Pudukkottai

          Pudukkottai, the former princely state that was the first to join the Indian Union after breaking away from foreign yoke, is indeed the archaeological treasure-house of Tamil civilization. The Present day district was part of the Pandya kingdom.  Over the centuries, the district was ruled by a succession of South Indian dynasties which included the Cholas, Pallavas and Hoysalas.  The district became a part of the Vijayanagara Empire in the14th century.  The Vijayanagara Empire fought many wars with the Muslim Deccan sultanates to its north, and in 1565 the allied sultanates decisively defeated Vijayanagara at the battle of Talikota. The defeat weakened the Vijayanagara Empire, and regional governors, called Nayaks, became de facto local rulers in much of Southern India.  Pudukkottai was ruled by the Nayaks of Madurai from the mid-16th century to the mid-17th century.  Pre-historic and proto-historic finds like megalithic burials, dolmens stone circles etc. in the district blaze forth the civilization of the Tamils of the past.  Sangam classics mention this tract as a notable place of highly cultured elites.  Pudukkottai town is the headquarters of the district.  The rich cultural heritage of this district is also evidenced by the archaeological and cultural remains of Kodumbalur, Narthamalai, Kudumiyanmalai, Kunnandar Koil, Sittanna Vasal, Thirumayam and Avudyar Koil. Its emergence as a princely state occurred in the 17th century and even before that, from time immemorial, it has been a centre of culture, civilization, art, architecture, fine arts and polity.  It is therefore no wonder that historians, anthropologists, archeologists and lovers or lovers of art have an absorbing interest in Pudukkottai. This town lies on Chennai –Rameswaram line, 390 km away from Chennai, 53 km from Tiruchirappalli and 57 km from Thanjavur.  The rulers of Pudukkottai have left historical landmarks like buildings, temples, tanks, canals, forts and palaces.

Arantangi

     Arantangi is the second largest town in Pudukkottai district after the headquarters. Arathangi was the most popular locality in the south of the Thanjavur district till it was added to pudukkottai.  There is a ruined fort here that attracts people, the walls of which are not constructed with bricks or stones. Large interstices are filled with mud. Inside the fort, there are no ruins of palaces or any striking building.  The date of the fort is not known.  But a line of Tondaimans who had no connections with those of Pudukkottai were in power during the 16 and 17th centuries.  They are believed to have constructed it. There is also a eleventh century A.D. temple built by Rajendra Chola Varman. With this we have covered all the important places for tourists in Mideast Tamil Nadu and we now move to the mid-west part of Tamil Nadu which contains Salam, Dharmapuri, Erode, Coimbatore and Nilgiri districts.