kalingarayan, the great and kalingarayan...

Kalingarayan, the Great andKalingarayan Canal

N. Pushparaj, M.E., M.A., BGL.,

PAVENTHAN MEMORIAL TRUST 41, Kaveri Street,

Kalakshetra Colony,Besant Nagar,

Chennai - 600 090 044 - 2491 9292

2 Kalingarayan, the Great and Kalingarayan Canal

Book Name : Kalingarayan, the Great andKalingarayan Canal

Author : N. Pushparaj

Copy Right : Author

First Edition : July, 2016

Subject : Historical Research

Size of the book : Demy 1/8

No. of pages : 80

Designed and Printed by : Indra Gandhi & Ravi

Ramana Graphics, 97890 65515

Publishers : Paventhan Memorial TrustChennai, 044 - 2491 9292

Compliment copy

N. Pushparaj 3

Thanks to Dr. C. PALANIVELUMS, M Ch, DNB, FRCS (Hon) Ed.ChairmanGEM Hospitals and Research CentreCoimbatore

On behalf of Paventhan Memorial Trust, we thankDr. C. Pa lan ive lu , the Cha i rman, GEM Hosp i ta l andResearch Centre, Coimbatore for sponsoring to print 2000copies o f th is book t i t led “Kal ingarayan, the Great -Kalingarayan canal” which is being given to day ( 31-7-2016) as compliment to all the dignitaries and members ofChennai Kongu Nanbargal Sangam who attend the Annual Kongu Family Function at Kamarajar Arangam, Chennai.

Dr. C.Palanivelu is also Professor and Director of theInstitute of Gastroenterology and Minimal Access Surgeryand Manag ing Trus tee o f GEM D iges t ive D iseasesFoundation. (Charitable Trust).

Some o f the H igh l igh ts o f Dr. C. Pa lan ive lu ‘sAchievements:

First Surgeon in South India to introduceLaparoscopic Surgery.

Best Doctor Award by Government ofTami lnadu in 2011 for developingLaparoscopic Surgery.

Dr.BC Roy National Awardee in 2008.

F i rst Indian to per form LaparoscopicWhipple Surgery for Cancer Pancreas.


Won Internat ional Best Video Award inAmerican College of Surgeons for stomachcancer, US 2007.

Publ ished surgica l text books in manylanguages including English, Spanish andChinese.

Laparoscopic Surgery Award from Presidentof India, 2006

Gold Medal for development of surgery byKazhaskhan Nat ional Associat ion ofMedic ine.

Life time Achievement Award, ASI, 2007.

Life time Achievement Award, District Rotary,Coimbatore, 2012.

Vocat ional Excel lence Award of RotaryInternational, 2011.

‘For the sake of Honour Award’ 2009 byMount Rotary, Chennai.

‘Bheeshmacharya Award’ by AMACI, 2012,Coimbatore.

The award of ‘Brand Ambassador ofCoimbatore’ by ICCI, Coimbatore, 2012.

Best Technique Award in 2010 from WorldCongress of Gesogus, Japan.

Conducted Cancer awareness programs tofight against cancer.

Founder of GEM Institute and InternationalTraining Center.

Teacher par excel lence in Laparoscopicsurgery and v is i t ing professor to manyUniversities across the Globe.

N. Pushparaj 5

Conducted in GEM Hospital the first total web conference.

Founder President - AMASI, ISES, PresidentASI and Chairman, Fellow in MAS.

Published over 140 articles in Internationaljournals and presented over 250 papers invarious International Conferences.

Authored many books in Gastroenterologyand Laparoscopic surgery. Innovated over20 new operative techniques.

As a socia l Act iv is t , conducted manyprogrammes.

Received Kongumaamani Award f romChennai Kongu Nanbargal Sangam for hisachievements.

His son Dr. P. Praveen Raj, also a BariatricSurgeon who is be ing g iven ‘KonguSaadhanaiyaalar Award’ into day’s function,may soon excel and overtake his father inthe medical field. He specializes in Obesityand Diabetes Surgery.

Dr. Palanivelu is associated with Chennai KonguNanbargal Sangam for over 40 years and he was thePres ident o f Kongu Students w ing in Chenna i inyes teryears . The Kongu Students process ion inCoimbatore demanding backward c lass category forKongu Vellallar was a big success and it attracted theattention of the Government. Dr. C. Palanivelu was oneof the organizers of the procession.

Once aga in , we thank Dr. Pa lan ive lu fo r thesponsorsh ip o f the book “Ka l ingarayan, the Great -Kalingarayan Canal”.


CONTENTS

Preface 07

About the Author 10

1. Kongu Nadu 12

2. Kongu Vellalar 23

3. Rise of Lingaiyan and Kalingarayan Award 33

4. Construction of Kalingarayan canal 36

5. Special features of Anicut and Canal 41

6. Deeds and Services of Kalingarayan 47

7. Views of foreigners 52

8. Renovation works and 55

prevention of pollution

9 Uthukuli Poligars 57

10. Tributes to Kalingarayan 67

11. Important Details / Years 73

12. List of Kongu Vellalar Koottams 74

N. Pushparaj 7

PREFACE

Paventhan Memorial Trust was established in theyear 2002 in memory of Selvan P. Paventhan, who left forheavenly abode in 1999. The Trust has been giving cashpr izes and cert i f icates to rank hold ing students f romGovernment Schools in Pappireddipatti and scholarship todeserving col lege students . Essent ial mater ials worthRs.five lakhs were distributed to the worst affected familiesin Chennai in the recent floods.

The Trust has so far published more than 18 bookswhich include “bfh§F ntshs® âUkz¢ rl§FfŸ”,“Kongu Vellalar Marriage Rites”, “jUkòÇ kht£l¤âš

bfh§F ntshs®”, “bfh§F khåu‹ Ôu‹ á‹dkiy”,Kongu Warr ior Dheeran Chinnamalai” , “jÄÊš x‰W¥

ãiHÆ‹¿ vGj Äf vËa ÉâfŸ”, “á¤âu¢ áy«ã‹

áj¿a gušfŸ”, “jUkòÇ kht£l« bfh§F ntshs®

T£l§fŸ - br‹id KftÇfŸ”. All these have beenauthored by Dr. Manimegalai who is the Secretary ofPaventhan Memor ia l Trus t , S i lambol i Che l lappanarSilappathikara Trust and E.C. member of Chennai KonguNanbargal sangam for the last 20 years.

“He came, he conquered and left an indelible impact”.This statement may at best capture only a part of the lifeof Kalingarayan, an il lustrious son of Kongu soil whosepraise continues to be sung by one and all.

The construct ion of the Kal ingarayan Anicut andKalingarayan canal linking Bhavani river and Noyyal riverwas an amazing, wonderful and excellent achievement byKalingarayan, who was the pioneer in linking of rivers inIndia.


The l i fe h i s to ry and the great ach ievements o fKalingarayan are not fully known to many people even inthe Kongu belt of Tamilnadu . It is therefore not surprisingthat most of the people in Tamilnadu and elsewhere arenot aware of the amazing and excellent work done byKalingarayan for irrigating the dry lands in Erode regionby constructing an anicut in Bhavani river and digging acanal to link Bhavani river and Noyyal river. The irrigationexperts and technocrats who visited the anicut and thecanal had pra ised the wel l p lanned and met icu lous lyexecuted work of the Kongu chieftain Kalingarayan 730years back when construction technology was in the initialstage.

Padmashri Per iasami Thooran, Kavignar Baskaradoss, writer A.S. Velsamy and a few others have writtenbooks on Kalingarayan.

(Pulavar) Dr. S. Rasu, former Head of the Departmentof Archaeology and Epigraph in Tanjore Tamil Universityand an authority on Kongu culture, has done very extensiveresearch on the h is to ry, l i fe and ach ievements o fKalingarayan and based on many evidences, he has writtenand published the famous book, “Kalingarayan Kaalvaai”(fhÈ§fuha‹ fhšthŒ).

The books “bfh§F ntshs® âUkz¢ rl§FfŸ”,“bfh§F khåu‹ Ôu‹ á‹dkiy” written by my wife,Dr. Manimegalai Pushparaj, were translated by me and the t ranslated books “Kongu Vel la lar Marr iage Ri tes” and“Kongu Warrior Dheeran Chinnamalai” received very goodresponse. Arutselvar Dr. N. Mahalingam, to whom, a copyof the book ‘Kongu Warrior Dheeran Chinnamalai ‘ waspresented, asked me and my wife to write on Kalingarayan also in English.These words inspired and encouraged meto wr i te th is book on Ka l ingarayan, the Great andKalingarayan Canal.

N. Pushparaj 9

Though the book is not a l iteral translation of theTamil book by Dr. Rasu, this book is mostly based on hisbook and certain valuable materials such as a Reprint ofan extract from “The Ruling chief Nobles and Zamindars ofIndia”, given by him to me. I am very much thankful to Kongu Maamani, Dr. Rasu, who has been doing greatservice to Kongu Society, for his help and encouragingwords in bringing out this book on Kalingarayan in English.

Though it may not be tradionally appropriate to thankmy wife for all the help in bringing out this book as wellas the other books, it is to be recorded here that but for her help and involvement, things would have been verydifficult and different.

I thank Mrs . Indragandh i Rav i and Mr.Rav i fo rdesigning and printing of this book very nicely.

I also thank the Trustees of ‘Paventhan MemorialTrust’ - Dr. Silamboli Chellappanar, Thiru. N.Kuppusamy,Thiru. K. Ramalingam, Thiru. C.Konguvel, Thiru.KirupaPushpara j , Tmt . Vasuk i Man ive l , Dr.Emaya K i rupaand Dr. Manimegalai Pushparaj- for the help, assistanceand cooperat ion in the Trust ac t iv i t ies . ’ I a lso thankDr. C. Palanivelu for his monetary contribution to the Trustfor printing 2000 copies of this book to be presented toall the members of Chennai Kongu Nanbargal sangam.

This book is to pay respects and tributes to the greatson of Kongu Soil, Kalingarayan, for his pioneering work,great sacrif ice and services to the people and also tospread h is g reat work among non- Tami l speak ingcommunities around the world, apart from Tamil youth andstudents.

Any suggestion on improvement or correction to thecontents of the book may kindly be sent for incorporatingin the next edition of the book.

N. Pushparaj


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I N.Pushparaj, the author of this book, was born inthe year 1947 in Pappireddipatti in Dharmapuri district. Hisfa ther, la te Th i ru . Narayanasamy Gounder, was theChairman of Pappireddipatti High school Building Committeeand President of Village welfare Committee. Mother’s nameis Tmt.Pappammal (late).

He did his school studies in Board High School inPappireddipatti, PUC in St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchi, B.E.(Mech.) in PSG College of Technology, M.E. (IndustrialEngineer ing) in Col lege of Engineer ing, Guindy, M.A.(Public Administration) in Madras University and BGL inMadurai Kamarajar University.

He joined TNEB in the year 1970 and worked inEnnore Thernmal Power Station, North Chennai ThermalPower Station, Headquarters Offices at NPKRR Maligai atAnna Salai and finally at Mettur Workshop before takingvoluntary retirement in the year 2000.

He marr ied Manimegala i , the daughter o f Tami lScholar Dr. Silamboli Chellappanar. Mrs Manimegalai andMr.Pushparaj are engaging themselves in the charitableactivities of Paventhan Memorial Trust, formed in memoryof their beloved son, Paventhan who passed away in theyear 1999. They are also involved in the act iv i t ies ofSilamboli Chellappan Silappathigara Arakkattalai.

N. Pushparaj 11

Dr. Manimegalai has authored more than 15 booksand she is act ively involving herself in social service,literary works apart from the activities of SilappathikaraTrust , Paventhan Memor ia l Trust and Chennai KonguNanbargal sangam.

Their younger son Mr. Kirupa Pushparaj is a leadingPatent Attorney in USA and his wife Dr.Emaya, daughter ofDr. K.Anbalagan and Tmt. Senthamarai, works in USA as a Psychiatrist .

Pushparaj has authored 8 books so far, out of which3 are in English.


1. KONGU NADU

Pulavar Kuzhanthai in his book “ Kongu Nadu” hasstated that ancient Tamilnadu was divided into five regionsas indicated below.

Chera region

Chola region

Pandia region

Kongu region

Thondai region

However, only three regions namely Chera Nadu,Chola Nadu and Paandia Nadu are used to be referred toin p rac t ice and cons idered as d iv is ions o f anc ien tTamilnadu. The Kings who ruled these three regions arecal led “ Mooventhar”, meaning three kings.EventhoughKongu region and Thondai region were ruled by certainkings and chieftains as separate countries, the duration oftheir kingdom was very short and for most of the periods,the Kongu region and Thondai region were under thecontrol of Chera, Chola and Paandia Kings only.In view ofthe above, Kongu Nadu and Thondai Nadu are not countedseparately but considered part of the above three regions.

The existence of five provinces in Tamilnadu in thepast is evident from an old reference which is indicatedbelow.

N. Pushparaj 13

Chola Nadu famous for rice;

Paandia Nadu famous for pearls;

Chera Nadu famous for elephants;

Kongu Nadu famous for cows;

Thondai Nadu famous for poets, learned and noblepersons.

