The Thondaimans are chieftains who ruled the region in and around Pudukottai from the 17th to 20th century. [1] The Pudukkottai Thondaiman dynasty was founded by Raghunatha Thondaiman, the brother-in-law of the then Raja of Ramnad, RaghunathaKilavan Setupati. The Pudukottai Samasthanam was under Thondaiman dynasty for one year even after Indian Independence. The Thondaiman dynasty had a special Valari regiment.
In 1686, the Ramnad kingdom was ruled by Raghunatha Kilavan Setupati, the Raja of Ramnad and the Pudukottai region was ruled by a chief called Pallavarayan. The Raja of Ramnad suspected the chief's loyalty to the Ramnad kingdom and believed that the chief would shift his allegiance to the ruler of Thanjavur. So the Raja of Ramnad ousted the chief and appointed his brother-in-law Ragunatha Raya Tondaman, the brother of his queen Kathayi Nachiar, as the new ruler of Pudukottai. Thondaiman, the son of Avadai Raghunatha Tondaiman, was earlier ruling Thirumayam. [2] [3] In appreciation of Tondaman's services, Raghunatha Kilavan Setupati gave him the region of Pudukkottai.
Thondaman became the de facto ruler of Pudukottai. In later centuries, the Thondaiman rulers, while nominally feudatories of the Ramnad state, often pursued an independent foreign policy, a trend common in all parts of India at that time.
After becoming the ruler of Pudukottai, Raghunatha Thondaiman fought against the Nayaks of Tanjore in support of the Nayaks of Madurai and conquered Thirukkattupalli a very important place. Then there was a direct clash between Thondaimans of Pudukottai and the Nayaks rulers of Tanjore. Thondaiman conquered the west of Thirukkattupalli.
The next ruler Raja Vijaya Reghunatha Raya Thondaiman helped Nawab of Arcot against Hyder Ali the ruler of Mysore. He was also loyal towards the British Government. After some time, when Hyder Ali's army tried to invade the kingdom of Pudukkottai, Thondaiman's army defeated them and drove Hyder's army away. Thondaiman captured Kilanilai and Aranthangi. He helped the British Government against Tipu Sultan.
Pudukkotai finally came under formal British protection. This was arguably unavoidable, since the Thondaimans were much menaced in that period by a resurgent Mysore ruled by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. Tipu Sultan had sought to leverage the power of the French against the British
The Thondaman lineage: [4]
Ramanathapuram, also known as Ramnad, is a town and a municipality in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district and the second largest town in Ramanathapuram district.
Pudukkottai is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a town located on the banks of the Vellar River. It has been ruled, at different times, by the mutharaiyar dynasty, Cholas, Early Pandyas, Thondaimans, and the British. It is situated about 395 kilometres (245 mi) southwest of the state capital Chennai and about 55 kilometres (34 mi) southeast of Tiruchirappalli. Tamil Nadu's first woman Asian Games competitor, Santhi Soundarajan, is from Pudukkottai.
The Thanjavur Nayak kingdom or Thanjavur Nayak dynasty were the rulers of Thanjavur in the 15th and 17th centuries. The Nayaks, who belonged to the Telugu-speaking Balija social group, were originally appointed as provincial governors by the Vijayanagara Emperor in the 15th century, who divided the territory into Nayak kingdoms which were Madurai, Tanjore, Gingee and Kalahasthi. In the mid-15th century they became an independent kingdom, although they continued their alliance with the Vijayanagara Empire. The Thanjavur Nayaks were notable for their patronage of literature and the arts.
Thuljaji Bhonsle (1738–1787) was the eldest son of Pratap singh and the ruler of Thanjavur Bhonsle dynasty from 1763 to 1773 and 1776 to 1787. He was a weak-hearted ruler despite being extremely generous. His period is known for the treaties which made Thanjavur subordinate to the British East India Company.
Shahuji I Bhonsle (b.1672) also called Shahji of the Bhonsle dynasty was the second Maratha ruler of Thanjavur. He was the eldest son of Ekoji I, who was a half brother of Shivaji, the first Maratha ruler of Thanjavur. He reigned from 1684 to 1712.
