoms of the ancient Tamil country. Their early capitals were Urayur and Kaveripattinam...
in the 4th century BC. The Early Cholas ruled from the town of Uraiyur near Tiruchirapalli and their kingdom comprised the whole of the present-day Cauvery Delta. Flourishing centres of Roman trade have been excavated at Poompuhar stand testimony to a prosperous civilization.
Culture
The Chola Nadu region is renowned as a hunb of Tamil culture and civilization. The region has been continuously inhabited since the 1st millennium BC. Arts, crafts and music flourished under the Cholas whose reign is considered to be the golden age in the history of Tamil Nadu. During the hegemony of the Vijayanagar Empire and its successors, the zThanjavur Nayak kingdom, there were frequent migrations of priests, administrators, soldiers and artists from the Telugu and Kannada districts of the north who brought in their traditions, art and dance forms. Despite its rise and initial success in the northern part of Karnataka, Carnatic music actually flourished in the Cauvery Delta. The three great Carnatic music composers, TyagarajaTyagaraja
Kakarla Tyagabrahmam , colloquially known as Tyāgarājar and Tyagayya was one of the greatest composers of Carnatic music or classical South Indian music. He, along with his contemporaries Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastry, forms the Trinity of Carnatic music...
, Syama Sastri
Syama Sastri
Syama Sastri is one of the most renowned composers of Carnatic music. He was the eldest of the so-called Trinity of Carnatic music, Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar being the other two. A major source for his biography is a chapter in P. Sambamoorthy's book, Great Composers, 69-94...
and Muthuswami Dikshitar
Muthuswami Dikshitar
Muthuswami Dikshitar is a South Indian poet and composer and is one of the Musical Trinity of Carnatic music...
who form the Great Trinity of Carnatic music hailed from the Chola Nadu region as also the music composers Muthu Thandavar
Muthu Thandavar
Muthu Thandavar was composer of Carnatic music. He was an early architect of the present day Carnatic kriti format, which consists of the pallavi , anupallavi and charanam. He lived in the town of Sirkazhi in Tamil Nadu. His contributions to Carnatic music have been largely forgotten and not many...
, Arunachala Kavi
Arunachala Kavi
Arunachala Kavi was a Tamil poet and a composer of Carnatic music. He was born in Tillaiyadi in Thanjavur District in Tamil Nadu. The three Tamil composers Arunachala Kavi, Muthu Thandavar and Marimutthu Pillai are considered the Tamil Trinity, who contributed to the evolution of Carnatic...
and Marimutthu Pillai
Marimutthu Pillai
Marimutthu Pillai was a composer of Carnatic music and along with Arunachala Kavi and Muthu Thandavar was one of the pioneering Tamil Trinity of Carnatic music. He was a contemporary of Arunachala Kavi....
who form the Tamil Trinity of Carnatic music.
Apart from music, dance and drama have also flourished in the Cauvery Delta. The Bhagavathar Melas, a series of dance-dramas, written almost entirely in Telugu, were introduced by migrants who sought refuge in the town of Melattur
Melattur
Melattur is a town in Malappuram district of Kerala. It is situated on the banks of the Olippuzha river. The name Melattur came from the malayalam words 'Mele' , 'Aaru' and 'Ooru' ; i.e., 'place near upstream'. There are places named Edayattur , and Keezhattur on the banks of the river Olippuzha...
following the collapse of the Vijayanagar kingdom at the Battle of Talikota
Battle of Talikota
The Battle of Talikota , a watershed battle fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Deccan sultanates, resulted in a rout of Vijayanagara, and ended the last great Hindu kingdom in South India...
.
Bharatanatyam, a popular dance form native to Tamil Nadu, had its origin 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.