From the above, it is obvious that Kongu region wasconsidered as a separate province in ancient Tamilnadu.

The rhetorical work Thandiyalangaram contains avery old poetic quotation which states that there were fiveprovinces in Tamilnadu including Kongu Nadu.

The King Cheran Senguttuvan had treated the KonguNadu ruler Elangosar with due respect and given him equalstatus. A verse in the epic ‘Silappathikaram’ contains areference that the King Cheran Senguttuvan was as friendlywith the Kongu King Elangosar as he was with the otherk ings-Nootruvar Kannar, E langai Kayavaagu, MaaluvaVendhan, Cholan Perunaarkilli.

Pulavar S. Rasu, in his book ‘Kizhaampaadi Kannanku la kaan iya la r vara laaru ’ , has ment ioned tha tVaraagamithirar had specified in his book that Kongu Naduwas a separate province. It has been specified in Ashokastone inscr ip t ion that Saayaputh i rar ru led a separatek ingdom. Dr. M. Ra jamanickam, in h is book ‘ I lakk iaVaralaaru’, has indicated that Sayaputhirar was none otherking Athiamaan who ruled Kongu Nadu, as confirmed byJambai stone inscriptions

Kongu Nadu was later annexed by the descendentsof Chola, Oyisaalar, Vijaya nagarathuvar and Mysore kingsfor different periods. Eventhough Kongu Nadu was attached


to various kingdoms during these periods, it did not loseits individuality. Not only was the structure of Kongu Nadu not changed, but also the habits and customs of the Kongupeople remained the same as they were in ancient days.On deep analysis of various facts and details available, itcan certainly be said that Kongu Nadu was a separateprov ince by na ture , as ment ioned by Th i ru . C.M.Ramachandran Chet t ia r, in h is book ‘ Kongu NaatuVaralaaru.

From researches undertaken by various persons,conclusion can be drawn to the effect that Kongu Naduhad always separate boundar ies, h is tory, ar t , cul ture,customs and habits.

The Name ‘Kongu Nadu’

The countries ruled by Chera, Chola, Paandia andThondai k ings were ca l led Chera Nadu, Chola Nadu,Paandia Nadu and Thondai Nadu respectively. The abovecountries got their names from the ruler ’s names.However,it is not the case with Kongu Nadu which was ruled by Velirsduring Sangam age. After Velirs, Kangars ruled Kongu Nadufor some period. Some people had concluded that theregion ruled by Kangars was initially called ‘Kanga Nadu’and with passage of time, it began to be called ‘KonguNadu’, as mentioned by Thirumathi T.K. Sakthi Devi, in herbook ‘Kongu Vellalar Varalaaru’.

Kangu means edge, corner or end. The count rysi tuated at the edge of Chera Nadu, Chola Nadu andPaandia Nadu was called ‘Kangu Nadu’ and the peopleliving in that country were called Kangars.With the passageof time, Kangu Nadu and Kangar became Kongu Nadu andKongar respectively. Hence, Kongu Nadu got its name fromthe word ‘Kangu’ which means edge. The above conclusion

N. Pushparaj 15

has been put for th by some people, as ind icated byThiru.K. Vellimalai in his book ‘Sanga Kaala Kongu Nadu,Kongu Katturai Manigal’.

The word ‘Kongu’ has many meanings such as honey,fragrance,pollen of flowers. The word ‘Kongu’ has beenused to mean ‘pollen of flowers’ in a poem in Kurunthogai,fragrance in the epic Manimegalai and honey in certainlines in the epic ‘ Ainkurunooru’.

Pulavar Kuzhanthai has mentioned in his book ‘KonguNadu’ that the major area of Kongu Nadu has hills andmountains.Since there was plenty of honey in the mountainsand fragrance in the flowers, the Kongu Nadu can be saidto have got its name from the word ‘Kongu’ meaning honeyas well as fragrance.Honey was abundantly available andfragrance of flowers of various trees and plants was felteverywhere and hence people named it ‘Kongu Nadu’, thecountry which is full of flowers, fragrance and honey asmentioned by Thiru.A. Venkateswaran in his research paper‘Vennandhur Vat taara Kongu Ve l la la r Vaazhv ia l ’ . Theconclusion that Kongu Nadu got its word ‘Kongu’ meaningpollen of flowers, fragrance and honey is more convincingand it can be considered acceptable.

Boundaries of Kongu Nadu

There are a number of occasional verses and poemswhich specify the boundaries of Kongu Nadu. The KonguMandala Sadhagam (a poem of hundred stanzas) writtenby Kaarmega Kavignar also gives details of boundaries ofKongu Nadu.

The boundar ies of Kongu Nadu are as indicatedbelow:

North - Thalaimalai or Perumpaalai


South - Vaikaavoor

East - Kulithalai

West - Vellimalai

Pulavar T.P. Chinnasami has stated in his book ‘KonguVellalar Thirumana Sadangugal’ that the above boundariesof Kongu Nadu are mentioned in an occasional verse.

Kongu Nadu- the geographical spread

Thi ru .Na l .Natara jan, in h is book ’ Kongu Ve l la la rVaralaaru’ has stated that Kongu Nadu accounts for onethird of the total land area of Tamilnadu. Kongu Nadu isspread over the following areas.

1 , Erode District

2 . Coimbatore District

3 . Salem District

4. Dharmapuri District

5 . Nilgris District

6 . Namakkal District

7 . Karur District

8 . Kulithalai in Tiruchi District

9 . Palani Taluk in Dindukal District

10 Krishnagiri District

Divisions of Kongu Nadu

Thiru. Nal. Natarajan has further stated that KonguNadu was divided into two regions called ‘South KonguNadu’ and ‘North Kongu Nadu’. The South Kongu Naducompr ised the southern por t ions o f Co imbatore andPalladam Taluks, Pollachi, Udumalpet, Dharapuram, Karur,

N. Pushparaj 17

Kulithalai, Palani and Dindukal Taluks. The North KonguNadu comprised the northern portions of Coimbatore andPalladam Taluks, Avinasi, Gopi, Bhavani, Erode, Salem andNamakkal Taluks.

The Noyyal river and the Cauvery river (after theNoyyal river joins the Cauveri river ) were the boundariesfor North Kongu Nadu and South Kongu Nadu.

Apart from South Kongu and North Kongu, it is seenfrom poet Sundarar ’s Dhevaaram and poet Sekkizhaar ’sPeriapuranam that there was a Division called ‘Mel Kongu’(Mee Kongu) as mentioned by Pulavar S. Rasu in his book‘Amukkayam Porul Thandha Varalaaru’. Sekkizhaar has alsoindicated in his poem that Porur near Coimbatore was alsopart of Kongu Nadu.

It is not known whether there was any division named‘Keezh’ Kongu like the existence of Melkongu Division.

However, researchers say that ‘Mazha Kongu’ specifiedin the charters inscribed on copper plate, actually refer toKeezh Kongu. One such inscription states that Paandia KingNedunchezhiyan crossed the Cauvery river and conquered‘Mazhakongu’. From this, it is inferable that Mazhakongurefers to Mohanur area in Namakkal District.

The ancient Kongu Nadu was ruled by many KonguChie f ta ins . The Chera , Cho la and Paand ia k ingssurrounding Kongu Nadu wanted to conquer the Konguchieftains and attach Kongu Nadu with their respectivecountr ies. Hence wars were waged individual ly by theChera, Chola and Paandia kings against Kongu Nadu.However, the Kongu chieftains did not give in easily. Theyfought bravely and fiercely against the invading kings andopposed the aggress ion to the max imum ex tent


possible.Many such wars had taken place in Kongu Naduamong the Kongu chieftains and other kings.

Finally, theCheran King ‘Andhuvan Seral Irumporaiconquered Kongu Nadu. In this war, the Cheran King wasassisted by his brother’s son Palyaanai Selkezhukuttuvan’and this fact is mentioned in a poem in ‘Pathitrupaththu’,as pointed out by Thiru. Mayilai Seeni Venkatasamy in hisbook’ Kongu Nadum Thulu Nadum.’

Later, Chola kings and Paandia kings had also ruledKongu Nadu by attaching the same with their respectivecountries.

Kongu Nadu- Sub divisions

Kongu Nadu was divided into 24 sub divisions forpurpose of administrative convenience as indicated below.

1 . Poonthurai Nadu

2. Thenkarai Nadu

3. Kaangeya Nadu

4. Pongalur Nadu

5 Aarai Nadu

6. Thiruvaavinam Kudi Nadu

7. Mana Nadu

8. Thalaiya Nadu

9. Poovaania Nadu

10. Araiya Nadu

11. Thattaya Nadu

12. Oduvanga Nadu

13. Vadakarai Nadu

N. Pushparaj 19

14. Kizhangu Nadu

15. Nallurukka Nadu

16. Vaazhavanthi Nadu

17. Anda Nadu

18. Vengaala Nadu

19. Kaavadikka Nadu

20. Aanaimalai Nadu

21. Rasipura Nadu

22. Kaanjikoil Nadu

23. Kuruppu Nadu

24. Vaarakka Nadu

The leader of the subdiv is ion was cal led ‘Naatuthalaivan’ or Naattaar. People under each division respectedtheir leader and lived as per his guidance and advice.

Kongu Nadu is surrounded by mountains and hills onall the sides and the people l iving in Kongu Nadu hadalways been brave and courageous and effectively tried toprotect the country to their best of their ability.In view ofthe above, even though the other parts of Tamilnadu weresubjected to frequent war and aggression and consequentcultural changes, Kongu Nadu did not suffer much and theimpact was considerably low. Kongu Nadu has therefore gota special place for glorious tradition and rich culture.

The important r ivers of Kongu Nadu are Bhavani,Noyyal, Amaravathi and Manimutharu. The river Cauveryflows through the middle part of Kongu Nadu.

The old divisions of Kongu Nadu and the presentareas of each division are as indicated below.


Sl. Old division of Present area in TamilnaduNo. Kongu Nadu (Taluks in full or part)

1. Poonthurai Nadu Erode, Tiruchengodu

2. Thenkarai Nadu Dharapuram, Karur

3. Kangeya Nadu Dharapuram, Kangeyam

4. Pongalur Nadu Palladam, Dharapuram

5. Aarai Nadu Kovai, Avinasi

6. Vaarakka Nadu Palladam, Pollachi

7. Thiruvaavinam Palani, UdumalpetNadu

8. Mana Nadu Karur

9. Thalaiya Nadu Karur

10. Thattaya Nadu Kulithalai

11. Poovaania Nadu Omalur, Dharmapuri, Harur, Pappireddipatti

12. Araiya Nadu Erode, Namakkal

13. Oduvanga Nadu Gopi

14. Vadakarai Nadu Bhavani

15. Kizhangu Nadu Karur, Kulithalai

16. Nallurukka Nadu Udumalpet

17. Vaazhavandhi Nadu Namakkal

18. Anda Nadu Palani

19. Vengaala Nadu Karur

20. Kaavadikka Nadu Pollachi

21. Aanaimalai Nadu Pollachi

22. Rasipuram Nadu Salem, Rasipuram

23. Kanjikoil Nadu Gobi, Bhavani, Erode

24 Kuruppu Nadu Erode

N. Pushparaj 21

The mountains of Kongu Nadu are 1) Oodhi malai,2) Kurundha malai, 3) Siravanampatti malai, 4) Marudhamalai , 5) Rathinagiri malai, 6) Paala malai , 7) Perumalmalai, 8) Aanai malai, 9) Pon malai, 10) Thirumoorthimalai, 11) Thencheri malai, 12) Azhagu malai, 13) Kumaramalai, 14) Oodhiyur malai, 15) Sivan malai, 16) Sennimalai,17) Thava lag i r i ma la i , 18) Kunnathur mala i ,19) Ooraatch iko t ta i Ma la i , 20) Madheswara mala i ,21) Sankagiri malai, 22) Morur malai, 23) Tiruchengodumala i , 24) Kongana mala i , 25) Servarayan mala i ,26) Yercaud malai, 27) Kandhagiri malai, 28) Kolli malai,29 Kabilar malai, 30) Nainaa malai, 31) Thaanthonri malai32) Vennai malai, 33) Pugazhi malai, 34) Aivar malai,35) Kondalthangi malai and 36) Palani malai.

Chieftains were ruling various parts of Kongu Nadufrom the forts built in the following places.

1) Coimbatore, 2) Sathiyamangalam, 3) Kol lekal ,4) Koduveri, 5) Thenaaykkam, 6) Pollachi, 7) Aanaimalai,8 ) D induka l , 9 ) Dharapuram, 10) Ponnapuram,11) Perunthura i , 12) Ezhumaathur, 13) Erode,14) Kangeyam, 15) Karur, 16) Vi jayamanga lam,17) Aravakurichi, 18) Paramathi 19) Bhavani, 20) Meganur,21) Nerinjipettai, 22) Saampalli ( Mettur), 23) Krishnagiri,24) Kaver ipuram, 25) Sa lem, 26) Thagadur,27) Raayakot ta i , 28) Adhaman Kot ta i , 29) Omalur,30) Kaveripattanam, 31) Thenkani kottai 32) Pennagaram33) Perumpalai , 34) Sozhapaadi, 35) Thoppur, 36) Harur,37) Thenkaraikottai , 38) Aathur, 39) Sendhamangalam,40) Namakka l , 41) Sankag i r i , 42) Sadhurag i r i ,43) Kanagag i r i , 44) Magaraa ja kada i , 45) That ta ika lThurgam, 46) Veerapathira Thurgam, 47) Hade Thurgam,48) Rath inagi r i 49) Soolagi r i 50) Kiyaarana Thurgam,51) Anjatti Thurgam.


