Muthuraja
 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Muthuraja or Mutharaiyar are Tamil -speaking community of landowners. Historians believe that they are descendants of Kalabhras.[citation needed] Mutharajas ruled over Nandi Hills before they emigrated into the upper Kaveri Delta Region and ruled there for 300 years, before the Later Chola period. Mutharaiyar (AD 610 - AD 851) earlier were a line of kings and were for a long time feudatory to the Pallavas, ruling part of Tamil Nadu in Southern India.
Origin
During the early Chola period, the chiefs of the Muthuraja community ruled over the Tanjore district in Tamilakkam. They controlled the fertile plains of the Kaveri region.[1][full citation needed] When the Later Cholas came to power, the Muthuraja were turned into feudatories. Muttaraiyar, literally means King of three territories.[2][full citation needed] They built many temples dedicated to Shiva.[3][full citation needed]
One of the most notable Muthuraja people was Peru Mutharaiyar, who was known for his great wealth and grand feasts. Two stanzas (200, 296) of Nālaṭiyār, one of the works of ancient Tamil literature, is dedicated to him.[4][full citation needed][5][full citation needed] One of their titles was Lord of Tanjore.[6][full citation needed][7][full citation needed]
During the period of Rajaraja Chola I, we know of at least one high-ranking chief and a feudatory of the Chola from the Muthuraja community: Śēkkizhār Araiyan Sankaranarayanan, also known as Chola-Muttaraiyan. Araiyan, which is the Tamil equivalent of the Sanskrit Raja or King, in this context means a chieftain or a governor.[8][full citation needed]
Temples
Narthamalai is 35 kilometres (22 mi) from Trichy on the Pudukkottai - Trichy Highway. There can be seen one of the oldest rock-cut temples built by Ilango Mutharaiyar, which was later rebuilt by Vijayalaya Chola, known as Vijayalaya Choleeswaram. The temple is dedicated to Shiva. There are also two rock-cut caves, one of which has 12 life-size sculptures of Vishnu. The temple is maintained and administered by the Archaeological Survey of India as a protected monument.
Paluvettaraiyar regiment
The Paluvettaraiyar regiment was a military regiment maintained by the Mutharaja chief Paluvettaraiyar. It comprised both Muthuraja and Sengunthar soldiers[9][page needed] in the regiment of Paluvettaraiyar and were involved in the invasion of Lanka by Cholas in the 10th century.[10][page needed][11][page needed]
See also
- Mudiraju
- Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar
- Ilango Mutharaiyar
- Kannappa Nayanar
- Thirumangai Alvar
- Valaiyar
- List of Denotified communities of Tami lnadu
References
- ^ The political structure of early medieval South India, page 112
- ^ Journal of Indian history, Volume 19, page 40
- ^ Early Chōl̤a art:origin and emergence of style
- ^ History of Tamil language and literature:beginning to 1000 A. D., page 89
- ^ Śaṅgam polity:the administration and social life of the Śaṅgam Tamils, page 33
- ^ Tirupati Balaji was a Buddhist shrine
- ^ The History and Culture of the Indian People: The classical age
- ^ Indian archaeological heritage: Shri K.V. Soundara Rajan festschrift, Volume 1, page 32
- ^ Ramaswamy, V. (1985). Textiles and weavers in medieval South India. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ^ Studies in Indian epigraphy, Volumes 26–27
- ^ Historical perspectives of warfare in India: some morale and matérial determinants By Sri Nandan Prasad, Centre for Studies in Civilizations (Delhi, India)