Demographics
The Chola Nadu region had a population of over 10 million with a density of above 400 persons per square kilometre in 2001. Due to fertile soil and favourable climate, the region has been the most densely populated in the Tamil country since ancient times.More than 90 percent of the population speak Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
. There is a significant Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
speaking minority, who had descended from migrants who had mostly moved in during the Vijayanagar and Thanjavur Nayak periods. There are smaller populations speaking Kannada
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
, Saurashtrian
Saurashtra language
Sourashtra or "Sourashtras" or ꢱꣃꢬꢵꢰ꣄ꢜ꣄ꢬꢵ refers to a community of people who had their original homes in Gujarat and presently settled almost in all major Towns of Tamil Nadu and are concentrated more in Madurai which is considered as their cultural Headquarters.They have also settled in...
and Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
. There are also a considerable body of Marathi
Thanjavur Marathi
Thanjavur Marathi, also commonly spelled Tanjore Marathi, is a community language of Maharashtrians who migrated south, along with Shivaji's half brother Venkoji, to the areas surrounding the city of Thanjavur in India back in the 17th century.-About Marathas in Southern India:The history of...
speaking people who are mostly present in the urban areas of Thanjavur district
Thanjavur District
Thanjavur District is one of the 32 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur.-Geography:...
and the city of Tiruchirappalli.
Important Personalities
The Chola Nadu region has produced a umber of noteworthy personalties in the fields of arts, science, film and politics. Long recognized as a hub of Carnatic music, the region is home to most of India's renowned Carnatic musicians. There have also been important individuals in the field of politics. In British times, civil servants and lawyers from Chola Nadu like Sir T. Madhava Rao, Sir A. Seshayya Sastri, Sir Mohammad Usman, Sir A. T. Panneerselvam, Sir T. Muthuswamy Iyer, Sir P. S. Sivaswami Iyer, T. Ananda RaoT. Ananda Rao
Tanjore Ananda Rao CIE was an Indian administrator and statesman who served as the Diwan of the Mysore kingdom from 1909 to 1912. He was the eldest son of Sir T. Madhava Rao.- Early life and education :...
, V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, V. P. Madhava Rao
V. P. Madhava Rao
Vishwanath Patankar Madhava Rao CIE was an Indian administrator and statesman who served as the Diwan of Mysore kingdom from 1906 to 1909 and Baroda from 1910 to 1913.- Early life and education :...
and R. Raghunatha Rao
R. Raghunatha Rao
Diwan Bahadur Rai Raghunatha Rao CSI was an Indian civil servant, administrator, politician and Indian independence activist who served as the Diwan of Indore from 1875 to 1880 and 1886 to 1888. He was related to Indian statesman Sir T...
dominated the bureaucracy. The maternal ancestors of Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer
Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer
Sachivottama Sir Chetpat Pattabhirama Ramaswami Iyer, KCSI, KCIE , also called "C. P.", was an Indian lawyer, administrator and politician who served as the Advocate-General of Madras Presidency from 1920 to 1923, Law member of the Executive council of the Governor of Madras from 1923 to 1928,...
hailed from Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam , also spelt as Coombaconum in the records of British India , is a town and a special grade municipality in the Thanjavur district in the southeast Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located 40 kilometres from Thanjavur and 272 kilometres from Chennai, it is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam...
. Tamil writers V. V. S. Aiyar
V. V. S. Aiyar
Varahaneri Venkatesa Subramaniam Aiyar , also known as V.V.S. Aiyar, was an Indian revolutionary from Tamil Nadu who fought against the British occupation of India. His contemporaries include Subramanya Bharathi and V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, who subscribed to the militant form of resistance against...
and Kalki Krishnamurthy
Kalki Krishnamurthy
Kalki was the pen name of R. Krishnamurthy , a noted Tamil writer, film & music critic, Indian independence activist and journalist from Tamil Nadu, India.- Biography:...