Of the above, forts at Dindukal and Namakkal alonehave not been destroyed. All the other forts have beeneither ruined or destroyed due to aggression from outside.

Kongu Nadu was ru led by Kalapi rar (who spokelanguages other than Tamil) for some period after Cholasand Paandiyas. Then Kongu Nadu was ruled by Rattarsfor about 180 years, Kangars for about 715 years, againCholas for about 110 years, Oysaalars for about 200 years,Vi jayanagara yadhu l ineage for about 180 years andThuluva l ineage for about 150 years. After this, KonguNadu was ruled by Naayakkars, Mohalayars and Brit ishpeople.

During the above periods, eventhough Kongu Naduwas attached to various regimes, it did not lose or changeits individuality and unique life style.

Kongu region was ruled by some chieftains duringcertain periods and among all the chieftains, Kalingarayanmade a mark in the h is to ry o f Kongu Nadu by h isremarkable achievement in constructing a canal connectingBhavani river and Noyyal river, for providing irrigation tothe dry lands. A major portion of the canal runs throughMelkarai Poonthurai Nadu and a small portion of the canalruns through Melkarai Araya Nadu.

The Poonthurai Nadu is surrounded by Cauvery riverin the east, Noyyal river in the south, Sennimalai in thewest and Bhavani river in the north.

Poonthurai Nadu is very fertile and hence, paddy iscultivated through out the year. Vellodu was one amongthe 32 villages in Poonthurai Nadu, apart from being thesecond capital of Poonthurai Nadu.

N. Pushparaj 23

2. KONGU VELLALAR

Vellalar

Vel lalar means one who donates; one who helpsothers; a philanthropist.

A Thirikadugam verse says that a Vellalan will not takefood with out feeding the guest.

At the beginning of human history, man was just anomad. When he had learn t the use o f s tones andweapons, agriculture was started and man formed his ownfamily. Families turned into communities. Each communityhad its own occupation. The ancestors of Kongu Vellalarcommunity took to agriculture.

Agriculture is considered to be the foremost and themost important profession.An agriculturist produces foodgrains which are vital for the existence of mankind and without which man can not survive. Thiruvalluvar says thatexercising benevolence towards the worthy is the purposefor the whole design of labouring and acquiring property.Agriculture, though laborious is the most excellent form oflabour. Even though people go about in search of variousother employments, they can not neglect agriculture towhich primary importance has to be given.

Agr icu l tu r is ts a re the l inchp ins o f the wor ldconsidering the fact that they support all other people whocan not till the soil. Giving food to others who direly needit is the best help one can do, as outlined in the epic‘Manimegalai’.


Though ‘Vellalar ’ means those who help others, it hasbecome the tradition to call as Vellalar only those who offerthe best he lp to o thers by tak ing to agr icu l ture andproducing food grains. Hence, in practice Vellalar refers toon ly those who have taken to agr icu l tu re as the i rp ro fess ion . Par ipaada l , wh ich is one o f the Sangamanthologies, refers to agriculturists as Vellalar.

Some people say that the word ‘Vellalar ’ should havegot its name from the word ‘Vellam’ which means water,taking into consideration the fact that Vellalar handle mainlywater for agriculture.

Thiru. Nagasamy says in his book ‘Undi Koduthor UyirKoduthore - Varalaatr i l Velaan Kudigal ’ that the word‘Vellalar’ should have been coined from the word ‘vel’ whichmeans so i l . The pot te r who hand les the so i l in h ispro fess ion is re fe r red to as ‘Ve lco ’ in many s toneinscriptions. Similarly those who handle and control the ‘vel’meaning soil, should have been called Vellalar.

Maraimalai Adigal, in his book, ‘Velaan Kudigal’, saysthat those ancient Tamils who took to agriculture and leda glorious and rich cultured life were called Vellalar. PulavarKuzhanthai has mentioned in his book ‘Kongu Nadu’ thatthose who took to agricultural profession and helped othersin getting food which is very vital for man’s survival, arecalled Vellalar.

Quality and nature of Vellalar

Kadialoor Uruthiran Kannanar, in his Sangam classic‘Pattinappalai’ has mentioned about the good nature andhigh qual i t ies of Vel la lar l iv ing in Pugaar (Kavir ipoompattinam) as given below:

Vellalar will not harm or kill others.

N. Pushparaj 25

Vellalar hate theft

Vellalar will respect learned people and noble persons.

Vellalar will feed and protect cows and bulls.

Vellalar who are known for hospitality will receive theguests warmly, feed them nicely and treat them with loveand affection.

Vellalar will take only farming for livelihood with highstandards of living and peaceful domestic life.

It has already been mentioned that Vellalar meansthose people who help others.In keeping with and true tothe above meaning, Vel lalar used to l iberal ly help thebeggars and those who need and ask for help, with outany hesitation and with out refusing.This fact has beenhighlighted in all classical literary works.

Just like Kadialur Uruthiran Kannanar, Elango Adigal,in the epic Silappathigaram has praised the Vellalar ofPugaar as those who help the kith and kin of beggars andsafeguard and support the victory of the king throughsuccessful farming. Elango Adigal has further mentionedthat the Vellalar are sons of mother Cauveri, the river whichwas running full of water.

Life of Vellalar

Information and details regarding the life of Vellalarare available in Sangam literature. The houses of Vellalarwere of peculiar type and had no parallels. The houseswere thatched with plaited coconut leaves.Turmeric yieldswere seen in front of their houses. There were f lowergardens around the house.

There were many pegs deeply rooted in the soil nearthe house and these pegs were having long ropes whichwere used to t ie the calves of the cows. There were


earthen receptacles in the houses to store the grainsproduced in the farm fields.

B ig jack f ru i ts , tender coconut , p lanta in , tenderPalmyra fruit , sweet potato and other vegetables wereavailable in plenty in the housing colonies of Vellalar.

Sirupaanaatru Padai mentions that Vellalar women ,in spite of their having busy work in the house in additionto looking after the children, wil l treat the guests withwarmth and affection, insist on them staying for some moretime and serve them tasty food consisting of white rice,sponge gourd and crab.

From the above, it can be seen that Vellalar are thosepeople who take to farming as their profession and helpothers as much as possible.

Kongu Vellalar

Vellalar are those who are engaged in agriculture.Hence Kongu Vellalar are those people in Kongu Nadu whoare engaged in agr icul ture. Those who have taken toagricul ture in Kongu Nadu include more than hundredcategories of Vellalar such as Kongu Vellalar, AgampadiaVellalar, Aaru Naattu Vellalar, Karuniga Vellallar, VeerakudiVellalar, Kaarkaatha Vellalar. However, the word ‘KonguVellalar ’ means only Kong Nadu Vellala Gounders.

Aboriginal or Migrated

There are two different views on the origin of KonguVel la la r in Kongu Nadu. One v iew is tha t they areaboriginals and the other view is that they are migrants.

Migrated from Kudagumalai - A view

A histor ian by name Vaal House has stated thatKongar be long to the race o f peop le who l i ved inKudagumalai country. In support of his view , Vaal House

N. Pushparaj 27

says that there are similarit ies between things such asburial urns which were obtained dur ing archaeologicalexcavation in some parts of Kongu Nadu and KudagumalaiNadu. Further, a Kannada historian , called Chittal saysthat both the words ‘ Kongar ’ and ‘ Kodagar ’ emanatedfrom a single word and that even among the aboriginalsliving now in Kudagumalai region , there is one divisioncalled ‘Kongar- Kudumban’. The above facts have beenmentioned by Vidhwan V. Ramamurthy in his book ‘KonguNaattu Goundergal’. Hence there is one view that KonguVellalar are those who have migrated from Kudagumalairegion.

Migrated from Chola Nadu - A view

There are two different views regarding the origin ofKongu Vellalar. One view is that Kongu Vellalar are thosewho have migrated from Thondai Nadu to Kongu Nadu. Theother view is that Kongu Nadu itself is the motherland ofKongu Vellalar.

Thiru. Nal. Natarajan, in his book ‘Kongu VellalarVaralaaru’ has stated that a sect ion of Kongu Vel lalarmigrated from Thondai Nadu to Kongu Nadu through CholaNadu according to certain literary works and copper plateinscriptions.

There is also a note stating that the ancestors ofKongu Vellalar had come from Thiruvaalur (Thiruvaarur)area of Chola Nadu and established the Kongu regime. Asan evidence to the above statement, there is a song in.p ra ise o f Goddess Kaa l iamman, the fami ly Goddess(Kuladeivam) of Kongu Vellalar hailing from Vagurampattiof Namakkal Taluk and belonging to Perunkudi Kulam. Thetemple for the above Goddess is near Kondichettipatti.


Apart from the above, Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi hasstated in his book ‘ Ponnar Shankar ’ that there are twonotes — one note mentioning that Kongu Vellalar camefrom Thi rupaathur of Chola Nadu and the other notementioning that Kongu Vellalar came from Nellai area- madeavailable to us through research articles, old songs andpalmyra leaf texts.

Gangai Race

There is also an ancient legend regarding the originof Kongu Vellalar. The story as mentioned in ‘Kongu VellalarPuraana Varalaaru’ is as follows:

The son of Gangai in God Sivaperuman’s matted hairand the daughter of Gangai in God Vishnu’s feet gotmarried and gave birth to Vellalar. Since Kongan was thefirst in Gangai race, the Vellalar were called Kongu Vellalar.”

The above narration is found in Vellalar Puranam.Hence the statement that Kongu Vellalar are sons of Gangaiis based on the ancient legend.

Aborigins

Abithaana Chinthaamani writ ten by A. SingaraveluMudaliyar, states as follows:

“Velir are aborigins of Tamilnadu. These people arethe Vellalar. They were called by different names such as Vel Aavi, Vel Aay, Vel Paari. Vel Began. These people werein Tami lnadu even before the ar r iva l o f Agath ia r inTamilnadu. They were called ‘Kizhaar’ which means owner.”

Sons of soil

Dr. A. K. Arangasami in his book, ‘Vidudhalai VeeranChinnamalai’ says that Kongu Vellalar are living in this land(Kongu Nadu) for a very long period. ‘The existence of therace o f Kongu Ve l la la r was found even dur ing the

N. Pushparaj 29

prehistoric period. This is evident from the fact that thewide mouthed clay lamps, kept in pots traced and obtainedfrom Kodumanal archaeological excavation, were found tohave marks mentioning the individual’s actual name as wellas the name of the Koottam (Kulam) to which the personbelonged’ says Dr. K. Arangasami.

Pulavar Kuzhanthai whi le mentioning in his book‘Kongu Nadu’ that there is no evidence - either l iteraryworks or other documents - to prove that Kongu Vellalarmigrated to Kongu Nadu from any other place, puts forththe following reasons to show that Kongu Vellalar are sonsof soil.

1 . There is no kulam name for Vellalar of other countries.

2 . The title ‘ Gounder’ is not found in other places.

3 . Many names of noble and learned men of ‘Sangam’age are found in the list of names of the Koottam.The names of 24 koottams are those of Sangam age.

Professor K.K.Pillai, in his book’ Tamil Varalaaru’ haspointed out that Dravidians, aborigins and Kongu Vellalarlived in the southern area.T.M. Kaliappa, in his forewordto the book ‘Kongu Vellalar Varalaaru’ written by Tmt. SakthiDevi, has pointed out a statement made by K. ArunachalaGounder to the effect that Kongu Vellalar alone are fromthe lineage of Tamil people of Sangam age.

Taking into consideration all the above aspects andthe points put forth, i t can certainly be concluded thatKongu Vellalar are the original inhabitants and that theybelong to Tamil ancestral line only.

Gounder

Apart from engaging themselves in agriculture, KonguVellalar had been keeping good relations and close contact


with Chera, Chola and Paandia kings and worked undertheir control as chieftains and army generals to look afterthe welfare of the people and protect them. The kings usedto confer spec ia l t i t les such as Mandraad iyar,Vaanavaraayan, Kamindan on Kongu Vellalar. Of these,‘Kamindan’ means one who is very able and strong indefence war. Kamindan’ also means one who protectscultivated plants, cattle, citizens and the country. Kamindanhas become ‘Gounden’ in the course of time and the word‘Gounden’ refers to Kongu Vellalar.

Some people say that ‘Kamindan’ means one who hassuccessfully returned after converting forest waste land intofertile land.’ Gounder’ is only a title and not a caste name.

