Thondaimandala Mudaliar - Historical Personalities

Historical Personalities

• Sekkizhar, the author of the Tamil hagiography Periyapuranam or The Great Purana consisting of the life stories of the 63 Tamil Saiva Saints or the Nayanars hailed from this community.

• Thirunavukkarusu Nayanar, also known as Appar, one of the 63 Nayanars, celebrated by Sekkizhar in his epic Periyapuranam hailed from this community. He was a contemporary of Tirugnanasambandhar (younger of the two) and lived during 7th century. Sambandhar affectionately referred to him as appa(father). Though born into an orthodox saivite family, Appar initially embraced Jainism and was known as Dharmasena. He would later convert back to Saivism and travel to many places and undergo ordeals to show his devotion to Siva. He would sing one of his hymns in praise of Siva at Vaitheeswaran Koil.

• Kotpuli Nayanar, one of the 63 Nayanars hailed from Nattiyantankuti. He was so attached to Lord Siva that he allotted a heap of paddy in the form of huge hill in each of the Siva temples to feed the Saiva devotees.

• Vallal Sadaiyappa Mudaliar, a rich 12th-century Vellala chief who had residences at Puduvai and Thiruvenainallur. He was known for his philanthropic activities. He was a close friend and a patron of Tamil national poet Kambar, who wrote Ramavataram and Pararajasingam.

• Ambi Aramvalartha Mudaliar was a minister during the reign of Krishnadevaraya (1509-1530 AD).

• Andhaka Kavi Vira Raghava Mudaliar was a poet of the 16th century. He was from Pon-vilaintha Kalathur.

• Maavai Kumaraswamy Mudaliar administered the districts of Madurai, Tirunelveli, and Trichy from 1688 to 1700. His son-in-law, Aarai Aagappa Mudaliar, administered these areas from 1701 to 1726. Since Aarai Alagappa Mudaliar had no children, he handed over the authority to his sister’s son-in-law, Dalavoy Kumaraswamy Mudaliar, whose direct descendants enjoy the title of "Dalavoy" to this day.

• Subramanya Mudaliar, a patron of arts and literature, was a Minister in the Pudukottai Kingdom. He is a direct descendant of Sekkizhar.