, journalists Kalki Sadasivam, G. A. Natesan
G. A. Natesan
Ganapathi Agraharam Annadhurai Ayyar Natesan was an Indian writer, journalist, publisher, politician and freedom-fighter from the erstwhile Madras Presidency. He was the founder and proprietor of G. A. Natesan & Co...
and Kasturi Ranga Iyengar, Indian independence activist G. Subramania Iyer
G. Subramania Iyer
Ganapathy Dikshitar Subramania Iyer was a leading Indian journalist, social reformer and freedom fighter who founded 'The Hindu' newspaper on September 20, 1878...
who founder The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
, politicians M. R. Sethuratnam Iyer
M. R. Sethuratnam Iyer
M. R. Sethuratnam Iyer was an Indian politician who served as the Minister of Development in the Madras Presidency from March 16, 1928 to October 27, 1930.-Early life:...
and S. Muthiah Mudaliar
S. Muthiah Mudaliar
S. Muthiah Mudaliar CIE was an Indian politician and legislator of the Justice Party and later, the Swarajya Party and an independent minister in the Madras Presidency. He is largely remembered for introducing the Communal Government Order implementing reservations in the Presidency.Muthiah...
and Indian media mogul S. S. Vasan
S. S. Vasan
Subramaniam Srinivasan , popularly known by his screen name S. S. Vasan, was anIndian journalist, writer, advertiser, film producer, director and business tycoon...
were some prominent individuals from the Chola Nadu region. Yesteryear film actors Sivaji Ganesan
Sivaji Ganesan
Viluppuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan Manrayar , commonly known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan , was an Indian stage and film actor active during the latter half of the 20th century. He is one of the most respected film actors in India. He is well known for his versatility and acting skills with...
, M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
Mayavaram Krishnamurthy Thyagaraja Bhagavathar , also called M.K.T., was a Tamil film actor, producer and Carnatic music singer. He is considered to be one of the most successful Tamil film actors ever....
, Gemini Ganesan
Gemini Ganesan
Ramaswami Ganesan , popularly known as Gemini Ganesan , was an Indian actor. He was nicknamed "Kadhal Mannan" of Tamil cinema for the romantic roles he played in movies....
and T. R. Rajakumari
T. R. Rajakumari
Thanjavur Ranganayaki Rajayee , popularly known by her screen name T. R. Rajakumari was a Tamil film actress, Carnatic singer and dancer. She has been called the first "dream girl" of Tamil cinema.-Early life:...
, Indian scientist and Nobel Prize winner Sir C. V. Raman and mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Srīnivāsa Aiyangār Rāmānujan FRS, better known as Srinivasa Iyengar Ramanujan was a Indian mathematician and autodidact who, with almost no formal training in pure mathematics, made extraordinary contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series and continued fractions...
were other important people from the region.
Recent time politicians include the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi
M. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
, former President of India R. Venkataraman
R. Venkataraman
Ramaswamy Venkataraman was an Indian lawyer, Indian independence activist and politician who served as a Union minister and as the eighth President of India....
, late Tamil Nadu Congress leader G. K. Moopanaar and Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar
Mani Shankar Aiyar
Mani Shankar Aiyar is a former Indian diplomat who resigned from foreign service and became a politician working for Rajiv Gandhi in 1989-1991. He is a member of the Indian National Congress party and was the Minister of Panchayati Raj until he lost his seat in the 2009 Election...
. Film personalities such as directors K. Balachander
K. Balachander
K. Balachander is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer. Balachander is known for his distinct film-making style. His films analyse unusual or complicated interpersonal relationships and social themes. He has directed nearly 80 films and has worked in 100 films either as director or...
, S. Shankar
S. Shankar
Shankar is an Indian film director and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He made his directional debut in Gentleman for which he was awarded the Filmfare Best Director Award...
and Mani Ratnam
Mani Ratnam
Mani Ratnam is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter and producer. He made his directorial debut with the Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi starring Anil Kapoor in 1983...
and actors Arvind Swamy
Arvind Swamy
Arvind Swamy is a former Indian film actor. He has acted in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi. Popular movies to his credit include Roja, Bombay, Minsaara Kanavu, Indira, Devaraagam, Alaipayuthey.- Early life :...
and Hema Malini
Hema Malini
Hema Malini is an Indian actress, director and producer, as well as a Bharatanatyam dancer-choreographer. Making her acting debut in Sapno Ka Saudagar , she went on to appear in numerous Bollywood films, most notably those with actor and future-husband Dharmendra. She was initially promoted as...
hail from the region.