Vellalar - Gounder

The word ‘Vellalar ’ got its name from the profession.Kongu Nadu is surrounded by hills and mountains.Thosepeople who lived in the plains took to agriculture and thosewho lived in the mountains and hills used to go for huntingof animals for making their livelihood. These people werecal led ‘Vet tuva Gounders ’ . The book, ‘Kongu Vel la larPuraana Vara laaru ’ g ives deta i ls o f 19 categor ies o fGounders as indicated below:

1 . Vellala Gounder

2 . Vettuva Gounder

3 . Narambu katti Gounder

4 . Naattaa Gounder

5 . Okkilia Gounder

6 . Agamudia Gounder

7 Palli Gounder

8 Padayaachi Gounder

N. Pushparaj 31

9. Modavandi Gounder

10 Padaithalai Gounder

11. Civiyaa Gounder

12. Senthalai Gounder

13. Pavala Vellala Gounder

14. Paala Vellala Gounder

15. Sangu Vellala Gounder

16. Malayaala Gounder

17. Thirumudi Gounder

18. Thonda Gounder

19 Thozhuva Gounder

Even though there are d i f fe ren t ca tegor ies o fGounders as shown above,’Gounder ’ means only KonguVellala Gounder tradionally as well as by custom.

Koottam-Kulam

Kongu Vellalar have a distinct social structure.Theycomprise people belonging to many koottams. The Koottamis also called kulam or Kudi which means a family lineage.By tradition and custom, people belonging to one particularKoottam will have marriage relations with people belongingto a different Koottam only. People belonging to the sameKoottam are called ‘Pangaaligal’ which means agnates orbrothers by relation.Pangaaligal are those who will shareamong themselves joy, sorrow, wealth, property, success,fai lure and such other things. People belonging to theother koot tams wi l l be cons idered bro ther - in - law ormother ’s brother or fatherin- law- category relationship(Maamani- Maithunan Murai). A male ancestor ’s l ineageforms one particular Koottam in Kongu Vellalar community.


Marriage is prohibited between a boy and a girl ofthe same Koottam. Men and women belonging to the sameKoottam are cal led brothers and sisters. A boy of oneKoottam can marry a girl of a different Koottam only.

Naming of Kulams

There is a spec i f i c name fo r each and everykulam.Each kulam was named after a bird, fish, tree, partsof body, jewels, plant or occupation.A list of 142 kulamshad been specif ied in Odhaala Azhagumalai Kuravanj i .In practice, detai ls are available for around 80 kulamsonly. Details of Kulam and Kuladeivam are indicated inChapter - 12.

Kula Deivam and Kudipaattu Koil

For each Koottam, there is a specif ic God cal led‘Kuladeivam’ to be worshipped in a temple located in aspecific place. This temple is called ‘Kudipaattu Koil’. Thekulam mark is very helpful in identifying Pangaaligal andarranging marriages in accordance with the customs andpractices followed in the Kongu Vellalar community.

Ka l ingarayan, the great man o f Kongu Nadu,belonged to Saththanthai kulam.

Even though the anicut and the canal connectingBhavani r iver and Noyyal r iver were constructed as ahistorical wonder by Kalingarayan of Saththanthai kulam,the amaz ing mat te r o f g rea t in te res t i s tha t peop lebelonging to the above kulam did not use the canal waterfor irrigation of their lands.

N. Pushparaj 33

3. RISE OF LINGAIYAN ANDKALINGARAYAN AWARD

Lingaiyan, was borne in the year 1235 AD in a smallvi l lage called ‘Kanagapuram’ a hamlet near Vellodu ofErode region. His father, Nanjian was an agriculturist .Thefamily followed Veera Saiva tradition. Lingaiyan was verysmart, wise and brave even in his younger days of life. Helearnt Tamil, Mathematics and History and also developed various skills.

Erode was under the regime of Chera king in 850AD. There after, Erode was ruled by Chola kings withheadquarters at Dharapuram. Subsequently , it came underthe control of Pandias and only during this period, the ruler,by name Sadaiyavarman Veerapandian came to power inthe year 1265 AD with headquarters at Madurai. When theKongu reg ion was under the ru le o f Sada iyavarmanVeerapandian, Lingaiyan joined the army of Pandia kingdomas a soldier at an early age and rose to the level ofcommander and administrative officer at the age of 30.

Within a short period of time, Lingaiyan attained thechieftainship by virtue of his exemplary ability and wisdom.His performance was so good that he was made the ‘UtharaMantri’ by the Pandia King. Soon after this, the Pandia Kingwho was very much impressed with the leadership qualitiesof Lingaiyan, conferred the t i t le of ‘Kal ingarayan’ and


provided him the powers to rule the northern part of Kongu region as a representative of the Pandia Kingdom.

After award of this title, people used to call him asKalingarayan only, with out mentioning the original name,Lingaiyan. He became a polit ical leader and ruled thenorthern part of Kongu Nadu for almost 40 years, actingas a representa t ive o f the th ree Pand ia K ings ,Sadaiyavarman Veerapandian, Sundarapandian and thenKulasekarapandian.

Kalingarayan, a man of great courage, wisdom andextraordinary knowledge was respected by both the Pandiakings and the people. He also possessed innumerable traitsand special qualities of high caliber. After getting the powerto rule the northern part of the Kongu region, Kalingarayandesilted several ponds and lakes and laid new roads inthe region. He was always respected by all the people inthe region including his Pangaal igal from Saththanthaikulam and he, in turn, respected them. He paid specialattention for his relatives belonging to Saththanthai kulamand helped them in all possible ways.

Poonthurai, one of the 24 divisions of Kongu Naduconsisted of 32 villages and Kalingarayan was made chiefof that area, with Vellodu as his capital. Vellodu is 14 KMfrom Erode on the road to Sennimalai. He constructed atemple there and dedicated it to Padagavalli Nachiar.

The 32 villages of Poonthurai Nadu were as follows:

1 . Poonthurai 2 . Vellodu

3. Nasiyanur 4 . Ezhumaathur

5 . Pidariyur 6 . Eengiyur

7 . Perunthurai 8 . Sathanur

N. Pushparaj 35

9. Kalamangalam 10. Kolanalli

11. Kizhaampadi 12. Modakurichi

13. Anumanpalli 14. Pazhamangalam

15. Kulavilakku 16. Kagam

17. Arachalur 18. Vilakkethi

19. Eenjampalli 20. Sathimangalam

21. Semur 22. Mangalam

23. Erode 24. Sithodu

25. Thindalpudur 26. Elavamalai

27. Thiruvachi 28. Panayampalli

29. Odanilai 30. Veeraganallur

31. Perodu 32. Murungaithozhuvu


4. CONSTRUCTION OFKALINGARAYAN CANAL

Kalingarayan was a patriotic citizen of Kongu Naduand he was very much concerned and worr ied to seePoonthurai Nadu very dry and unsuitable for agriculture,especially for cultivating paddy, sugarcane and turmeric.Even though Kalingarayan desilted many ponds and lakesin the region, the water availability was too small in quantitythat only a very small portion of the land could be irrigated.

The fact that the r iver Cauvery was running withlimitless water in Poonthurai country through out the yearwithout giving any benefit to Poonthurai country, made himmore worried. The agricultural lands in Poonthurai Naduwere not flat, but were full of ups and downs whereas theriver Cauvery was running at a lower level and hence, itwas not possible to utilize the Cauvery water to irrigatethe lands in Poonthurai Nadu which were mostly at higherlevel.

Kalingarayan thought over it and came out with a verywell thought out plan to construct an anicut in Bhavaniriver, one of the tributaries of Cauvery river, and a canalto the extent possible to make Poonthurai country fertileand rich.

He then proceeded to Madurai to meet the KingVeerapandian for obtaining approval to the proposed plan,advice in general pertaining to the execution of the project

N. Pushparaj 37

and ass is tance regard ing money, men and mater ia lswherever required .

The Pandia King who was very much impressed anda l ready very happy about the ab i l i t y, admin is t ra t i vecapaci ty, technologica l sk i l l , w ide knowledge and theearnest desire of Kalingarayan to make the region fertile,readi ly approved the plan and promised to render a l lassistance required in the course of execut ion of theproject. Based on the above, Kalingarayan worshipped GodSivalingeswaran and commenced the project work, whichwas not only challenging, but also the first of its kind inthe ent i re area from Kanyakumari in the south to theHimalayas in the north.

It is believed in Kongu Nadu that there was alsoanother reason which prompted Kalingarayan to take upthe massive work of constructing the anicut across the riverBhavani and linking the rivers Bhavani and Noyyal. Thewidely believed reason was as follows:

Kalingarayan wanted his son to get married. As wasthe custom and practice during that period, Kalingarayanwent to his brother- in -law’s house at Karur and proposedfor marriage of his son with the daughter of his brother-in- law, who belonged to Pannai ku lam. After mutualdiscussions and agreement, the betrothal was arrangedand celebrated grandly on an auspicious day. However, an unfortunate and undesirable incident took place whichcaused postponement of the marriage.

During the stay of Kalingarayan in his brother- in-law’s house at Karur, the cook of the bride’s party askedhis master whether coarse rice or fine rice should be cookedfor the guests. The master replied in jest, “What matters ifyou cook coarse rice or fine rice for the people living in


dry lands.” On hearing these words, Kal ingarayan gotoffended and retired to bed with a strong vow that he wouldnot take food in his brother- in law’s house unless anduntil the dry lands in his vil lage and surrounding areaswere converted into wet lands suitable for yielding fine rice.

Kalingarayan also vowed a life of penance till his taskwas comple ted somehow or o ther. He prayed GodSivalingeswarar to give him the strength and show waysand means for taking up and completing the work, and lefthis beard to grow as a token of his vow.

While Kalingarayan was asleep, God Sivalingeswararappeared in his dream in the form of an old sage and said,“Why are you dejected? Do not be disheartened; Constructan anicut at Bhavani river and dig a canal; The object willbe real ized” . Kal ingarayan asked, “Oh! Swamy, I amperplexed; I do not know where to construct the anicut andin what course to dig tha canal.” The sage replied, “Apeacock has run chasing a snake from a certain point tothe bed of the river Bhavani and the traces of the sameare left there. Take the course.”

Kalingarayan woke up and immediately went to thepoint indicated in the dream and to his surprise and joy,saw the traces of the snake having been chased by apeacock.

Kalingarayan began the work to dig a canal andconstruct a dam with stones brought from OoratchikottaiHills. But the work was obstructed by Vellai Vettu Poligaron the ground that the land in question where the damwas proposed to be cons t ruc ted , be longed to h im.However, Kalingarayan fought with Vellai Vettu Poligar andwon the case, thereby c lear ing the hurd le fo r theconstruction work.

N. Pushparaj 39

For the purpose of construction of the anicut and thecana l , Ka l ingarayan purchased a h i l l loca ted inOora tch iko t ta i near Bhavan i . He a lso purchased thepathway connecting the hill and the place of constructionof the anicut. Stones required for the construction work ofthe anicut were cut in the hill area and the stones werebrought to the anicut place through many buffalo carts.The construction works were carried out with focus onquality and strength. Kalingarayan also participated in thework personally and brought stones from the hill in a cartdriven by two buffalos which were named as Raman andLakshmanan.

In order to ensure that the workers traveling from thehill area to the anicut area took proper rest, rest stationswere established at various places with water and plentyof eatables. For linking the stones without getting washedaway by the water leaking from the dam, steel rods andlead were used to keep the joints strong and permanent.

The place where water from Kalingarayan canal joinsNoyyal river is called Kooduthurai. At this place, the widthof the Kalingarayan canal is only one metre approximately.Kalingarayan built the anicut and the canal from the anicutpoint to a place near Kodumudi. The cost involved in thetask was enormous.

After completion of the work which involved a longtime period ((1270 AD—1282 AD ) and high cost, both theanicut and the canal were named after Kalingarayan, whoachieved the successful completion of the project involvinglinking of the two rivers by virtue of his strong commitmentand vision. All the dry lands of Poonthurai Division wereeventually converted into wet and fertile lands.

The vil lage near the anicut is called Kalingarayanvillage. The paddy produced using the canal water is called


Kalingarayan paddy.The peacock had become the emblemof Kalingarayan family.

Even though, it has been widely believed and statedin ancient records such as Vamsavali Keifeit and the Englishbook, “The ruling Chiefs, Nobles and Zamindars of India”that the motive for construction of the anicut and the canalby Kalingarayan was the humiliation suffered by him at hisbrother in law’s house, Pulavar S. Rasu, the authority onKongu history, Kongu culture and who had done extensiveresearch on Kalingarayan canal based on literature, stoneinscriptions and copper plate inscriptions had categoricallystated in his book ‘Kalingarayan Kaalvaai’ (fhÈ§fuha‹

fhšthŒ) that Kalingarayan constructed the anicut and thecanal only for the improvement of the country by irrigatingdry lands by proper planning. More over, he did not takeaction to irrigate the lands in his native place, Vellodu,us ing the above cana l water. However, the a l legedhumiliation of Kalingarayan by his brother - in- law, as themotive for construction of the canal, has come to stay inthe history.

Kalingarayan then returned to Karur and celebratedthe marriage of his son since he accomplished what hevowed.

