Muthuraja

Muthuraja
Perumpidugu Mutharaiyar II alias Suvaran Maran 675 AD - 745 AD

Mutharaiyar or Muthuraja are Tamil-speaking community of landowners belongs to Kshatriya varna. Historians believe that Mutharaiyar are descendants of Kalabhras.[1] Mutharaiyars ruled over Kaveri Delta Region before the Cholas. 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/Mutharaiyar community ruled over the Tanjore district in Tamilakkam. They controlled the fertile plains of the Kaveri region.[2] When the Later Cholas came to power, the Muttaraiyar were turned into feudatories. Muttaraiyar literally means King of three territories.[3] They built many temples for Siva.[4] One of the most famous from this clan was Peru Mutharaiyar, who was known for his great wealth and grand feasts. Two stanzas (200, 296) of Nāladiyār, one of the works of ancient Tamil literature, is dedicated to him.[5][6] One of their titles was Lord of Tanjore.[7][8]

During the period of Rajaraja Chola I, we know of at least one high-ranking chief and a feudatory of the Chola from this 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.[9]

Mutharaiyar Temples

Vijayalaya Choleeswaram Temple

Vijayala choleeswaram built by llango Mutharaiyar 825AD

Narthamalai is 35 km from Trichy on Pudukkottai - Trichy Highway. Here you can see one of the oldest rock cut temple built by Ilango Mutharaiyar and was later rebuilt by Vijayalaya Chola known known as Vijayalaya Choleeswaram.

This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. You can also find two rock cut caves one of which has 12 life size sculptures of Vishnu.

The temple is maintained and administered by Department of Archaeological Survey of India as a protected monument.

Sathyamurthi Perumal Temple

Thirumayam temple

Sathyamurthi perumal temple is in Thirumayam. It was built by the King Videlvidugu Mutharaiyar. This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu as Sathyamurthi Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Ujeevana Thayar. This temple is glorified in Divya prabanda.

The temple is adjacent to the Sathyagiriswara temple ( Lord Shiva Temple ), located in the same complex.

Sathyagiriswara temple

Satyagiriswarar Temple gopuram and Sathyamurthi Perumal Temple gopuram

Sathyagiriswara temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva as Sathyagiriswarar and his consort as Venuvaneswari. Sathyagiriswarar is in the form of a Linga here.

Maharishi Sathya performed penace here. Both the god and goddess face east in this temple as in Madurai (normally you can see god facing east and goddess facing south in Lord Shiva temple).

This is one of the temple where you can see Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu in adjacent shrine built with a single rock.

During the time when righteousness lost its stand usurped by wickedness, the Dharma Devatha hid herself in the form of a deer. It was a bamboo forest then. Hence the name Venuvaneswari for the Goddess.

Paluvettaraiyar regiment

Paluvettaraiyar temple in Melapalur, Ariyalur dt

Paluvettaraiyar regiment, was a military regiment maintained by Mutharaiyar chief Paluvettaraiyar, which besides Mutharaiyar/Muthuraja soldiers, also employed Senaithalaivar /Sengunthars as soldiers[10] in the regiment of Paluvettaraiyar and were involved in the invasion of Sri Lanka by Cholas in the 10th century.[11][12]

Pazhiyileeswaram Temple

Narthamalai

Pazhiyileeswaran temple named after the Mutharaiyar chief Sathan Pazhiyil, who built the temple in 862 AD is a rock cut cave temple located just opposite to Vijayalaya choleeswaram and is 30 feet south of samanar kudagu dedicated to Hindu god Lord Shiva. It is stated that his son built the front mandapam and installed a Nandi. Pazhiyili Siriyanangai (Pazhiyil's daughter) made a gift of land to the temple.

See also

References

  1. ↑ page number 85 of Book "Caste, Class, and Power: Changing Patterns of Stratification in a Tanjore Village" http://books.google.co.in/books?id=lbnYaLGWnr8C&pg=PA125&dq=srirangam+caste+acres&hl=en&sa=X&ei=b7U8U7OdAe2h7Ab2p4DoCQ&ved=0CC4QuwUwAA#v=onepage&q=caste&f=false
  2. ↑ The political structure of early medieval South India, page 112
  3. ↑ Journal of Indian history, Volume 19, page 40
  4. ↑ Early Chōl̤a art:origin and emergence of style
  5. ↑ History of Tamil language and literature:beginning to 1000 A. D., page 89
  6. ↑ Śaṅgam polity:the administration and social life of the Śaṅgam Tamils, page 33
  7. ↑ Tirupati Balaji was a Buddhist shrine
  8. ↑ The History and Culture of the Indian People: The classical age
  9. ↑ Indian archaeological heritage: Shri K.V. Soundara Rajan festschrift, Volume 1, page 32
  10. ↑ Ramaswamy, V. (1985). Textiles and weavers in medieval South India. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  11. ↑ Studies in Indian epigraphy, Volumes 26–27
  12. ↑ Historical perspectives of warfare in India: some morale and matérial determinants By Sri Nandan Prasad, Centre for Studies in Civilizations (Delhi, India)
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