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{{Use Indian English|date=July 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
'''Tondaiman Ilandiraiyan''' or '''Ilamtiraiyan''' was a ruler of [[Kanchipuram]] and a contemporary of the [[Early Chola]] king, [[Karikala]].{{sfn|Iyengar|1995|p=397}}{{sfn|Sastri|1961|p=126}} He is traditionally regarded as the founder of the [[Pallava dynasty]].{{sfn|Ramaswamy|2007|p=80}} {{Request quotation|date=August 2020}}Ilandiraiyan is referred to in the literature of the [[Sangam period]] and is the hero of some of the poems in the [[Pathupattu]]. He was a poet himself and four of his songs are extant even today.{{sfn|Sastri|1961|p=126}} He ruled from [[Tondaimandalam]] and was known as 'Tondaman'.{{sfn|Ramaswamy|2007|p=80}} According to historian [[S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar|S. Krishnaswami Aiyengar]], the Pallavas were natives of Tondaimandalam and the name Pallava is identical with the word Tondaiyar.<ref>{{cite book|title=Kāñcīpuram in early South Indian history|author=T. V. Mahalingam|publisher=Asia Pub. House, 1969|page=22}}</ref>

Scholar M. Arokiaswami identifies Tondaiman Ilandiraiyan with king Adondai Chakravarthi, the legendary figure who is referred to in the ''[[Colin Mackenzie|Mackenzie Manuscripts]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Early History of the Vellar Basin, with Special Reference to the Irukkuvels of Kodumbalur. A Study in Vellala Origin and Early History|author=M. Arokiaswami|publisher=Amudha Nilayam|page=72|year=1954}}</ref>

==Life==

According to the Sangam epic [[Manimekalai]], a son was born to the Chola king Killi and the naga princess Pilivalai of Jaffna, the daughter of king Valaivanan of [[Jaffna Peninsula|Manipallavam]]. When the boy grew up the princess wanted to send her son to the Chola kingdom. So she entrusted the prince to a merchant who dealt in woolen blankets called Kambala Chetty when his ship stopped in the island of Manipallavam. During the voyage to the Chola kingdom, the ship was wrecked due to rough weather and the boy was lost. He was later found washed ashore with a Tondai twig (creeper) around his leg. So he came to be called Tondaiman Ilam Tiraiyan meaning ''the young one of the seas or waves''. When he grew up the northern part of the Chola kingdom was entrusted to him and the area he governed came to be called Tondaimandalam after him. He is considered by some scholars to be the progenitor of the Pallava dynasty and the dynasty he founded took its name after the native place of his mother, that is Manipallavam.<ref>{{cite book|title=Manimekalai: Dancer with Magic Bowl : Buddhist Epic in Tamil (second Century AD)|author=Arputha Rani Sengupta|publisher=Daya Books, 2006|page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=History of Ancient India|author=Rama Shankar Tripathi|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1967|page=442}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=History of the Pallavas of Kanchi by R. Gopalan|author=R. Gopalan|editor=Sakkottai Krishnaswami Aiyangar|publisher=University of Madras, 1928|page=30}}</ref>

According to the ''Ulas''(historical poems in honor of Chola kings) written by poet [[Ottakoothar]], Killivalavan is said to have married a Naga princess by entering the ''bilvadara''(cave) and also it is known that Tiraiyan was the son of a Chola prince who married the Naga princess, Pilivalai by entering the ''bilvadara'' in Nagapattinam. So that Tiraiyan was the son of Killivalavan is not without force".<ref>{{cite book|title=Saiva art and architecture in South India|author=C. Krishna Murthy|publisher=Sundeep Prakashan, 1985|page=8}}</ref> According to [[P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar]], Ilandiraiyan ascended the throne of Kanchi during the reign of the Chola king Karikalan and was probably, a feudatory of the latter.

== In poetry ==
[[Uruttiragannanar]] who wrote the ''[[Paṭṭiṉappālai]]'', gives a vivid description of Ilandiraiyan's kingdom and capital city of Kanchi in his poem ''[[Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai]]''. He advises "poets seeking rewards" to go to the court of Tondaiman Ilandiraiyan, "the great patron of bards".{{sfn|Iyengar|1995|p=388}} The ''Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai'' contains 500 lines in the ''[[Tamil prosody|akaval]]'' [[Metre (poetry)|metre]] eulogising Ilandiraiyan as well as providing a mythical origin for the Tondaiman clan.{{sfn|Zvelebil|1974|p=23}}

Ilandiraiyan was also a poet himself with four of his songs still extant. One of them is on the importance of personal character and its benefits on good rule.{{sfn|Sastri|1961|p=126}} Ode 185 of the ''[[Puṟanāṉūṟu]]'' is attributed to Tondaiman Ilandiraiyan.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{citation|last1=Iyengar|first1=P. T. Srinivasa|authorlink= P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar|title=History of the Tamils : from the earliest times to 600 A.D.|year=1995|orig-date=1929|publisher=Asian Educational Services|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-8120601451|pages=388–405|url=https://archive.org/details/HistoryOfTheTamilsFromTheEarliestTimesTo600A.D.|accessdate=27 May 2017|chapter=Chapter XXI: Ilandiraiyan}}
* {{citation|last1=Ramaswamy|first1=Vijaya|title=Historical dictionary of the Tamils|date=2007|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=Lanham, Md.|isbn=9780810864450 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H4q0DHGMcjEC|accessdate=27 May 2017}}
* {{citation|last1=Sastri|first1=Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta|author-link = K. A. Nilakanta Sastri|title=[[A History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar]]|date=1961|edition=3rd|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en}}
* {{citation|last1=Zvelebil|first1=Kamil Veith|authorlink1=Kamil Zvelebil|title=A history of Indian Literature: Tamil Literature|date=1974|publisher=Harrassowitz|location=Wiesbaden|isbn=9783447015820|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OQ33i496MsIC|accessdate=30 May 2017}}

[[Category:Tamil monarchs]]
[[Category:Pallava dynasty]]

Ilandiraiyan - Revision history

ArianneNies1 at 21:26, 6 July 2025