N. Pushparaj 41

5. SPECIAL FEATURES OFKALINGARAYAN ANICUT AND

KALINGARAYAN CANAL

“He came, he conquered and le f t an inde l ib leImpact”. This statement may at best capture only a part ofthe life of Kalingarayan, an illustrious son of Kongu soilwhose praise continues to be sung by one and all.

Ka l ingarayan t ranspor ted la rge rocks f romOoratchikottaimalai on buffalo drawn carts.This was one ofthe main reasons for the long construction period of 12years. The work was commenced in the year 1270 ADand comple ted in the year 1282 AD. Fur ther, in theconstruct ion of the canal , he roped in a l l the peoplei r respec t ive o f cas te , by levy ing tax to meet theconstruction expenses. A decree of Kalingarayan containsthe list of communities and the wealth tax to be paid byeach community for the construction work. He donated amajor portion of his wealth including his mother ’s hardearned savings, for the above purpose. Funds for theproject were also col lected by way of donat ions f rompeople, especially his relatives.

Though Kal ingarayan co l lec ted tax naming i t as‘Kalingarayan viniyogam’ from all classes of the society, heexempted certain people from the lower strata from payingthe tax. After completion of the work, Kalingarayan passedan order to the effect that the descendents belonging to


his sect ‘Saththanthai’ kulam shall not have the right touse the water from the canal.

The fifth day in the Tamil month of Thai is an epoch-making day in the annals of Kongu and Erode history,inparticular and Tamilnadu in general. For, it was on this dayof Tamil Calendar 734 years ago, that Kongu ChieftainKalingarayan finished construction of the anicut and canal,and water was released for irrigation for the first time.

The canal was designed with a meandering route tomax imize the area o f the land to be benef i t ted .Kalingarayan began the work in the year 1270 AD withthe const ruc t ion o f a smal l bar rage across the r iverBhavani. It was in the year 1282 AD when he took the canalto the banks of river Noyyal at Aavudaiaaparai.

Even though the distance between the start of theKalingarayan canal and the end of i t is only 32 miles,Kalingarayan designed it in a circuitous way with as manytwists and turns as possible that it measured 56.5 miles.There were two reasons for Kalingarayan to extend thelength of the canal. By extending the length of the canalas much as possible, the chieftain wanted to irrigate largerareas of land and in doing so, he made the best use ofthe natural gradient.

Ka l ingarayan cana l has th ree sub cana ls v iz .Malaiyampalayam Division sub canal, Periapattam Divisionsub canal and Aavudaiaaparai Division sub canal. The greatefforts of Kalingarayan in having successfully completedthe construction of the canal had benefitted over thousandsof families. The 90.6 km long canal at present caters to15743 acres of land. Every year, water is released fromKal ingarayan an icu t th rough the cana l usua l ly f rom 16th of June up to 30th of April continuously for 10 months.

N. Pushparaj 43

The maintenance works of the anicut and canal are carriedout during the rest of the days.

The impor tan t v i l lages loca ted on the banks o fKalingarayan canal are Anai Naasuvampalayam, Ramanathapuram, Peria Agraharam, Erode, Sathanur, Savadipalayam,Kalamangalam, Paasur, Palani goundan palayam, VattakalVa lasu, Mala iyampalayam, Ko lana l l i , Ku t tapa layam,Kaaranampalayam, Karukkampalayam, Unjalur, Kolathupalayam, Panapalayam, Ka lvet tupa layam, Vengampur,Vadakku pudupalayam, Ganapath ipa layam, Kodumudi ,Varundhiya palayam and Cholakkali palayam.

The impor tan t channe ls wh ich come across theKal ingarayan canal are Sunnambu Oodai , Pichaikaranpalayam Oodai, Perumpallam Oodai and Kurangan PallamOodai. I t is a matter of f ine planning and meticulousexecution to note that the Kalingarayan canal had beendug in such a way that the water from the channels (Oodai)does not mix with the water of Kalingarayan canal. TheKalingarayan canal links the two main tributaries of riverCauvery - r iver Bhavani and r iver Noyyal . The anicutconstructed by Kalingarayan is across Bhavani river at avery small distance prior to joining the river Cauvery. Thisdrains water in Kalingarayan canal of length 90.6 km. Thiscanal meets the r iver Noyyal a t Aavudaiaapara i . TheKalingarayan Canal gets its water from Bhavani river aboutone km before it flows into the Cauvery river.

The river Bhavani meets the river Cauvery in thenorthern region of Erode.There is a temple known as ShriSangameswarar temple at the convergence of the tworivers.

The canal supports one of the largest ayacut in theState.It irrigates vast stretches of turmeric, sugar cane andpaddy fields.


As Kalingarayan constructed the canal with severalcurves like the crawling of a snake at elevated places, anora l t rad i t ion in the Kongu reg ion main ta ins tha tKal ingarayan constructed the canal as directed by thesnake.

There is a traditional belief among a section of thepeople that after water was released for irrigation from thecanal, there was a comment by certain people who werejealous of Kalingarayan, that he constructed the canal withthe selfish motive of benefits for him and his Pangaaligalbelonging to the Saththanthai kulam, by way of irrigationto their lands in the ayacut. On hearing these comments,Kalingarayan categorically declared that people belongingto Saththanthai kulam would never use the canal water,not only for irrigation purpose, but also for drinking purposeand that all others could use the canal water for irrigation.

Whatever might be the reason, the fact is that evenaf te r more than 730 years , peop le be long ing toSaththanthai kulam have not used the canal water forirrigation. It was really a great selfless act on the part ofKalingarayan and an amazing sacrifice by him in havingmade such a historic declaration. In this connection, it isappropriate to mention a recent statement by Viswanathan,a farmer belonging to Saththanthai kulam, that even thoughhe owned three acres of land near the canal, he used thewell water only for irrigation of his land and not the canalwater.

The mean sea level (MSL) at the point where thecanal begins is 534 feet and at the end, it is 412.48 feet. The chieftain wanted to extend the canal further, to take itto the river, Amaravathi. Soon after the construction of thecanal, on seeing good flow of water into the Noyyal river,Kalingarayan decided to extend the canal up to Amaravathi

N. Pushparaj 45

river by building another barrage at Athipalayam, a placenear the southern bank of Noyyal. The work was taken upand some progress was made. However, he d id notcomplete the work due to some inevitable reasons.

As an evidence to the unfinished extension work, andas proof of the innovative efforts taken by Kalingarayan to link Noyyal river and Amaravathi river , even today, thebarrage by the name ‘Ootai Anai is present at Athipalayam.Dr. Bhuchanan, a foreigner who visited the canal, hadment ioned in h is repor t da ted 7-11-1800 about theKalingarayan canal extension scheme.Further, a technocratby name Wedderburn, had submitted a project report on27-3-1872 wherein it was proposed to store water in Noyyaland irrigate 13000 acres of land on the southern bank ofNoyyal at an estimated cost of Rs. 8,71,000/.

From the above, i t cou ld be seen tha t a f te rKalingarayan linked Bhavani river and Noyyal river, he alsoinitiated steps to link Noyyal and Amaravathi rivers, but thework cou ld no t be comple ted . However, tak ing in tocosideration the fact that he planned to l ink Bhavani,Noyya l and Amaravath i in the 13 th century i tse l f ,Kalingarayan is undoubtedly the pioneer in linking of rivers.

There is a false belief among a section of the peoplebe long ing to Kongu Ve l la la r communi ty tha t peop lebelonging to Saththanthai kulam did not offer any help atall to Kalingarayan in the construction of the canal and inview of the above, after completion of the constructionwork, he had reportedly told them angrily that they shouldnot use the water from the canal either for irrigation oftheir lands or for drinking purpose.

But it is definitely not true and there was no chanceof any rift between Kalingarayan and his Pangaaligal since


the aim and intention of Kalingarayan was to ensure thatthe benefits of the project reached all the people. Sincethe requirement of water for irrigation of all the lands nearthe canal was more than the availability of water from thecanal, Kalingarayan decided that people of Saththanthaikulam would not use the canal water. This is one of thereasons why Kalingarayan is hailed by one and all. Thefact that even now Kongu Vellalar belonging to Saththanthaiku lam fee l very proud in s ta t ing that they be long toKalingarayan lineage clearly shows that there was no rifto r misunders tand ing between Ka l ingarayan and h isPangaaligal.

Moreover, Kal ingarayan himself was very keen toensure that people did not have even a bit of doubt thatthe construction of the Canal was to irrigate his own lands.After construction work of the Canal was over, Kalingarayanmade a vow that he would not drink even a drop of waterfrom the Canal and left for Uthukuli with his family. It isrealy a great matter about which people can be very proudof him and pay respects to him.

N. Pushparaj 47

6. DEEDS AND SERVICES OFKALINGARAYAN

When Ka l ingarayan was the po l i t i ca l head o fPoonthurai Nadu wi th i ts headquarters at Vel lodu, hecarr ied out many good deeds and rendered va luab leserv ices fo r the benef i t o f the peop le o f KonguNadu.Digg ing o f ponds, des i l t ing and renovat ion o fdamaged ponds, bui lding of temples, renovation of oldtemples, creating of new villages, delegation of rights topeople were the important deeds and services carried outby Kal ingarayan. He also laid many new roads in theregion.

When Veerapandian was in the fifth year of his rulingin the year 1270, Kalingarayan went to Vagaiputhur, whichwas a part of Vijayamangalam of Kongu Kuruppu Nadu. Heordered immediate renovation of Vagaikulam which was indeteriorated condition for a long period of time, by KuruppuNadu Sabai. He also ordered that the cost for the aboverenovation and for future maintenance should be borne byVijayamangalam village Sabai.

Kalingarayan repaired a damaged pond in the villageTiruchitrambala Nallur in the year 1271 and named it as‘Vellaikulam’ in memory of the ancestors of Pandias.

Kalingarayan arranged for digging and constructionof tanks and ponds in Vellodu and Kanagapuram in the


year 1275. He also renovated a leaked tank in Elathur ofGop i ta luk in the year 1279 and a tank in SarkarPeriapalayam in the year 1289, which was the 24 th yearof Veerapandian rule.

Ka l ingarayan a lso renovated the S iva temple inVellodu and conducted the Purif ication ceremony in theabove temple at the t ime of consecration of the deity.Further , he built a Perumal temple in Thingalur and namedit as ‘ Sundarapandian Vinnagaram’.

Kal ingarayan donated substant ive amount to thetemple of Arthanareeswarar in Tiruchengodu and carriedout many development works in the temple.The PalamadaiAmman temple in Goundachi palayam near Vellodu was builtby him even before the construction of Kalingarayan canal.Also, the Agathur Amman temple in Uthukuli was constructedby him . Agathur Amman is even now the Kuladeivam ofKalingarayan lineage.

Kalingarayan created a village called Kachirayanallur,in memory of Kachirayan who was a polit ical officer ofPandia and who helped him in various ways in planningand execution of innumerable welfare activities. He alsoestablished a new village called ‘ Velliraveli’ near Kunnathurof Kuruppunadu. Navidhampalayam which was originallycalled ‘Kalingarayan palayam’ was also created by him. Theinteresting incident leading to the creation of ‘Navidhampalayam’ was as follows:

Kalingarayan had made a vow that he would not gethis beard shaved until successful completion of the canalwork. After the completion of the entire work in the year1282 and after water was released into the canal for thefirst time which was on fifth of Thai month of that year,one day he was in sound sleep at his home. At that time,

N. Pushparaj 49

h is fami ly barber came and w i th ou t wak ing upKalingarayan, shaved his face which was with long beardall over, in deep slumber. He also kept a mirror in frontKalingarayan to enable him to see his shaved face as soonas he woke up.

After some time Kalingarayan woke up , saw his facein the mirror and realized that his face was fully shavedbeautiful ly.He was immensely pleased with the barber ’stimely action in removing his beard after realization of thevow made by him. Kalingarayan lauded the barber for histhoughtful act and asked him what he wanted as a favouror present for the good work done by him. The barberreplied that he did not want any materialistic present, butwanted someth ing to be done to commemorate h isname.Kalingarayan readily accepted to fulfil his wish andaccordingly, founded a village near the Kalingarayan anicutand named it as ‘Navidhampalayam . The above village was granted to the barber as a freehold.

Uthukuli near Pollachi was created and developedbeauti ful ly and artful ly by Kal ingarayan. Many parts ofKavidikka Nadu, where Uthukuli is situated, were arrangedto be g iven to the people of Saththanthai ku lam byCheraman Perumal Nayanar. The cowsheds of Kalingarayanwere already there.

Apart f rom being known for valour, Kal ingarayanintroduced many social changes which were considered asrevolutionary in those days. He found that in some areaswhere dominant and influential people of so called highclass category lived, it used to be the practice then thatpeople belonging to backward classes should not walk withchappals. Also, during any festival or function, they should not use auspicious musical instruments and kettle drumsetc. Kalingarayan who valued human rights, cancelled all


the restrictions of the above kind and gave equal rightsto all. He permitted the lower caste persons to wear footwear, plaster their houses on the outside ,blow conchesand p lay mus ica l ins t ruments dur ing good and badoccasions.He issued orders to this effect and in order tospread the message to all the people all over Kongu Nadu,he established stone and copper inscriptions to the aboveeffect at many places across the region.

