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History of Thiruvannamalai |
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 The
temple town of Tiruvannamalai is one of the most
ancient heritage sites of India and is a center of
the Saiva religion. The Arunachala hill and its
environs have been held in great regard by the
Tamils for centuries. The temple is grand in
conception and architecture and is rich in
tradition, history and festivals.
In ancient times, the term "Annamalai" meant an
inaccessible mountain. The word "Thiru" was prefixed
to signify its greatness, and coupled with the two
terms, it is called Tiruvannamalai.
The history of this town dates from the early Chola
period i.e. the period of Aditya I and Parantaka I
(A.D. 871-955) when the Chola empire had expanded
northwards to include practically the whole of
Tondaimandalam. After Parantaka I till the reign of
Rajendra I, Chola rule over this region is not
attested by the Tiruvannamalai inscriptions,
possibly on account of the Rashtrakuta invasions and
occupation of this area by Krishna III. This is
perhaps indicated by a single inscription of
Kannaradeva (Krishna III) found in this temple.
(475;63). the recovery of this region by the Cholas
was a slow process and reached its successful
conclusion only towards the close of Rajaraja I's
reign i.e. AD 1014, for even Rajaraja is
conspicuously absent in the inscriptions of
Tiruvannamalai.
While the rule of Rajendra I and Rajadhiraja I over
this area is attested by their inscriptions, once
again a fairly long gap of over a hundred years is
indicated by the absence of any Chola inscriptions
till the beginning of Kulottunga III's reign (AD
1183)
Large scales activities in the period of Kulottunga
III and Rajaraja III are indicated by a number of
records in the temple. Further, the frequent
references to a number of Chola feudatories of this
period would also show a gradual ascendancy in their
power and importance till the final establishment of
independence by the Kadavaraya chieftains in the
second quarter of the 13th century A.D. In this
connection mention may be made of an interesting
inscription at Tiruvannamalai, which records the
agreement entered into by a number of feudatory
chieftains to support one another and swearing
allegiance to the ruling Chola king (Kulottunga III-A.D.
1210), pointing to a period of great political
tension under the late Cholas (516;106).
The inscriptions of Kopperunjinga clearly show that
by the second quarter of the 13th century, the
Kadavarayas had established complete mastery over
this region leading to the final decline of Chola
power.
A brief period of Pandya supremacy over this region
is indicated by the inscriptions of the Pandyas of
the second empire such as Jatavaraman Srivallabha
and Tribhuvanachakravartin Kulasekhara in the 13th
century AD (481,571 etc; 70,162 ect,).
The Hoysalas under Vira Vallaladeva (Ballala III)
also exercised sway over this area (459, 509; 89 and
99 - dated AD 1340) indication that the Hoysala
power continued to influence Tamil politics even
after the Muslim invasions of Malik Kafur. |
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