 History of Pudukkottai district states its origin from the two districts of Tiruchirappalli and Thanjavur, when this district was carved out from these two districts on the fourteenth of January 1974. Presently, this district is composed of two Revenue Divisions, called the Pudukkottai and Aranthangi and nine taluks, called the Kulathur, Illuppur, Gandarvakottai, Alangudi, Thirumayam, Aranthangi, Pudukkottai, Avudaiyrakoil and Manamelkudi. There are seven hundred and sixty five Revenue villages in this district. The total area of this district is four thousand six hundred and sixty three square kilometres. Most of the villages of this district are of ancient foundation. The district was one of the homes of pre-historic man and the presence of a large number of burial sites found in the northern and western parts of the district attest this fact.
The history of this district is an epitome of the history of South India. In and around Pudukkottai, there are several vestiges of the oldest habitations of man and some of the lithic records known in the south. The Pandyas, Cholas, Pallavas, Haysalas, Vijaynagar and Madurai Nayaks ruled over this part of the state of Tamil Nadu and fostered the communal organizations, trade and industries and embellished it with temples and monuments of great merit. The Pudukkottai district was under the Pandyas of the first empire during the Sangam Age, but some part of the northern boundary of this district had been under the influence of the Cholas of Uraiyur, since a few villages in this place bear the prefix like 'killi' and 'valavan', both of which are the titles used by the Cholas. From about the last of the fourth century about the last quarter of sixth, the district of Pudukkottai, like many other parts of Tamil Nadu was under the Kalabhras. It must have come under the King Kurran, whose inscriptions were found in Pulankurichi near Ponnamaravathi in the district. The next phase in this district's history follows the overthrow of Kalabharas by  Kadungon in Pandya country about 590 AD. The first Pandya Dynasty inaugurated by Kadungon spread in to the district. It is shown by the presence of inscription of the rulers of this dynasty in Kudumianmalai, Thirugokarnam and Sittannavasal. The river Vellar that flows north of Pudukkottai town has been from the ancient times was the traditional boundary separating the terrains of the Cholas and Pandyas. This dividing line formed the Konadu and Kanadu, on the north and south respectively. Thus the district became a kind of marchar land between the Pandyas and Pallavas. The Pandyas and Pallavas carried on the wars by proxy through their subordinate chiefs the Mutharayars and Velirs. Among the Velirs, the most prominent are the Irukkuvels of Kodumbalur. The Kodumbalur Velirs were situated in the political buffer zone between the kingdoms of the Cholas and Pandyas and formed the family of nobility from which kings and other chiefs made matrimonial alliance.
The period of three centuries between 600 and 900 AD relates to the reign of the Pallavas of Kanchi and Pandyas of Madurai who ruled over the entire Tamil Nadu with their boundary in between their empires oscillating on either side of Kaveri River the bone of contention being Cholamandalam, the home of Cholas, and the fertile Kaveri delta that was the granary of the south and as such always been the cynosure of all powers contending for supremacy during the entire historical period. The Cholas themselves were in eclipse and hibernating only to revive again in the ninth century, when the Pallava power came to an end, the Pandyas were holding on for some more time to yield place ultimately to the waxing Chola power. Jainism well flourished in Pudukkottai area up to the eleventh century. There are a number of Jain vestiges in the district. The Buddhist vestiges in the district come from the former Thanjavur district. Buddha idols are found at Kottaipattinam and Karur. With the exit of Pallavas from the political scene and the subsequent elimination of the Pandya power by the Cholas, the Cholas established themselves at Thanjavur as their capital at the close of ninth century. They extended their sway by the eleventh century and Pudukkottai among many other places came under them. Their rule extended till about the middle of the thirteenth century when the Pandyas staged a comeback. The history of the district after the fall of Cholas could not be told in detail for the records are comparatively minimal. The Pandyas of the second empire spread their influence in the district gradually. The brief history of this district covering a period of over two millennia helps in giving an insight into the variety, nature, origin, chronology and importance of the monuments and their inscriptions, architecture, sculptures iconography and other aesthetic contents. |
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