Kal ingarayan was a devotee of God Siva and heworshipped Sarval ingeswarar in Vel lodu. He was r ichenough to bear the expenses related to temple functionsand celebrations and he did it along with activities suchas feeding of poor people. He was rendering help totemples of all Gods in his country without any prejudicewhich showed his secular mind. He was blessed with a son, by name, Nanjian.

The name of Kalingarayan became very famous inKongu Nadu because of the marvelous and incredibleach ievement and he grew in power as t ime wenton.Because of this development, the Pattagars of the other23 Div is ions o f Kongu Nadu became very jea lous o fKalingarayan and as a result, they declined to bestow equalhonour and grant equal seats to him, on the score thatonly Kavidikka Nadu was given to him and not PoonthuraiDivision.In view of the bad treatment rendered to him,Kalingarayan felt disgusted with them and decided to leaveVellodu and settle in Kavidikka Nadu to live in dignity andpeace.

After leaving Vellodu, he went straight to his place inKavidikka Nadu near the Aanamalai hills and created thevi l lage where springs were dug for the cows to dr inkwater.The above village where beautiful huts were built was

N. Pushparaj 51

called Uthukuli and Kalingarayan lived there with family andcattle.

The exact year of his departure to heavenly abode isyet to be ascertained, but what is certain is that beforedeparting, he made the Kongu region a heaven of peaceand prosperity, apart from establishing his name as thepioneer in linking of rivers.

Because of the great achievement, good deeds andhumanitarian services by Kalingarayan for the benefit andwelfare of the people of Kongu Nadu, he was in later yearsand even now worshipped as God, not only by the peoplebelonging to Saththanthai kulam, but also by many people belonging to various kulams of Kongu Vellalar community.


7. APPRECIATION ANDCOMMENDATION BY

FOREIGN EXPERTS

The Kalingarayan anicut and the canal which wereconstructed 730 years back have attracted the attentionof many foreign experts and won great appreciation andcommendation , especially for the wonderful design, qualityof construction, special features, provision for optimumutilization of water for irrigation purpose.

The notable foreign experts and technocrats whovisited the Kalingarayan anicut and the canal include FatherSwartze, Dr. Bhuchanan, Lt. Colonel Col in Meckanzle,Wroughton, Hannan, Colonel Wedderburn, Arundels ICS,Colonel Montgomeric, Mead Penny Cuick, Awdry, GeneralMorgan and Sir Arthar Cotton.

The reports of these experts are useful for tracingmore historic news, apart from making everybody happyand proud to go through the commending words about theextraordinary achievement of Kalingarayan.

Father Swartze visited the canal on 7-8-1779 andregistered his high praise of the work. Lt.Colonel ColinMeckanzle had made a report on Kalingarayan canal andalso on Kalingarayan. The document tit led ‘Calingo RayGounden Pattagars of Vootoocoolie in Malabar’ and beingapprec ia t ive o f the work is ava i lab le in GovernmentRecords in the form of old palm leaves with writings onthem. The report by Wroughton who visited the canal inthe year 1845 gives many details of the pioneering work,anicut and the canal.

N. Pushparaj 53

The report by Hannan being highly appreciative ofthe work, also suggested certain improvements for irrigatingmore area of land. Colonel Wedderburn who visited thecanal and did extensive study , had given a project reportdated 27-3-1872 on Kalingarayan extension Scheme at anest imated cost of Rs 8,71,000/. The report which wasconsidered to be an excel lent one by a l l exper ts onirrigation, had suggested to irrigate 13000 more acres ofland by extending the canal up to Karur Amaravathi. Theapprova l fo r the scheme was accorded by the thenGovernment, but the work was not taken up citing financialproblems.

Arundels who was the Collector of Coimbatore Districthad suggested strengthening the sluice gates to withstandthe high flow of water, especially during rainy seasons. Inthe year 1800, the canal irrigated only about 3500 acres,as ment ioned by the h is tor ian and t rave l le r, Franc isBhuchanan in his diary which was published under the title‘A Journey from Madras through the countries of Mysore,Canara and Malabar.’

Bhuchanan’s journey was performed under the ordersof Mr. Marquis Wellesley, Governor General of India, forthe specific and express purpose of investigating the stateof agriculture, arts, commerce, the religion, the history,natural and civil and antiquities, in the dominions of theRaja of Mysore and the countries acquired by East IndiaCompany in the late and former wars, from Tippu Sultan.

Bhuchanan toured the reg ion f rom 23-4-1800 to15-1-1801, during which he was in Erodu, as Erode wasthen known, for two days. Erode was then part of NoyyalSouth district, the headquarters of which was Dharapuram.

On November 7 th 1800, he en tered Erode f romPer induru (now Perunthurai ) and v is i ted Kal ingarayan


canal. After seeing and closely examining the whole thing,he termed it ‘an excellent work.’ Further, he had reportedas given below:

“The canal coming by Erode from the Bhavani riveris an excellent work and waters a narrow space of ground,fifteen Malabar hours journey long of various breadths.(Malabar hour refers to the time taken by Bhuchanan totraverse the region.)

At this place, the canal is carried over a small rivuletby means of an aqua duct. I t is said that formerly, i textended all the way to Karur, and was carried over toNoyyal river by means of an aqua duct which must havebeen a great work.

The whole thing is said to have been made by aVellalar farmer, named Caling Raya (Kalingarayan), whobeing a rich man and of great influence, raised from amongthe people of his caste a sum sufficient for the purpose.This was 400 years ago. His family never seemed to havereceived any reward in the lands on account of the greatwork that he completed. The lands watered by it at presentamount to 1045 may or canda cars ( t rad i t iona l landmeasure) which have been found to measure from 2 to 3Chers each, and taking into account the medium, the wholething will be 3459 acres, of which only 83 acres are waste.”

Even now, experts in water management who visit thecanal are wondering about the excellence of the work doneby Kalingarayan 730 years ago. Certainly, he was a greatv is ionary, able p lanner in water management, a goodadministrator and successful leader who executed the workas per his plan.

He was the first man who linked rivers for providingirrigation to all the available lands. Kongu Nadu is veryproud of its son, Kalingarayan, the pioneer in linking rivers.

N. Pushparaj 55

8. POLLUTION CONTROL ANDRENOVATION WORKS

The pres ident o f Ka l ingarayan Aayacut FarmersAssociation, Mr. Velayutham says that the water in thecanal was crystal clear 30 years back. However, for thelast 25 years, untreated effluents were discharged into thecanal by tanneries and dying units. Some years back, theCentral Pollution Control Board had carried out a study inorder to evaluate the water quality status of the canal. Asper the study conducted, about 150 dying units and 20leather tanneries which were in operation in the catchmentareas were f requent ly d ischarg ing the t rade ef f luentsthrough the drain.This had resulted in the pollution of thecanal water and consequent low yield of the crops whichwere irr igated with the canal water. The health of thepeople using the canal water for drinking and domesticpurpose was also affected.

The report recommended that industries should beprovided with proper and efficient effluent treatment plantand that in dying units, advanced waste water treatmenttechnology should be adopted for recycling of textile dyingwaste water.

The farmers and various Association of farmers hadprotested for long against the d ischarge of untreatedeffluents from textile processing units and tannery units.The Associations had stated that the agriculture sector hadsuf fe red a lo t on account o f the un t rea ted e f f luent


discharge into the canal. The farmers aff i l iated to theKalingarayan Paasana Sabai had made demands to theGovernment to construct a wall on the right bank of thecanal and lay a motorable track from the f i rst to thefourteenth mile to arrest pollution.

As a resul t of the representat ions for prevent ingpollution of the canal water, the Government allotted a sumof Rs 90 Crores for laying concrete platforms in the canalup to the point where the canal crossed Erode. Theseworks were carried out by PWD during annual maintenanceper iod . A lso , severa l measures were taken by theGovernment to prevent discharge of untreated effluents intothe canal by tanneries and dying units. The erring factorieswere sealed and strict actions against polluters of the canalwere taken.

As a resu l t o f these measures taken by theGovernment, the discharge of effluents into the canal bythe tanneries and dying units had been controlled to a large extent.

An amount of Rs. 87.8 Crores has been allotted bythe Tami l Nadu Government in 2016 for carry ing outrenovation works and taking pollution control measures.ThePWD has taken up the works to strengthen the banks ofthe canal to prevent leakage of water. Also the works forstrengthening the inner wall of the Kalingarayan anicut andlaying of concrete on the top have been taken up by thePWD.

N. Pushparaj 57

9. KALINGARAYAN POLIGARS

The records relating to the history of Kalingarayanand the subsequent Poligars of Uthukuli were gathered byMuthu Ramasami Kalingarayar who was the 13 th Poligarof Uthukuli from old writings and other accounts, and thehistory tit led ‘Vamsawali Kyfeit’ was written on Cadjenleaves.

After completion of the construct ion of the canal,Kalingarayan moved to Kavalikkanadu, built some huts andlived there with his family and cattle.

The origin of Uthukuli palayam has been mentionedas below:

After Vellai Vettu Poligar was driven away from hiscountry by Kalingarayan, he went with his followers andsettled near the Aanaimali hills.His descendents began toharass the people of the adjacent countr ies when anenquiry was made by Devarayar, then ruler of Penukondapattanam, as to the person who subdued Vellai vettuvan.When Nanjia Kalingarayan, the son of Kalingarayan whobuilt the canal, went and saw Devarayar at his court, thelatter commanded him to go to Aanaimalai side, subdueVellai Vettuvan’s descendents, take possession of all theplaces occupied by them, convert the forests into villagesand become the Poligar of that place.

Accordingly, he drove them away, cleared the forests,founded a village called ‘Uthukuli’ and established himselfas the Poligar of Uthukuli.


The first Poligar of Uthukuli, Kalingarayar, made api lgr image to a l l the sacred p laces in the South anddistributed gifts. He built a temple and consecrated it tothe Goddess Agathuramman. He reclaimed all the lands inhis Palayam, dug up wel ls and channels for i r r igat ionpurposes, and ru led over h is count ry w i th g lory andhappiness. The country at that time extended forty milesfrom east to west and twenty miles from north to southand was bounded on the north by Ellaipallam, on the eastby Thalakkarapallam of Ponkulikkanadu, on the south byNallurkanadu Palar and on the west by Kampalaturai Manaliriver.

Little or nothing of importance has been mentionedabout the Poligars from the second to the eighth in theline as they ruled peacefully under the authority of theRayars.

At the time of the ninth Poligar, Nanjia Kalingarayar,Viswanatha Naick was reigning as the King of the Pandiacountry. A l l the Pol igars at tended h is cour t and paidrespects to him. But five Rajahs built five forts in Tinnevellyand defied his authority. At the command of the Naick,Nanj ia Kal ingarayar went against them, besieged theirforts, and brought their heads as a sign of his victory andplaced them before the Naick. He was much pleased withhis valour and bravery and cal led h im as the val iant(Parakrama) Nanjia Kalingarayar, appointed him as thecommander of the 51 st Kothalam (fort) , and assignedthe Pa layam as a f ree Jagh i r. Th is s ta te o f a f fa i rscontinued till the 18 th Poligar.

The Poligars from 19 th to the 23 rd were obliged toguard the country below the ghats, which was under thesway of both Madura and Mysore Samasthanams. When itwas ent i re ly brought under the contro l of the Mysore

N. Pushparaj 59

Samasthanams, the 23 rd Poligar, Nanjia Kalingarayar paida visit to Immudi Raja Wadiyar, it’s ruler. As Coorg( Kudagu)was then opposing Mysore, he commanded the Mysore armyand subdued the Ru ler o f Koorg . Ra ja Wadiyar wasdelighted with his heroism, gave him a gold gilt palanquinand other presents, and fixed a peishcush of 750 pons forthe nine villages of the Palayam. The Poligars had thenunder them 5000 foot men and 5000 horse men and oneKadagam of elephants.

They stationed themselves at Aanaimalai, capturedelephants and supplied them to the palace and were alsoguard ing Aana imala i and March ina iken Pa layam. Inconsideration of these services, the Poligars were allowedto levy to l ls on goods passing through thei r country.Changes in the Samasthanams brought on troubles to thePoligars, when the 26 th Chief was deprived of half of hisKaval (guard). He was also defeated in a battle with theRajah of Kalikota (Calicut) at Ellapall i, but the toll waslevied till the time of the 28 th Poligar.

The 29 th Poligar who assumed charge of the estateon the 4 th Masi of the year Virodikrudu, Kaliyuga 4891,was much harassed by Tippu Sultan and his army. In viewof the disturbing situation, he sent all the members of hisfamily to Bombay and remained alone.After East IndiaCompany came into existence, the problem was sorted outand the Pol igars were in peacefu l possess ion of thePalayam on payment of seven- tenth of the revenue to theEast India Company.

Muthukumaraswami Kalingarayar, the 31 st Poligar,who was born in the year 1832, directed his attentiontowards improvement of the estate. He acquired largetracks of land in Aanaimalai and Marchiinaickenpalayamvillages and bought two villages in the Cochin territory viz.