The Thanjavur Maratha kingdom ruled by the Bhonsle dynasty was a principality of Tamil Nadu between the 17th and 19th centuries. Their native language was Thanjavur Marathi. Venkoji was the founder of the dynasty.
Pudukkottai was a kingdom and later a princely state in British India, which existed from 1680 until 1948.
Sriman Hiranyagarbha Ravikula Raja Muthu Vijaya Raghunatha Raja Raghunatha Deva Kilavan Setupati was the first king of Ramnad Kingdom which is also known "Maravar Kingdom". He ruled from 1673 to 1708 and oversaw the growth of the feudal chieftainship of Ramnad into a powerful "Ramnad Kingdom" which is known as "Maravar Kingdom". He rescued the Nayak of Madurai from the tyranny of Rustam Khan and also successfully campaigned against the King of Thanjavur, who later ceded all his territories. It is recorded in the Sethupati copper plates that he belonged to the Surya kulam and Kashyap gothram.
Raja Sri Brahdamba Dasa Raja Sri Rajagopala Tondaiman Bahadur was the ninth and last ruler of the princely state of Pudukkottai.
The Tondaiman family were Tamil rulers of the ancient Tondai Nadu (Tondaimandalam) division of Tamilakkam in South India. Their capital was at Kanchipuram.
The Kingdom of Ramnad or Ramnad estate was a permanently settled kingdom and later zamindari estate that existed in the Ramnad subdivision of the Madurai district and later Ramnad district of the erstwhile Madras Presidency in British India from 1601. It was ruled by the rajas also had the title of Sethupathi. Madurai Nayaks ruled the Ramnad area with the appointed chieftains between 14th to 16th century CE, and in 17th century CE the appointed governors expanded their power to establish "Ramnad Kingdom" which was also called as "Maravar Kingdom" by the British. In 1795 CE, after an heir dispute, they were reduced to the status of zamidari by the East India Company. After the independence of India in 1947 the estates were merged in the Union of India and in 1949 all rulers lost the ruling rights, privy purse was also finally abolished in 1971.
Raja Sri Raghunatha Tondaiman Bahadur was the ruler of the princely state of Pudukkottai from 4 June 1825 to 13 July 1839.
Vijaya Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman was the ruler of the princely state of Pudukkottai from 1 February 1807 to 4 June 1825.
Raja Sri Vijaya Raghunatha Tondaiman Bahadur was the ruler of the pudukottai kingdom from 30 December 1789 to 1 February 1807.
The Sethupathis are a Tamil clan of the Dakhini Hindu Maravar community native to the Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu, India. They were from the 12th century considered independent kings in 16th century who ruled the Ramnad kingdom, also known as Maravar country. The male rulers of Ramnathapuram also bore the title of "Sethupathi" or "protector of the bridge", the bridge here referring to the legendary sacred Rama's Bridge, while female rulers bore the title "Nachiyar". Among the 72 poligars of the region, the Sethupathi stood first. This special position was conferred not based upon the revenue that his kingdom generated but because of his military prowess. Back in the beginning of the 18th century, the Sethupathi ruler could mobilize a considerable army, about 30,000 to 40,000 strong at short notice.
Raghunatha is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Vijaya Raghunatha Pallavarayar Dorai Raja (1872–1930) was an Indian civil servant and administrator and a member of the royal house of Pudukkottai. He served as the Chief Minister of Pudukkottai state from 1909 to 1922 and regent from 1922 to 1929.
Vijaya Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman I was the second independent ruler of the Pudukkottai kingdom. He reigned from April 1730 to 28 December 1769. His reign was marked with incessant wars with the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom and against the French East India Company and Chanda Sahib.
Raja Sri Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman (1641–1730) was the ruler of the Pudukkottai kingdom from 1686 to 1730. A feudatory chieftain of the Sethupathi of Ramnad, in 1686, Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman was recognised as the independent ruler of Pudukkottai by the Sethupathi for the services he had rendered him.