Than iapadam and Meenatch ipuram, and made someaddi t ions to the palace to make i t more comfor table,attractive and self- sufficient.

When he was young, his mother, Nanjia Ammal had alarge terraced building constructed in Ambarampalayam outof her pocket money and made it a chatram for the wearytravellers to take rest and relax.

The 31st Poligar, Muthukrishnasami Kalingarayar diedon 23-4-1874, when he was 42 years old, leaving behindhim two sons. The elder son, Sivasubramanya ThirumurthiKalingarayar was born in 1852. He succeeded his fatherin 1874 as the 32nd Poligar and remained in charge ofthe estate for seven years only, as he died in the year1881. He left no heirs. Hence, Muthu Ramaswami, thesecond son of Muthukrishnaswami Kalingarayar, who wasborn on 24-1-1864, and who had a narrow escape fromthe attack of small- pox in his childhood, assumed chargeas the 33 rd Poligar. He held the position in the year 1881 when he was only 18 years old.

Muthu Ramaswami Poligar was a great lover of musicand had great love for horses and dogs. He loved hunting,wrest l ing, horse- r id ing and gymnast ic exerc ises. Hemastered English language and also made many additionsto his ancestral palace, apart from laying out gardens, playground and building a bungalow with play grounds and ab i l l ia rd room and ca l led i t ‘The Golden Grove ’ . Themanagement and control of the Samathur Palayam was alsoentrusted to him in 1902, based on the request of SamathurPoligar.

After the demise of former Zamindar of Mywadi, theestate was entrusted to the Pol igar of Uthukul i , whomanaged the estate efficiently and effectively, apart from

N. Pushparaj 61

taking much interest in public affairs He donated liberallyto public causes. He also took an active part in the Non-Brahmin conference which was held in Coimbatore on 20-8-1917, the first of its kind in South India. He was alsochairman of the reception committee for the conference.

He contributed a lot for public charit ies. He madenumerous contributions for the public fund. The Poligarmaintained a number of religious institutions and everyyear, he celebrated the Dasara festival and held a Dharbar.

The Poligar had retired from public life in 1918. Hehad purchased two properties, one at Kodaikanal and theother at Coonoor, and spent most of his time in these twoplaces, leading a quiet and pious life. He passed away inthe year 1931.

Shri Agathur Muthu Krishnaswami Kalingarayar, theeldest son and heir of the Poligar managed the affairs ofthe Poliem after the retirement of his father. He took aleading part in the year 1919 in the recruitment of menfor Field Service in meso potamia. He recruited the largestnumber of men from Coimbatore distr ict , especial ly inPollachi Taluk. He was awarded a certificate of merit anda medal by the Major Genera l and the Secretary toGovernment of India for the valuable services rendered inthe recruitment of men for field service.

The Kumara Poligar took a keen interest in the Non-Brahmin movement. He attended al l the Non- Brahminconferences held in Madras and was a member of theReception Committee. In January 1922, the Kumara Poligarwas present in Madras during the visit of H.R.H., the princeof Wales, and took part in all the functions connected withthe visit.


M.R. Nataraja Kalingarayar was the younger son of Muthu Ramaswami Kalingarayar, the Poligar of Uthukuli. On15-4-1922, Nataraja Kalingarayar sai led for England tostudy for ICS at the Oxford University and to qualify himselffor the Bar. He returned with laurels and enhanced thereputation of the aristocratic family to which he belonged.

Sathyaraj, the famous film actor is one among thehereditary successors of Kalingarayan family. N.R. NatarajaKal ingarayar had two daughters, Tmt. Nadhambal andTmt.Indrani. Sathyaraj, the inimitable film actor with ability,extraordinary talent and entertaining style and who gaveexcellent performance in the role of Thandhai Periyar inthe Tamil film’Periar ’, is the son of Tmt. Nadhambal andgrandson of Nataraja Kalingarayar.

Agathur Muthu Krishnaswami Kalingarayar becamethe 34th Poligar in the year 1931. He was respected by allthe people for the services rendered for the welfare of thepeople.He was made Honourary Judge of Coimbatore inrecognition of his services. He also received many awardsand t i t les. A street in Coimbatore has been named asKalingarayan street, which is an ample evidence of thepopularity earned by the Kalingarayan family.

The following list, from the earliest founder to the 37th Poligar shows the ancient origin of the family of thePoligar of Uthukuli.

Sl. Relation Name of Poligar Period of ruleNo. in years

1. Founder Kalingarayar 50

2. Son Nanjia Kalingarayar 40

3. Son Agathur Kalingarayar 26


N. Pushparaj 63

5. Son Kalingarayar 19


7. Brother Agathur Kalingarayar 12

8 Son Kalingarayar 23

9. Son Parakrama Nanjia 27Kalingarayar




13. Son Virumanda Kalingarayar 30



16. Son Iswaramurthi Kalingarayar 6



19. Son Virumanda Kalingarayar 23

20. Son Muthu Kalingarayar 13

21. Son Sinnia Kalingarayar 19




25. Brother Nanjia Kalingarayar 12





29 Brother Kumaraswami Kalingarayar 30

30. Son Muthukumaraswami 19Kalingarayar

31 Son Muthukrishnaswami 34Kalingarayar(1832 to 23-4-1874)(life period)

32. Son Sivasubramanya 7Tirumurthi Kalingarayar(1857 to 1881)(life period)

33. Brother Muthu Ramaswami 50Kalingarayar(24-1-1864 to 1931)(life period)

34. Son Agathur Muthukrishnasami 5Kalingarayar(1894 to 1936)(life period)

35. Agathur Muthu 33Ramaswami Kalingarayar(1918 to 1969)(life period)

36. Agathur KrishnarajKalingarayar

37. Agathur AbhiramVishnu Kalingarayar

The history of Kalingarayan family will be incompletewithout an insight into the family at present. Siddarth AMRKalingarayar, son of Mr.Arunkumar and Mrs. Seetha, is part

N. Pushparaj 65

of the 37th generation and one of the descendents of theKalingarayan lineage. He is the youngest grandson of AMRKalingarayar, the Zamindar of Uthukuli. His mother Seethais the granddaughter of the doyen of the Murugappa Group- AMM Murugappa Chettiar

The Uthuku l i Zamin came under the East Ind iaCompany after the death of Tippu Sultan and the rulerswere granted a Zamindari Saned by the British Monarchduring the 19 th century. The Uthukuli Zamin possessed10000 acres of land init ially. The family moved over toCo imbatore dur ing the t ime o f Agathuramman MuthuRamaswami Kal ingarayar. (AMR Kal ingarayar) and hadmade substantial contributions to several institutions in thefield of Industry and Education.

The sprawling palace of the Zamindars of Uthukuli is,i t is learnt , now vested wi th Mr. Siddarth, h is cousinMr.Vishnu and their relatives. The palace is spread overfour acres of land. It has several bed rooms, a library,sheds for bu l lock car ts and cars , a large granary, aKutchery (the place for court in yesteryears) and a largegarden which produces vegetables, fruits and flowers..

The palace is located in Pollachi region which is closeto Kerala and therefore, the design of the palace has itsinfluence. The palace has a Kottaram as in Kerala. A lotof wood and ti les are found in the palace. The secondphase is a few hundred years old and has Indo- Saracenicinfluence in it. This was the residential portion until themodern wing was added in the twentieth century.

Mr. Siddarth’s wife, Mrs. Shrinidhi is the daughter ofRamraj Vanavarayar from the ancient Samathur Zamindari.Their daughter is Selvi Alankrutha who l ikes to be atUthukuli whenever time permits. The late generations of


Kalingarayan had built a Kali temple in Uthukuli and namedthe deity as Shri Agathuramman and worshipped her astheir tutelary God.

Mr. Siddarth Kalingarayar has been taking varioussteps to preserve the 750 years old rich heritage whichcan be traced back to 37 generations. He is preservingartifacts and monuments that speak volumes of the richhistory and life style of people in Uthukuli and surroundingareas.

N. Pushparaj 67

10. TRIBUTES TO KALINGARAYAN

Kalingarayan canal project is the forerunner for allprojects for linking of rivers. Every year, the fifth day ofTamil month Thai, the day on which water was releasedfor the f irst t ime into the canal for irr igation, is beingcelebrated as ‘Kalingarayan Canal Day’ by the farmers ofErode district, as a mark of respect to Kalingarayan whoconverted dry lands to wet lands in Erode district by hisdetermination, meticulous planning, fine execution of work,hard work, fund raising capacity and able administration.Accordinly, this year also, on the fifth day of Thai, thefarmers in large numbers paid respects to Kalingarayan bygar land ing h is por t ra i ts a t var ious p laces be tweenKalingarayan anicut and Aavudaiyaa Paarai near Kodumudi.The por t ra i t o f Ka l ingarayan was unve i led by Tmt .Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan, former Union Minister of Statefor Social Justice and Empowerment.

Only a few books have been written and publishedon the history of Kalingarayan and the details of thesebooks ( in Tamil) which pay r ich tr ibutes to the KonguStalwart, Kalingarayan, are indicated below:

S.No. Title of the book Author

1. Kalingarayan kodai Padmashri M.P. PeriasamiThooran

2 Kalingarayan Kaalvaai Pulavar (Dr.) S. Rasu

3. Kalingarayan Kaavium A.S. Velsamy

4. Kalingarayan. Kadhai Baskaradoss


Kalingarayan is not only known for his engineeringskills in spite of his being a farmer only, but also for hisvision, forethought and administrative skills. It is really awonderful and remarkable achievement by a farmer in thethirteenth century, in having linked two rivers and pavedthe way for irrigation of many acres of land which weredry and unsuitable for raising crops till then. His selflessand excel lent work was very wel l pra ised and h ighlyappreciated by all the people including eminent Engineersand irrigation experts from foreign countries.

Members of various Associations and people of Erodereg ion pay respects by gar land ing the s ta tue o fKalingarayan at Vellodu. People of Erode region have beenurging the Central and State Governments to declare theKalingarayan canal as a historic monument, apart fromcelebrating the Kalingarayan canal day, in view of the factthat at a time when people at all levels are discussinglinking of rivers, Kalingarayan, the pioneer in linking of therivers, made it 730 years back.

Kalingarayan statue had been erected near his nativeplace, Vellodu in recognition of the exemplary servicesrendered by him. The statue was unveiled in the year 2007,marking the occasion of completion of 725 years from thedate of release of water into the canal for the first time.

The anicut and the canal constructed by Kalingarayanin the 13th century when there were no material handlingequipments and the technology was in the initial stage,are seen to be very remarkable achievements even nowby all standards. Highly qualified and experienced expertswho visited the canal have praised the work as excellentand wonderful.

N. Pushparaj 69

With a view to honour Kalingarayan and to spreadh is fan tas t ic ach ievement among the peop le , theKongu Nadu Trus t founded by ‘Kongu Maamedha i ’Dr. N. Mahalingam, and now headed by Dr. M. Manickam,have been giving awards in the name of ‘Kalingarayan’ forthe past four years to distinguished persons of Kongunadu.

The Federat ion of Kongu Sangangal , headed byK.C. Kaliyannan, has been giving scholarships to poor andmeritorious students hailing from Kongu community undera scheme ca l led ‘Ka l ingarayan Students Scho larsh ipScheme’ with a view to create awareness among studentsabout the amaz ing and wonder fu l work done byKalingarayan.

The Chennai Kongu Nanbargal Sangam, which wasestablished in the year 1961, and which has been doingmany useful services to people of Kongu Vellalar community,has been paying respects to Kalingarayan on all importantoccasions from the beginning. Portraits of Kalingarayan arebeing exhibited in all Kongu Family Functions and picturesof Kalingarayan invariably find a place in all the invitationsfor functions. Kalingarayan Gallaxy has been opened in theSangam’s Velli Vizhaa Illam. The Sangam, now headed byK.A. Ganapathi, leaves no stone unturned to spread theglory of Kalingarayan.

The Kongu Vellala Goundergal Peravai, now headedby Tiruchi R.Devarajan, has also been taking various stepsto honour and to pay respects to Kalingarayan.

The Kongu Research Centre at Erode founded byPulavar S. Rasu had carried out extensive research on theli fe of Kalingarayan, with focus on the construction ofanicut and the canal, his achievements, welfare deeds andservices, the problems faced etc. Based on the research


and s tudy o f var ious documents , s tone and copperinscr ip t ions, l i terature and authent ic in format ion f romvarious sources, and after putting in lot of efforts spreadover many years, Pulavar Rasu has written and publishedthe book titled ‘Kalingarayan Kaalvaai’ which has been verywell received by one and all. The fourth edition is expectedshortly.This book in itself is meant to be a rich tributeto Kalingarayan.

The Inspection Bungalow of PWD in Erode has beennamed as ‘Kalingarayan Illam’ by PWD of the TamilnaduGovernment. Thiru N.Kolandasamy, who was a leadingmember of the committee for installation of Kalingarayanstatue at Kalingarayan Illam, wanted to erect a name boardin front of the Kalingarayan Illam so that all the peoplecan easily see it and remember the name of Kalingarayan.However, S.K. Mayilanantham, who had taken many stepsto protect the Kalingarayan canal from pollution, arrangedfor the installation of the name board and opened the sameon 31-7-2006 at his own cost.

N.T. Kannuswamy, the Pres ident o f ThenmugamVel lodu Sath thantha i ku lam Ramaswami Char i tab leAssociation and other office bearers of the Association hadinstalled an artful and beautiful statue on 19-1-2007 (Thai,fifth) at Vellodu, the native place of Kalingarayan.

With a view to commemorate the services of KonguChieftain Kalingarayan, who was a pioneer in interlinkingof rivers for enhancing irrigation facilities in Erode District, Honorable J. Jayalalithaa, the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu,made the fol lowing statement on 19-9-2013 regardinginstallation of a statue in honour of Kalingarayan.

”Kal ingarayan has been cred i ted wi th lay ing thelongest canal to connect Bhavani river with Noyyal river -

N. Pushparaj 71

a distance of 56.5 miles in Erode region about 730 yearsago. And even to this day, the canal known by Konguchieftain’s name Kalingarayan, serves to irr igate about15743 acres in the district.

Even though it was sufficient to lay a 56.5 km canalto connect the Bhavani river and Noyyal river, Kalingarayanbuilt the canal for a stretch of 90.6 km in order to ensurethat a large extent of land could get irrigation facilities anddamage to the canal could be prevented due to seasonalfloods in the rivers.Since the banks of the canal had beenbuilt with kaarai (lime plaster) and have many curves, localpeople use to call this canal as kaarai Vaikkaal and konaVaikkaal.

The canal runs parallel to Cauvery river. It meandersto provide water to far -flung areas. The canal supportingone of the largest ayacuts in the State, i rr igates vaststretches of turmeric, sugarcane and paddy fields.

Kalingarayan built the anicut and the canal with thein tent ion o f he lp ing the farmers o f Erode Dis t r ic t byirrigating many areas of land. The canal can be said to bea beautiful ornament of Erode District. The entire creditfor construction of the anicut and the canal belongs toKalingarayan whose original name was Lingaiyan. Afterbecoming the Head of Kongu Nadu, he planned to convertthe dry lands under his control to wet lands and with thehelp of the people of Kongu Nadu, he accomplished thetask of constructing the anicut and the canal connectingBhavani river and Noyyal river.

The local people had requested for installation of astatue for Kalingarayan, who undoubtedly was the pioneerin linking of rivers in India.Acceding to the request made


by local people and in a fitting tribute to this great chieftainwho had carried out historical development works in theregion, a statue of Kongu chieftain, Kalingarayan would beset up in Nasuvampalayam area in Erode District and also,Kalingarayan anicut built by him would be converted into atourist spot.”

The statue is expected to be installed soon.

This book is a lso a t r ibute to Kal ingarayan, theuncrowned king of Kongu Nadu 700 years back.

N. Pushparaj 73

11. KALINGARAYAN ANICUT AND CANALIMPORTANT DETAILS / YEARS

1. Year of commencement of work - 1270

2. Year of completion of work - 1282

3. Date of release of water from anicut - ij khj« 5M« njâ

4. Height of the anicut from MSL - 534ft

5 . Height of the place where the canal water touchesNoyyal river - 412.48ft.

6 . Straight length of the canal - 32 miles

7 . Actual length of the canal - 56 miles, 5 furlong, &350ft

8 . Total length of the dam - 3000ft (app.)

9 . Depth of dam - 10ft

10. Area of Ayacut - 15,743 acres

11. year of birth of Kalingarayan - 1235 AD

12. Year of award of Kalingarayan title - 1265

13. Veerapandian coming to power - Year 1265 AD

14. Year of demise of Kalingarayan - Yet to be assessed

15. No. Of Sluice gates - 1840 (All on the left side of the canal)


12. LIST OF KONGU VELLALARKOOTTAMS

Aandai (Mªij) —> (FybjŒt«) Arulmigu Annamarswamy (near manikkampalayam Namakkal), Pon AzhaguNaachi Amman, Valli Arachal, Muthur, Arulmigu Koothampoondi Annamarswamy Thirukovi l (near Man ickampalayam) , Sri Veera Kumaraswamy (åu¡FkhurhÄ) ,Vellakovil, Sri Periyanayagi Amman, Palangarai, Tirupur& Sri Sellandiyamman, Elur Akaram (near Puduchatram,Namakkal), Agastheeswarar, Agilandapuram.

Aadai —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Kar iya Kal iamman ,Parenchervazhi, Kangeyam)

Aadhi —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Selvanayaki Amman ,Keeranur, Kangeyam), Aatheeswarar, Keeranur.

Adhitreya KumbanAavan —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Kar iya Kal iamman ,

Parenchervazhi, Kangeyam)AdhiraiAkiniAavanAnanganAndhuvan —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Selvanayaki Amman,

Keeranur, Kangeyam, Sri Sel landiamman ,Kadambankruchi, near Cauvery River)

AriyanAlagan —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Sellaandi Amman (Sri

Selvanayaki Amman) , Podanur -Chet t ipa layam, nearCoimbatore)

BharatanBramman

N. Pushparaj 75

ChellamCheran —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Selvakumaraswamy &

Kuppanna swamy, Muthur & Thangamman, Kodumanal,Kangeyam)

Devendran —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Goundichiamman -Araneer Sul l ipalayam, Ponkaliamman - Perunkurichy ofParamath i Velur, Namakkal , Sri Selvanayaki Amman ,Keeranur, Kangeyam)

Dananjayan —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Veerakumaraswamy, Vellakovil)

DanavantanDhanancheyan [Kurukathi]Dhanancheyan [I lupaikinaru]Eenjan, Madhukarai, SellapandianElumathur Kadais [Aka panangadan]EnnaiIndranKaadanKadai —> (FybjŒt« : Konnayar - Selliyamman Koil

Malayai Maruthai , Muthusamy Kovil, Palamalai, Karur,Sri Selvanayaki amman - Keeranur, Thanga Nayagiamman - Arasur, Sri Angala Parameswar i Amman -Avalpoondurai, Padai vetti Amman - Pillur) Agatheesar -Kangeyam.

Kaar i —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Kar iya Kal iamman ,Anangur, Sankari & Ponkaaliamman, Unjanai, Trichengode)

KaavalarKadunthuviKalinjiKambakulathaanKanakkanKanavaalanKannan (f‹d§Fy«) —> (FybjŒt« : “Sri Nallapulli

Amman”,Morpalayam,Tiruchengode. Sri Apathal swamy-Nas iyanur, Sr i Ponkal iamman - I rayamanga lam,


Tiruchengode, Kulavi lakamman (FyÉs¡f«k‹) - Kalamangalam & Annamaar Kovil, Maniyanoor, Paramathi Velur,Namakkal, FybjŒt« : Sri Kariya Kaliamman

Kannandhai —> (FybjŒt« : Manalur Siva selvanayakiamman (Sellandiyamman) (Kannivadi), MadukkaraiSellandiamman (Mayanur) Pappini, Aariyur Muthusamy, Sri Navaladiyan - Mohanur, Sel landiyamman - Ooduvandhur.)

KarunkannanKauriKavalanKiliyanKeeran —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Selvanayaki Amman,

Keeranur)KodarangiKoorai —> (FybjŒt«: Sri Ponkaliamman, Sivagiri,

Erode)KuruppanKotrandhaiKottaararKovarKoventhar—> (FybjŒt« : Thai Nal l i Amman ,

Choleeswarar, near to government school, Gudimangalam,Dharapuram T.K.Tripur Dt.)

KumarandhaiKundaliKungiliKuniyanKunnukkanKuyilanKuzhlaayan —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Kariakali Amman

(fÇafhË m«k‹), Kothanoor, Dharapuram)MaadaiMaadhamanMaathuli

N. Pushparaj 77

MaavalarManiyan (kÂa§Fy«) —> (FybjŒt« : Mohanur

Navaladi Per iyasamy, Sr i Selvakumaraswamy &Kuppanna swamy, Muthur)

Maruthurai KadaisMayilanMazhluazhlagarM e d h iM e e n a v a nMoimbanMoolanMooriyanMukkannanMunaiveeranMuthan —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Selvakumaraswamy &

Kuppanna swamy, Muthur)Muzhlukkadhan —> (FybjŒt« - Sri Vellai Amman

/ Kadayeeswarar - Kaadayur - Kangeyam)NaaraiNandhanNeelanNettai maniyanNeerunniNeidhaliNeriyanOdhaalar —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Kariya Kaliamman -

Parenchervazhi - Kangeyam, Sri Kandiamman/Kandeeshwarar - Kandiankovil,)

OzhukkarPaaliyanPaambanPaanan, Pannaiamman - YezhoorPandian —> (FybjŒt« : Kodumanal Sri Thang

amman Thirukovil, Kodumanal, Tirupur)


PaadhariPadhumanPadukkunniPaidhaliPanaiyanPanangadan, Paravathiamman - Pillur, Soliamman

- Karur, Ponkaliamman - Ezhuvathur.PanjamanPannai —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Sadayappa Swami ,

Thandampalayam; Sendraya Perumal Kovi l , Rakkipatt i ,Salem), Pannaiamman - Ezhur

PannanPaamaranPavalan, KaliammanPayiran —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Kariya Kaliamman ,

Parenchervazhi, Kangeyam), Aanooramman - Kangeyam.Per iyan —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Rathna Moorthy

(u¤âd_®¤â), Sankaradampalayam, Dharapuram)Perunkudi —> (FybjŒt« : Ellai Arasu , Pavuliy

amman (gîËa«k‹) , Vangalamman (th§fy«k‹) ,Kar ichikumaraswamy (Chi t tode) , Kal iamman -Kondichettipatti

Pillan —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Natrayan & Nachimuthuswamy , Met tupa layam, Kangeyam) , Theerthagir iEeswarar - Theerthamalai.

PodiyanPonnan —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Kandiyamman, Pongalur,

Pa l ladam (TK) , Ponniamman, Neelakandiamman -Pongalur.

PoochadhaiPoodhiyanPoosanPorul thantha —> (FybjŒt« : Mala iappasamy/

Malaiamman fac ing North, other Gods along wi th th isare Pukkarandi facing West & Karuppanasamy facing East

N. Pushparaj 79

[in Thootakurichi (5 km from Aranattarmalai), Karur], SriSelvakumaraswamy & Sri Murungai Amman & Kuppanna swamy, Muthur andKaaliamman, Unniyur)

Pulathini —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Angala ParameswariAmman, Kolappalur, Gobichettipalayam)

PunnaiPuthanSaakadai or KaadaiSathandhai, SathandhaiammanSathuvaraayanSanaganSedan, Kaadaiyur KoilSellan (bršy§Fy«,) —> (FybjŒt«: bršÈa«k‹,

bfh‹ida®, vs¢ághisa«. (âU¢br§nfhL - uháòu« tÊ)and Azhagunachi Amman , An ju r, near Muthur ) ,Periyanachiamman - Kunnathur, Neeliamman - Gopi ,Azhagunachiamman - Parithipalli.

Semponn —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Kariya Kaliamman(fÇafhË m«k‹) , Per ia Mana l i , Ras ipuram & Sr iMuthusamy , Ramadevam, Tiruchengode, Ayei Amman ,Nas iyanur, Erode) , Karumalaiyandavar - Poonthura i ,Sembapuriamman - Kulithalai.

Sempoothan —> Ettukai Amman, Namakkal district,Keerambur, Periyanachiamman - Kangeyampalayam.

Semvan/ sembanSengannan —> (FybjŒt« : Podar i ayyan ,

Nathakadyur, Kangeyam, Kadampankur ich i se l laand iamman, Karur).

Sengunni —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Pudhu Vengaraiamman, Vengarai, Paramathy, Namakkal)

SeralanSevadiSevvayanSilambanSomanSoolan


SooriyanSothiSowriyanSevanthi —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Ponnatchi Amman,

Ilupuli)SurapiThanakkavanThavalayanThazhinji —> (FybjŒt« : Sri Veerakumaraswamy,

Vellakoil)ThemaanThodai(n)Thooran, Sur iyakal iamman - Modakur ich i ,

Angalamman - KumaramangalamThorakkanThundumanUvananUzhavanVaanan or VaaniVannakkan (FybjŒt« : Arul migu Pon Alagu nachi

amman, valli araichal, Muthur, near Kangeyam)Vel iyan —> (FybjŒt« : Kakkaver i Annanmar

Swami, Namakkal)VellambanVendhaiVendoven (bt©Lt§Fy«) —> (FybjŒt« :Kaali

Amman (kolaram), Arulmigu Kathaanganni Aayee Amman,oothukulli, Arungarai Amman - Chinna Dharapuram)

Vi l iyan —> (FybjŒt« : Chel l iamman , Ma l lasamduram, Namakkal), Sellapandiamman

Villi —> (FybjŒt« : Pon Azhagu Naachi Amman,Valli Arachal, Muthur)

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kalingarayan, the great and kalingarayan...

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